Reddit mentions of L'Oreal Hair Expertise EverSleek Reparative Smoothing Conditioner 8.50 oz

My hair type is straight, moderately fine, medium-low porousness, slightly dry scalp, naturally shiny, medium-sparse density, and slightly prone to breakage.

Right now I'm switching between two shampoo/conditioner systems I like, so I'll make two separate posts for those.

The first one is L'Oreal Paris EverSleek Repairative Smoothing Shampoo and the accompanying EverSleek Repairative Smoothing Conditioner (not to be confused with the Intense Smoothing duo that I haven't tried). I use them both once ever four days and don't wash my hair in between. I apply the shampoo only to my scalp and massage it before rinsing, and then I apply the conditioner only to the lengths of my hair and leave it in for about five minutes while I shave before washing it out with cool water.

Ingredients are as follows:

Shampoo: Aqua/Water, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Laureth-5 Carboxylic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, PEG-150 Distearate, Parfum/Fragrance, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Polyquaternium-10, Salicylic Acid, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Extract/Sunflower Seed Extract, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Sodium Hydroxide, Lactic Acid.

Conditioner: Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil/Sunflower Seed Oil, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Cetyl Esters, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Parfum/Fragrance, Quaternium-87, Isopropyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Candelilla Cera/Candelilla Wax, Propylene Glycol, Olea Europaea Oil/Olive Fruit Oil, Caprylyl Glycol, Benzoic Acid, Citric Acid, Argania Spinosa/Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Triethanolamine.

Pros: This was the first sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner duo I found (out of trying three others) that noticeably improved my hair condition, and in just a couple washes too. Compared to sulfate shampoos, my hair is softer, shinier, a little less breakage, doesn't feel as dry, and has more volume and bounce. This shampoo isn't as harsh as others because its main surfactant is Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, which is anionic like SLS/SLES but much milder and much less irritating while still maintaining a lot of foaming capability. It also works well in hard water, which I have. Laureth-5 Carboxylic Acid is another anionic but again not as harsh and also has anti-static abilities, which is awesome for my fine hair in the dry climate I live in. The shampoo contains some conditioners in low enough amounts that my root hair is still soft without being weighed down. The conditioner contains a lot of strong conditioning agents so my hair is rarely tangled and stays softer longer. Cheap too, at around $6 a bottle and can be bought in major US stores as well as online.

Possible Cons: Like I said above, the shampoo does have anionic surfactants so while it's better than SLES/SLS, it's not the gentlest thing out there. May be a good intermediate step for you though if you're used to using a shampoo with a lot of foaming power. Because the conditioner has a lot of fatty conditioning agents, it can build up if used at the scalp and I definitely feel greasier/limper if I put it anywhere near my roots. The conditioner also has a short-chain alcohol, Isopropyl, which isn't recommended here because it pulls moisture from the hair but the fact that it's in the shower where moisture exists to replenish the strand and that it's among a bunch of conditioning agents means that that detrimental attribute is greatly reduced.