Do you remember the first time you saw an Herbal Essences commercial back in 8th grade? The somewhat hippie-ish, super sun-soaked, beautiful models running freely through the tall grassy prairies… well, maybe I just dated myself because this was PRE fake orgasms in the shower while covered in shampoo, but I remember those early ads. Then again, the company was formed in the early 70’s, so I’m sure there were a lot of campaigns I missed along the way, but the ones I remember made me want to be beautiful too.
I also remember my mom buying the shampoo and conditioner at the store, and I remember feeling oh, so beautiful, even though I’d never been to a real prairie and the closest thing to running freely in my neighborhood, was watching stray cats run looking for food, and neighborhood kids chasing cars down the street. But, in my mind, I was one of THEM. One of the pretty ones, frolicking in nature (not trapped in the city)… all because my hair looked and felt like a dream.
Fast forward 15-20 years (dating myself again), and I learned about parabens in cosmetics, primarily in shampoo, conditioner, deodorants and lotions. I learned that parabens cause cancer, or are at least present in cancerous tissue. Breast cancer specifically. So many (cosmetically related) things in my life changed once I had that realization. I started to look for more natural products (that still worked and didn’t make me smell like a hippie), and started weeding out products that contained “bad for you” ingredients, like parabens, silicon and sulfites.
Now, I’m a mom. I work, I mommy and I write as much as I can. I became a member of Influenster and signed up for their VoxBox program to review products for them.
My first box was for an old memory…. Herbal Essences… Naked?
My first thought was “Crap. I have to write a review about a product I wouldn’t ever buy.”
Well, then I saw something beautiful on the label:
No Parabens! No Dyes! No Silicone!
NO PARABENS. FREE. OF. PARABENS. WHAT?!
Ok, I’ll give this stuff a try.
The thing is, I have heavily treated hair (duh, blonde is NOT my natural color), so I typically use specialty shampoos and conditioners, but I always have some less expensive (and available at Target, not at a specialty shop) product for myself on days I don’t need blue shampoo, and for my husband, now that his luscious, long, locks are gone.
So, I compared ingredients with my “normal” shampoo and that of the Herbal Essences Naked collection.
MY STUFF HAD PARABENS!!! LOTS OF THEM!!! How did I miss this????
I’m mad at myself for not looking at the label on this one, but no matter how much I love it, it’s being replaced.
Regardless of how the HE product ended up in my hands, I’m glad it did. It actually works quite well too. The dry shampoo is probably my least favorite of the collection, but really, that’s because it’s meant for people with longer hair than me, who need a traditional dry shampoo. I only use dry shampoos to pump up my hair volume, not control grease, since I have the kind of short, overly treated hair that mandates a daily washing.
The shampoo and conditioner are every bit as good as what I use (the crappy paraben loaded stuff from my past… we totally broke up) and my fried blonde hair actually feels like hair after I use it.
The Herbal Essences Naked Collection
I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.
Hi! My name is Stephanie. I'm married to a great guy named Grant and am mom to two beautiful little boys, Remington and Desmond, and two pugs, Stella and Cioppino. We live in Los Angeles, and my husband has recently transitioned from full-time touring musician, to law student. I work full-time to support us, while also taking care of our sons as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered, because really, it is.
Being Mrs. Arnow 