ARTec KIWI Shampoo

Introduction

If you have read any of my other hair care product reviews you probably know that I have normally dry, naturally wavy, thick hair that falls to the middle ofmy tush. I have my hair highlighted 3-4x a year using Matrix's Socolor and the cap method.

While I mostly alternate my personal hair care products between the ARTec Smoothing line and the Aveda line, I am perpetually on the lookout for great new hair care products that will give my hair the biggest bang for my buck.

My constant quest for finding better new hair care lines drives me to try lots of different products every year.   I have learned through years of testing hair care products that what works for one hair will not necessarily work for my hair.

So I have learned that the only way to find a great product for my own hair is to test, test and then test some more.

ARTec Smoothing Shampoo

My constant searching helped me find Aveda many years ago and then ARTec Smoothing about 1 year ago (1998).  As I discover new hair care products that work better for my hair, I rotate them into my normal hair care schedule.

ARTec Smoothing does wonders for my hair.  In fact, I have used it a many times in recent months to recover from "bad testing" experiences. (Yes, I do have a few of those).

One of the things I love about ARTec Smoothing is that I know it will help me get my hair back to its baseline after using test products that make it dry, sticky, gooey or limp.

I used to panic a little when I would try a different product line and it would wreck havoc with my hair. It would often take me a week to get my hair back to normal.

With ARTec Smoothing it may only be a matter of 1 or 2 shampoos and conditions.  My hair comes right back and I am then ready to test new products.

Continued below ↓

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KIWI Shampoo

Since I had such great luck with the ARTec Smoothing I decided to branch out and try some of the other products in the ARTec line.

I tried the Moisture Pac and loved it. I also tried and loved some of the styling products such as the Smoothing Serum and Texture Gel (reviews pending).

I figured the next step along my ARTec path should be the KIWI Shampoo. I also bought the matching KIWI Coloreflector Conditioner & KIWI Detangler.

ARTec describes the KIWI Shampoo as a natural enhancing shampoo that frees the hair of daily build-up while providing translucent shine.

The KIWI Bodyifying Detangler is a leave-in conditioner that detangles the hair instantly.

The KIWI line also contains the KIWI Coloreflector Conditioner which is designed to protect and provide body, manageability and shine.

Natural Enhancing Shampoo

The KIWI (Clear) Natural Enhancing Shampoo contains cultivated botanical KIWI extract.

The KIWI line was specifically blended for color treated or natural hair as a daily shampoo.  This multi-functional cleansing system builds in the look of healthy manageable hair and provides extra body whatever the humidity conditions.

KIWI formula frees hair of daily build-up, normalizes hair and scalp, and adds translucent shine.

KIWI contains Vitamin E, a natural anti-oxidant that minimizes haircolor fade, and folic acid, which is essential in maintaining healthy hair.

Natural protective filters and sun screen factors have been added for additional protections.  The pH balance is listed on the bottle as: 4.5 - 5.5.

KIWI (Clear) Natural Enhancing Shampoo is designed  by ARTec to be used as an alternating shampoo with the ARTec Colorist Collection Color Enhancing Shampoos to seal in color or to be used alone on natural (uncolored) hair.

Usage Directions

Directions: Wet hair. Spread normal amount of shampoo between palms and massage evenly throughout hair. Lather. Rinse. (Repeat if extra body is desired).

Follow with KIWI Colorflector Conditioner if you feel a conditioner is helpful for your hair care routine. Be sure to rinse completely and follow with a cool/cold rinse to seal the hair shaft and add shine.

Great Packaging

I have to admit that I am still very intrigued with the crisp clean "art deco" appearance of the ARTec white/black KIWI shampoo bottle. I love the packaging.

I know that is not supposed to mean much about the product, but I had the same reaction with the ARTec Smoothing line which comes in a crisp clean white and black bottle. The only difference between the two is the addition of the word "KIWI" in green and the words "Colorist Collection".

I think that all of the ARTec products are packaged well and they all look very chic and very classy.

My Testing Procedure

For my test of the KIWI shampoo I decided to stay as close to my normal ARTec Smoothing shampooing routine as possible. So before I hopped in my daily lukewarm (very early) morning shower I brushed my hair and removed all knots and any tangles.

I opened the ARTec KIWI shampoo and my nose got a incredible whiff of the tropical kiwi aroma.

The first whiff reminded me of a tropical rain forest that I had visited on St. Kitts many years ago. It was definitely a fresh, crisp and clean scent.  I squeezed the bottle and the easy-to-use top dispensed a very thick, creamy liquid..

The shampoo felt very silky on my fingers. I massaged a small amount into the palm of my hand and then applied it to my hair.

The shampoo felt tingly on my scalp. I was really enjoying the fresh tropical aromas that wafted through my entire shower. I carefully sudsed my hair so that that a stream of the suds would foam through my mid and end hairs.

I have to admit that I really was having fun with this shampoo.  It almost felt like I should be in a shampoo commercial where I oohed and aaahed and screamed with joy.   You know the commercials I mean.

I rinsed the first shampoo application out of my hair with luke warm water and then squeezed as much moisture out of my hair as possible.

After rinsing completely I poured on a glob of the ARTec KIWI Colorflector conditioner. It had the same fresh aroma.

The conditioner was very thick and the texture reminded me a lot of ARTec's Smoothing conditioner.

I massaged the conditioner from my roots to my ends and then let it sit on my hair for close to 5 minutes.

I rinsed with warm water, followed up with my cold water rinse and stepped out of the shower.

My head felt all tingly and my hair felt clean and fresh.

Lasting Fragrance

One of the major things that I noticed when I tested the ARTec KIWI was that the wonderful tropical aroma lingered in my wet hair. I also noticed that my wet hair felt soft and relatively tangle free.

I decided to test the new ARTec KIWI shampoo and KIWI conditioner by going very light on my normal Aveda detangler step. I used just one tiny spritz of the Aveda Curessence Styling detangler.

Note:  ARTec makes a wonderful companion KIWI detangler that I had not yet started using.  Now that I have discovered the KIWI detangling product I use it all the time.  A review of this detangler will be included in a future Hair Boutique product article.

I used my fingers and my trusty pick to remove the tangles. My hair detangled almost instantly.

Following my normal "wet hair routine" I wrapped my damp hair in a big bun, popped in a pair of Zuni Bear Hair Sticks and let my hair air dry.  This is what I do almost every day to give my hair a break from hot blow dryers.

First Time Results

Besides the great lingering kiwi aroma, I could feel my bangs on my forehead. They felt soft. Later on, at 10:30 in the morning, I hurried off to the bathroom with my trusty pick.

I popped the Zuni Bear chopsticks out of my hair and soft waves of shiny, luxurious hair tumbled down my back. I picked my hair out and the waves were very soft and shiny.

I have to admit that while the aroma is so great with the KIWI, I still felt that the ARTec Smoothing made my hair feel a little more more moisturized.

In some ways the KIWI felt a little more drying than the Smoothing.  This is not a bad observations, just something I had to keep in mind because my hair is normally on the dry side.

Test Of Time

I faithfully continued to experiment with the ARTec KIWI shampoo and matching conditioner until my initial bottles were empty.

My initial observation seemed to hold true.  The KIWI shampoo and conditioner did make my hair feel somewhat drier than the ARTec Smoothing.

I will tell you that the KIWI felt similar to Aveda's Chamomile shampoo that I sometimes use and match with Aveda's Curessence conditioner.

I would have to say that overall my hair did well with the ARTec KIWI but I still prefer the moisturizing effect of the ARTec Smoothing a little bit more.

Mixing & Matching

The KIWI products seemed to work best when I mixed & matched the shampoo with the ARTec Smoothing conditioner and the KIWI conditioner with the ARTec Smoothing shampoo.

When I did the KIWI/Smoothing combination I got the great kiwi aroma with a similar moisturizing silkiness of straight ARTec Smoothing.

I have continued to use the ARTec KIWI product. When I ran out of the initial ARTec KIWI I decided to go back and immediately test my hair with Aveda Shampure shampoo and Deep Revitalizer conditioner. I realized that my hair responded to the Aveda Shampure like it did the KIWI shampoo.

While I still liked the Aveda, I missed the ARTec fresh burst of tropical aromas.

KIWI Shampure + Aveda Curessence Conditioner

I also experimented by mixing the KIWI shampoo with Aveda Curessence conditioner and Aveda Styling Curessence.

The results were pretty good. My hair was still not quite as soft as with the ARTec Smoothing conditioner, but the shine was there and so were the natural waves.

Aveda Shampure + ARTec KIWI Conditioner

Aveda Shampure shampoo worked very well with the ARTec KIWI conditioner and the Styling Curessence. The same combination also worked well using the KIWI detangler in the place of the Aveda Styling Curessence.

When I mixed the smoothing shampoo with Aveda Cherry Almond Bark the combo cranked up the waves in my hair. I also used my Joico leave-in conditioning spray with good results.

Old Faithful

Recently I bought another large bottle of the ARTec KIWI shampoo and conditioner.

Needless to say, I also continue to use the ARTec Smoothing shampoo and conditioner as my main hair care product line. I do alternate every week with the ARTec KIWI and I still have all my old Aveda favorites stacked up in my shower. However, I now use Aveda as my infrequent "change of pace" product line.

KIWI Shampoo Results On My Hair

I have to say that I really love the aroma and the consistency of the KIWI Shampoo.   I actually love the aroma of the KIWI more than the Smoothing.  However, I do find that it is a slightly more drying to my hair than the ARTec Smoothing.

I have found that the KIWI works best for my hair when I only use it about 4-6 times a month.

I have also found that the KIWI Shampoo works very well when I "mix" it with the ARTec Smoothing Conditioner.

The KIWI Shampoo without the Smoothing Conditioner seems to make my hair feel definitely more dry overall. When I combine the KIWI Shampoo with the ARTec Smoothing my hair feels silky and the aroma of the KIWI lasts all day.

KIWI Mixed With ARTec Color Shampoos

I have been told by my stylist that the KIWI shampoo was originally designed to be mixed with the ARTec Color Shampoos to make them less concentrated for the hair.  My stylist suggested that I might want to try mixing the KIWI with the color shampoos or dilute the KIWI slightly.

I have to admit that I have not gotten around to that test yet.

KIWI Shampoo Ingredients

ARTec Colorist Collection - KIWI Shampoo Ingredients I have listed all the ingredients in the KIWI Shampoo exactly as listed on the bottle:

Ingredients: Botanical Extracts (Deionized Water, Pure Kiwi Fruit, Wild Pansy, Coffeebean, Quillaja (soapbark), Yarrow, Cinchona, Nettle, Birch, Horsetail & Chamomile), Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Polysorbate 20, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Biotin, Folic Acid, Benzophenone-4, Panthenol, Jojoba Oil, Aloe Vera Oil, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Lactamide MEA, Isostearyl Benzoate, Walnut Oil, Allantoin, Polyquaternium-10, Linoleic Acid, Tocopherol, Superoxide Dismutase, Propylene Glycol, Glycol Stearate, Sodium Citrate, Tetrasodium, EDTA, Methylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, FD&C Blue No1, FD&C Yellow No.5.

Difference Between KIWI FRUIT & KIWI EXTRACT

I did make an interesting observation about the KIWI Shampoo when I compared the ingredients with the ARTec Smoothing shampoo.

The ARTec Smoothing contains Kiwi Fruit Extract while the KIWI Shampoo includes Pure Kiwi Fruit.  My assumption is that the Pure Kiwi Fruit is a higher concentration of Kiwi than the extract that is included in the ARTec Smoothing shampoo.

I also noticed other differences in the formulations of the two ARTec shampoos.  The Smoothing shampoo has DATUM which is a known smoothing ingredient whereas the KIWI does not contain DATUM.

Also, while both products contain natural oils, they contain different oils.  The Smoothing shampoo contains Tea Tree Oil and Ylang Ylang Oil where as the KIWI contains jojobo, olive oil and walnut oil.

Difference BetweenARTec Smoothing & Kiwi Shampoo

There are some other interesting ingredient differences.  For comparison with the ARTec Kiwi product I have listed all the ARTEc Smoothing Shampoo ingredients in the textureline smoothing shampoo exactly as listed on the bottle:

Ingredients: Water, Kiwi Fruit Extract, Matricaria (Chamomile) Extract, Juniperus Communis Extract (Juniper Extract), Chinese Angelica Extract (Chinese Angelica Root), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycol Distearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PPG-5-Ceteth-10 Phosphate, PEG-7,Glycerly Cocoate, Hydrolyzed Silk, DATEM, Ylang Ylang Oil (Ylang Ylang Flowers), Tea Tree Oil (Tea Tree Leaves), Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera Gel), Plyquaternium-7, Rice Bran Oil, Yarrow Extract, Hops Extract, Propylene Glycol, Polyquaternium-7, Rice Bran Oil, Yarrow Extract, Hops Extract, Propylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolione, Fragrance.

Environmental Concerns

ARTec does not test on animals and also requests that all empty product  bottles be recycled for the environment.

Contact ARTec

You can reach ARTec at: (800) 323-6817 or (800) 669-9514. Prices will vary on the KIWI depending on where you purchase it.

Generally you will save more by buying the highest quantity of shampoo that is available at the time. Generally the 32 oz versions of the ARTec shampoo and conditioner are a better buy overall. 

A lot of times it is harder to find shops or stores that will sell the 32 ounce sizes.  Always ask.  The prices is best.

Summary

I have faithfully used the ARTec KIWI shampoo a couple of times a week over the past several months and I really enjoy it. 

I do find the KIWI shampoo product to be a little more drying on my hair than my favorite ARTec Smoothing shampoo.

Overall I would recommend the KIWI shampoo for color treated hair or hair than needs shine.  It also tends to create more fullness and body than the ARTec Smoothing line.  The aroma is heavenly and makes using the product a wonderful experience.

Please remember that my hair is unique and that how I experience a shampoo or hair care product will not necessarily be the same as how anyone else may experience the same exact product. Proceed at your own risk.

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