L'Oreal EverCream Intense Nourishing Shampoo & Conditioner

I just did a review of the L'Oreal EverCream Cleansing Conditioner, if you haven't read it, or purchased the product yet… what are you waiting for?!  Because I love that product so much, I decided to try the L'Oreal EverCream Intense Nourishing Shampoo & Conditioner {roughly $6.00 each}, mostly to see if I could save anytime in the shower.  This system claims to be for "dry to very dry hair," they also have just a "Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner" for normal to dry hair.

Lately, I've been all about my sleep, but with work and going back to school, it feels like I'm not getting any!  I give myself roughly 30 minutes every morning to get ready, and haven't quite mastered the "shower before bed" thing yet.  I purchased my shampoo and conditioner at Walgreens and couldn't wait to get home to try them.

The Claims

Here are the claims from Ulta's website:

EverCreme Intense Nourishing Shampoo gently cleanses and deeply restores lost moisture. The intensely nourishing formula instantly wraps each strand with rich moisture, leaving very dry hair healthy-looking and manageable without weighdown.

Introducing formulas so gentle, yet so nourishing. Free of harsh sulfates, and heavy coating waxes Evercreme Sulfate-Free Moisture System, with natural Omega-3 & 6, infuses moisture without weighdown. These triple action conditioning formulas leave hair luxuriously soft and shiny while natural botanicals invigorate the senses.

For dry to very dry hair

Triple action hydration; No harsh salts

Paraben-free; Sulfate-free; Natural botanicals

100% vegan--formula not tested on animals, no animal byproducts

The claims were very similar to those made for the EverCream Cleansing Conditioner.  I was excited to try it.  All I have to say is, what a disappointment!  I won't even bother making a pro and con list, because there were no pros!

The shampoo had the same "claiming to be vanilla" smell the cleansing conditioner has, but the conditioner did have a more pleasant scent, which was more like vanilla and less like the formaldehyde/snicker-doodle scent.  The shampoo was a typical sudsing shampoo but didn't feel as "creamy" or as thick as shampoos I'm used to using… it felt almost watery.  As every shampoo has done since I started using the Cleansing Conditioner {including my beloved but expensive Pureology Hydrate}, it made my hair feel dry, straw-like and tangled after I rinsed it.  I couldn't wait to use the conditioner.  Whenever I wash my hair with the Pureology Hydrate shampoo, I look forward to the silkifying effect of the conditioner.  It takes that tangled mess and smooths it out and makes it soft… it's like a nice moisturizing bath after a day playing in the mud…

I slathered on the conditioner, from root to tip and let it sit for the usual two minutes…  I ran my fingers through it, and… nothing.  So I rinsed it.  My hair still felt dry and straw-like, and was still a tangled mess.  I conditioned again, for three minutes this time.  Same result.  Are you kidding me?!  Even a $2 bottle of Suave conditioner makes my hair soft and smooth, even if it is greasy and weighed down!  I conditioned a third time, for two more minutes, and then quit.

When I got out of the shower I grabbed my tangle teaser.  I couldn't even run it through my ends!!! Anyone who has a tangle teaser knows that thing is a miracle tool, it combs through anything without breaking the hair… and it got stuck.  I grabbed my Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Conditioner, Agadir Argon Oil, and tried again… I could comb through my hair, but it was rough.

After blow-drying, my hair felt super dry, and straw-like It looked really dull and had zero shine.  It had no volume, was flat and wouldn't hold curl.  I saturated it with oil and leave in conditioner, and left for work.  After school, I went to my brother's house so my sister-in-law could give my ends a trim.  "Wow, your hair is super dry!  Maybe use a K-Pak when you get home..."  

Don't get me wrong, my hair is color treated, so my ends do get a little dry, but I would never describe myself as having "dry hair"… it's oily for sure.  Needless to say I was annoyed.  I went straight home after my trim, and applied my K-Pak Protein Reconstructor for five minutes, and then the Intense Moisture for another ten minutes.  I then let my hair air dry and coated the ends in coconut oil.  I left the oil all evening and all night, and rinsed it out in my shower this morning.

I shampooed with the cleansing conditioner this morning and used my Pureology Hydrate conditioner on the ends… my hair is back to normal, smooth, soft, tangle free and shiny.  I was really disappointed, as much as I love the cleansing conditioner, the Intense Nourishing products were anything but.  The bottle claimed it was for people with "dry to very dry hair."  If it had such a terrible drying effect on my oily hair, I can only imagine what it would do to someone with "very dry" hair!  I returned them this morning and will never repurchase.  Never.