There are times when trying a sample product turns you off the actual product for good. My experience with Asience shampoo and conditioner was one of them. I was given some sample bottles to try once during their promotional drive.
Now these are the best travel hair products ever. There is enough in the bottles to last 2 weeks of travel (I wash my hair everyday) and they are dinky and cute. I was going to review the Asience Shampoo and Conditioner a while back when I first tried it and I was going to tell you that it was wonderful.
Truly, upon use, my hair felt so soft and tangle free. It was great! I was in love! *cue lovebirds music and cute forest creatures ala Disney* If you see the picture of Yu Kashii above, my hair felt like hers – light as a feather blowing in the breeze.
But after repeated use, I realized that my hair was starting to feel drier and drier after every wash. It did not help when Mom took one look at my hair and said “Why is your hair looking like straw?”
That was the moment of truth.
Just 2 weeks using the Asience shampoo and conditioner and my hair went from tangle-free to dry as straw. I went back to my Kiehl’s Sunflower Protecting shampoo and it softened after a few days. 2 months later, I tried Asience again (I had loads of samples and I was travelling a lot) and boom! Hair of Straw.
Ironically, the samples I tried were the Asience Inner Rich range which is formulated for normal to dry frizzy damaged hair that is prone to breakage. Sorry, it didn’t work.
So I guess the Asience shampoo and conditioner were just not for me. Its affordable though at just about RM20+ a bottle at pharmacies and supermarkets. Damn my expensive hair :P
Pros: Hair felt soft and manageable initially, Affordable
Cons: Turned my hair into straw :(
Incidentally, I still have some sample bottles and I do still stubbornly use them when I travel. Hair of Straw happens after about a week so I bargain for the soft tangle free feeling the few days I’m away on short trips. But that’s about all I’m game to use.
Are you liking the Kao Asience shampoo and conditioner? Perhaps it works for your hair but not mine :) I am now harbouring a slight obsession with trying Kerastase – God help my wallet! :P
Paris B
Oooo… But I have never used anything other than Sunsilk hehehehe. at least your hair went back to normal ^.^
Thankfully so!
I quite like it, but then I think Kao Essential and Tsubaki works a bit better than Ascience. My sisters also experience hair of straw moment when they use my Ascience, and vowed never to touch it ever again. hehe.
i suppose the ingredients isn’t right for your hair or you pamper them too much! LOL. I also want to try Keratase, got good raves bout the Oleo, orange one if not mistaken :P
Oho! I haven’t put my Tsubaki to the test. Will do that soon :D I don’t care about my hair actually – I use anything on it and yes I’ve read so many good things about Kerastase I’m thinking of splurging.
wat do u all mean by like a straw??
too straight or wat?
Dry, stiff, frizzy like you have dry grass on your head
I have heard great stuffs about this brand! I also want to try Kerastase too!!!! I have the masque from Kerastase but the Shampoo and conditioner partner will always be welcome!
Thanks for this, i’ll tell my bro not to help me purchase this anymore :D
I remember you raving about the mask! Time to add the shampoo and conditioner to the mix ;) Sorry for putting you off Asience – but it could work for you you know :P
i have had similar experiences with ascience. :( at first it was good, but over time i realised the shampoo makes my scalp irritated and the conditioner isn’t as moisturizing as it seems. i guess it’s not good for long-term use, but i still use my ascience hair mask occassionally and it seems fine if i don’t use it often.
Ok I’m glad I’m not the only one having problems with Asience! You’re right. It possibly isn’t suited for long term usage since it doesn’t irritate either of us in the short term :) Then they should stop selling it in those huge bottles! :P
I’m still in <3 with the effects of the Herbal essences grapefruit shampoo, so much so I decant it for travel. :D
Used up the Ascience samples during previous travels and had the same thing happen too – smells amazing, leaves hair unbelievably soft (initially!)…but never more than a few days at a time. It's a pity though, cost the smell's quite addictive.
I used Herbal Essences a long time ago when it was more popularly known as Clairol. Haven’t gone back to look at it. Perhaps I should!
I have very good experience with Asience. I like all their ranges. But I’ve not tested the re-formulated one though. The other one I would recommend is Pantene Clinicare.
Asience was reformulated? That’s quick! I think it was only launched last year. Glad to know it works for you though
I use Kerastase and I find I can’t use it daily because my scalp/hair will become oily and limp very rapidly. So I interchange it with my L’Oreal and I find it works well for soft, tangle-free hair. :)
You may want to try the new purple range for colored/treated hair… it really gives you this mega-shine look when you blow-dry! I had it in the salon and wow, did my hair color really shine after that. But cheapo me didn’t buy the shampoo to do home maintenance. :P
Hmm Kerastase sounds rich but hey! alternating it means it lasts longer ;)
i tot i was the only one not liking Asience…coz well, the ad boasted about it being made for US , asian hair owners!
I bot the full sized bottle believing so…(the ad)….
my 1st use is enuf to put me off……
it was hard to lather up in my case, and even in the shower, my hair was tangly mangly oredi once the shampoo covered my entire hair! I quickly washed it off and back to my old shampoo!
hmm…talking about fixing something when it’s not broken! I learnt my lesson! hehe!
Irony isn’t it that my 100% Asian hair hates it? LOL… Thanks for sharing
I’ve been procrastinating on getting the Asience samples from the stores. I’m having second thoughts now…
Erm… don’t let me put you off – its just samples and you could like it ;)
Me too… i bought full size of shampoo & conditioner that time….
Initially i really liked them a lot because my hair felt so soft…after 2 months using it, my hair started to tangle and looked dry…
Fascinating how many of us faced this problem!
Good thing I didn’t cave and buy it then! I’m sticking to my Sunsilks, Doves and John Frieda conditioners for now. So far, that’s been working great for me. Although, I’ve been curious to try Kerastase as well.
Sunsilk isn’t for me too although Dove Conditioner is awesome! Isn’t Kerastase tempting? :P
This didn’t work for me as well… both the shampoo and conditioner! They gave me split ends!! T_T
I’m wanting to repurchase the Redken Fresh Curls shampoo and maybe try the conditioner! But so expensive!!! :(
Boo to split ends! I used to use Redken too – great for the hair but yes, expensive. Still, not all THAT expensive when compared with other salon shampoos :)
Forget Kerastase shampoo. If you want to try out Kerastase, go for the orange hair treatment and the green bottle conditioner.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Is it possible to get John Frieda in Malaysia? Saw someone posted
This has happened to me so many times to me, I’ve lost count. Usually it’s the cheap stuff that does it, so I just stay away, unless I’ve tried the brand before. I think the worst offender was actually an organic line. I don’t remember the name, but my hair was like a tumbleweed in just a week, and I don’t wash my hair everyday unless it needs it.
Speaking of Tsubaki (from above comments), my husband (who has long hair) and I both love it. Quote my husband “I am never using anything else again.” Yeah, that’s pretty good from a man who doesn’t like to splurge on things like soaps and hair stuff, and usually doesn’t care what he uses. He has thick hair, and I have thin, but tons of it, hair. Mine’s more normal, his is dry. Both of us love Tsubaki. I have heard some people say that it weighs their hair down, but we haven’t experienced that.
(Incidentally, I did a review on these products on my blog earlier this month. Not trying to advertise, just throwing that out there for people who want to read more about the shampoo and conditioner.)
Thanks for sharing your experience with Tsubaki. We don’t get Tsubaki here but I really should dig mine out from storage and put it to some use!
Tsubaki didn’t work for me. Boo. I guess to each her own hair.
Perhaps Ascience is too overloaded for your hair? I’m alright with it though. I find that using a simple clarifying shampoo to regularise hair helps somewhat. J&J’s head-to-toe wash works well for that.
Yes yes to each their own – I’m now wondering if Tsubaki will work for me :)
I have these samples… got them from the robinson’s goodie bag… quite scared to use them again… I’ve used the old version before, same like u, my hair was really soft and tangle free! There was less flyaways and my hair felt ‘weighed down’… after using the samples, I bought the full sized shampoo n conditioner… after using it for like 3 months, my hair was like yrs, HAY~ sighs… it was dry and brittle… stopped using it and now my hair isn’t that bad… using Loreal now and still have split ends =( I want a shampoo that will give the same effect of Asience minus the dried up hair part… any recommendations =)
I’m still looking myself :P Nothing can cure split ends except cutting it off. Your hair will thank you!
me too! hair felt like hay after using it. Same applies when you use Dove conditioner, big bottle.
I am currently using loreal range, those available at watson. nothing to brag about though. Any recommends for moisturising hair shampoo,conditioner,treatment with lower prices?
Honestly I don’t think it exists. Like skincare, the better products always come with a heftier price tag. The last I used that was quite good was Redken for dry hair. It helped me but I stopped. Perhaps I should get back to it
I have fine strands and so I get spit/dry ends quite easily. For me, I enjoy using Herbal Essence (not the Classic range) ‘Dangerously Straight’ and if I dye my hair I use ones for coloured hair. I find both their shampoos and particularly their conditioners very good for my hair (the two range mentioned anyway). Like many, I like creamy, smooth conditioners not ones where I have to squeeze 1/2 the bottle to feel satisfied :\ But because I love my hair too much, I like to continue experimenting.
I have also tried Shiseido’s Tsubaki before and I LOVE them more… I actually used it for about 3 months and only stopped because they were too expensive to purchase in Australia (MUCH cheaper in Japan)….
Both Tsubaki & Ascience shampoos do not work for me at all. Supposedly good for Asian hair and so many people have raved about it but their shampoos n conditioners are not not conditioning or moisturizing enough for my hair. And I thought it’s only happening to me! Instead the usual drugstore shampoos n conditioners like Dove, Pantene (hates their scent though) and good old Sifone shampoos work better on my hair.
Gosh I guess like skin, our hair is all different too! :D
I’m stuck with loads of Ascience samples too, dunno what to do with them. I hate to compromise on condition of my hair even during travels. Gave the still full bottle of Tsubaki shampoo to my parents to use instead. :P
Boo… that happened to me too :( My hair was so beautiful then it became dry, coarse and looked fried. Now I’m using Tresseme (can’t spell). not too bad but not excellent either. I don’t care about my hair enough to splurge on expensive shampoos :p
Tresemme broke me out so bad I have nightmares thinking about it! :P Unfortunately hair is a crowning glory – must take care!
i detest tresemme to the core! made my hair fried and dry, same goes to dove. hate those 2! ahahaha
sunsilk certain range very drying, but some are ok. but i worry of using it. sticking to swachrkopf (dunno the spelling) and tsubaki n kao essential. :P ah, loreal isn’t bad too!