| Karen Reviews L'anza Long Hair |
| Karen Marie Shelton |
| Date: 1/3/2000, Revised - 4/12/2000 |
Introduction
As has been reported on the Hair Boutique in the past, I
first tested the 4 different L'anza long hair products
back in October of 1999. I tried the product very religiously
until the end of December of 1999 and then wrote and published a review the first week
of January.
Since the time that I tested all four of the L'anza Long
Hair products I discovered Edwin Paul's incredible hair care line and
began to consider dumping not only my beloved ARTec but my original
love, Aveda.
Since Hair Boutique recently unveiled the new Edwin Paul
lines in our store, I felt compelled to rewrite this original review
with a little additional information.
Yes, I have moved on from ARTec and now use Edwin
Paul. However, when I recently tried to revisit L'anza I achieved
the same results as I originally reported early in January.
Original Review
of L'anza Long Hair - 1999
What first caught
my eye about L'anza's new Long Hair line was the beautiful models with gorgeous long hair
splashed across the back covers of some big name fashion magazines (see
photo below). L'anza also
has a web site that is currently under construction but promises to
have all the details about the products as well as information about
buying the products.
I will admit that I stopped and examined the photos of the gorgeous long
haired beauties and thought about the products.
Then I Then I said........nah.....after all, photos of
gorgeous hair splashed across billboards and in full page ads in Cosmo
lured me in the past to the horrors of Pantene.
My hair almost didn't recover from some of the products
that I tried based on fabulous advertising. Yes, the advertising is fantastic. No, a photo does not always tell
the truth. At least for my hair. So I went into the review very
cautiously. In fact, the main reason that I got serious about
testing the L'Anza is because one of the other hair related web sites
asked me to review the line "because you have long
hair".
I felt obligated but also a little weary. I never
like to dislike a product. Even though I have told Hair Boutique
visitors that not all hair is created equal, I know that people don't
always catch that important caveat. When I don't like a product
for my hair I even feel a little guilty writing a less than glowing
review. However, I also know that Hair Boutique visitors count on
me to be totally honest about the products that I test.
Robert L'anza
Is A Hair Icon
Don't get me wrong, I have a tremendous amount of respect
of Robert L'anza, father of the wildly successful L'Anza line of hair care.
It's
just after trying so many different products on my hair, I am rather gun-shy. It
takes a lot to get me to try a new product line.
I have found peace with my current hair care regime. My hair looks
great, feels wonderful and hangs a few inches below my waist. I am hooked on ARTec
Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner and keep a permanent stash of the
ARTec Moisture Pac hidden in
my bathroom. I use Aveda Shampure and Curessence on a rotating basis
when I feel it is time to give my hair a rest from the ARTec.
About L'anza
L'anza's remarkable success is due in great part to organic chemist,
Robert DeLanza.
The cosmetic and beauty industry attracted him initially through his
desire to see theory put into practice.
As Robert recently commented about his career in the
hair care world "As a chemist, I was impatient with
pharmaceutical development, because it took years to see practical results of experiments
and formulas. I was therefore drawn to the beauty sector, not because I was an
entrepreneur, but as a scientist who simply wanted to see my work utilized and appreciated
during my life time."
In 1984 L'anza developed and trademarked the Keratin Bond System and so began the success of
L'anza Research International.
The L'anza product's, which are not tested on animals and contain only
natural ingredients to maintain healthy looking hair, are divided into two
primary systems:
REBALANCE HAIR CARE AND STYLING PRODUCT LINE is specially formulated to meet the needs
of today's active, environmentally-conscious men and women, and to help get hair fit and
keep it in shape.
CURLS & COLOR TREATMENTS, HAIR CARE AND STYLING PRODUCTS address the specific problems
of men and women with chemically treated or naturally dry hair.
Included in both lines are shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, reconstructors and
styling and finishing products as well as perms and in-salon treatments.
L'anza Long Hair -
Four Formulas
The L'anza Long Hair System was announced in 1999 and
was designed to handle all the needs of long hair. The Long Hair
line included four specific formulations which include:
- Cleanse Formula
- Condition Formula
- Strengthen Formula
- Shine Formula
L'anza Long Hair Formula - Cleanse
The packaging is very unusual. When I tried to describe the unusual
packing for the Long Hair Formula I joked that the shampoo and conditioner reminded me of
long neck beer bottles. Well, they sort of do.
Another friend said that they look a lot like juggler's pins. OK,
that works too.
The shampoo and conditioner bottles are a light willow green with purple
lettering. The13 ounce bottles are 12 inches high. The shampoo
cost me approximately $10.33 USD, plus tax at a local Dallas
beauty supply store.
The shampoo advertisements promise that it is a rich
lathering shampoo that provides everything from increased hair
strength to light conditioning. It also promises to seal the
hair cuticle and add shine. WOW. All that and a cool
bottle? Sounded almost too good to be true.
And it was for my hair. The first day that I
tried the shampoo I did enjoy the lather. I did miss the
wonderful aromas of the ARTec and the Aveda. However, I was
hopeful that the shampoo would add this strength and conditioning to
my naturally coarse, highlighted hair.
A Week Of Testing
The first day out of the gate my hair looked
fabulous. Yes, it was soft and shiny. I even got
compliments on my hair from complete strangers.
The second day my hair still felt soft and shiny, but
it was starting to act a little "tacky". I am not sure
how to even explain it except that the ends felt just a tiny bit
sticky.
The third day and my hair felt like I had a slight
waxy covering. YUCK. I kept running my fingers through my
hair and could not get over the feeling that I had not completely
rinsed my hair.
Since I was using BOTH the Cleanse and the Condition
formulas together I decided that maybe I needed to knock off the
Condition.
By Day Four I Was
Cheating A Little With ARTec
On day four I cheated a little used just the Cleanse
shampoo and switched to my ARTec Smoothing Conditioner.
Unfortunately this actually made my hair feel even worse.
Besides feeling waxy, my hair felt really sticky and
clumpy. I had a terrible time making it through the entire day
without wanting to duck my head into the shower and rinse all the
L'anza out of my hair.
Although my hair was definitely not responding well to
the L'anza Long Hair I decided to be brave and stick it out for a
week.
By day six my friends were asking me pointed questions
about why my hair looked so bad. And it did look bad.
Horribly bad. It was hanging limply against my head and had a
dry yet sticky appearance.
OK, OK. Maybe I was doing something horribly
wrong. I really wanted to give this product the benefit of the
doubt.
I decided to skip a week and try to recover with my
normal ARTec regime. So I went back to ARTec Smoothing Shampoo
and Conditioner and slathered on 2 envelopes of Moisture Pac during
the next 7 days to get my hair back in shape.
I have to admit I was not thrilled with trying this
product again. Like I said, I have lots of respect for L'anza
but the product just did not do anything for my hair.
I discussed this less than positive experience with
two friends of mine that are stylists. Both of them thought that
my difficulties with the product might be related to the fact that the
shampoo is supposed to be very concentrated.
I went back and read about the product and it did say
that even though it was concentrated, it is gentle enough to be used
every day.
Apparently not on my hair. So I decided to try
and just wash my hair every other day. I started out on Day One
and did the usual L'anza Cleanse and applied the Condition after I
carefully rinsed out the Cleanse. The results were basically the
same. In fact, my hair really requires a daily shampoo.
Again, that is just me and my hair, but if I don't shampoo every day
my hair just feels dirty.
Not only did it feel dirty by skipping a day on the
L'anza, it had that weird sticky feel.
Cleanse Ingredients
According to the product documentation each product incorporates L'anza's exclusive Keratin Bond System.
This supposedly creates a double positive charge allowing moisture-rich botanicals and keratin amino
acids to effectively penetrate the outer layer of the hair.
According to the documentation the Keratin Bond System offers
the most effective means of reconstructing damaged areas in the hair's cortex.
After studying the ingredients in the Cleanse formula I
realized why my hair was rebelling. The very second and third
ingredients included LaurylSulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate. My
hair can handle a little of LaurylSulfate but not much. Because
this ingredient is listed first in the list, it means that there is a
high concentration.
Which explains why my hair went nuts on the Cleanse
product. It was obvious that my hair would not work well with the
Cleanse ingredients. I have learned over time which ingredients
work and which ones don't. I can handle some of the ingredients
but they have to be in small concentrations.
The Cleanse formula includes the following ingredients:
Water/Eau (Aqua), TEA LaurylSulfate, Sodium Laureth
Sulfate Cocamide MEA,
Glycol Stearate, Dimethicone/Dimeticone (Dimeticonum), Cocomidopropyl Betain,
Polyquarternium-7, Guar Hydroxpropyltrimoium Chloride, Arginine PCA, Keratin Bond System
(Keratin Amino Acids 150 M.W) Systeme de Liasian Keratine (Keratin Acides 150 MW), Arnica
Extract (Arnica Montana), Yarrow Extract (Achillea Millefolium), Burdock Extract (Arctium
Lappa), Hops Extract (Humulus Lupulus) Linden Extract (Tilia Americana), Yucca Extract
(Yucca Vera) Nettle Extract (Urtica Dioica), Panthenol (Vitamin B-5) Dexpanthenol
(Dexpanthenolum), Citric Acid (Acidum Citricum), Methylparaben *Metylis), Propylparaben
(Propylis), Fragrance/Parfum
L'anza Long Hair Formula - Condition
The Condition/Revitalisant formula is described on the bottle as
having a pH of 3.5 - 4.0.
It is also described as "a lightweight therapeutic lotion that
instantly detangles as it closes, smoothes and protects the hair cuticle from the scalp to
the ends."
I did try using my ARTec Smoothing
Shampoo and matching it with the Condition formula. This
actually worked a lot better than using the L'anza Cleanse and
matching it with the Condition.
However, I still was not as happy with
the Condition as I could have been. It did not seem to soften my
coarse naturally wavy hair nearly as well as I had hoped it would.
Condition Ingredients
Water/Eau (Aqua), Dicetyldimpnium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol (Alcohol
Cetylicus), Glycol Stearate, Keratin Bond System (Keratin Amino Acids 150
M.W)/Systeme de Liasian Keratine (Keratin Acides 150 MW), Arginine PCA, Algae Extract
(Algae), Comfrey Leaf Extract (Sympytum Officinale), Rosemary Extract (Rosmarinus
Officinalus), Chamomile Extract (Anthemis Noblis), Althea Extract (Althea Officinalus),
Cydonethicone, Octyl Methoxycinnamate, Citric Acid (Acidum Citricum), Methylparaben
*Metylis), Propylparaben (Propylis), Fragrance/Parfum.
L'anza Long Hair Formula -
Strengthen
The Strengthen Formula is L'anza's version of a deep
conditioning treatment. It is described as reinforcing the
hair's strength which is supposed to help people who want to grow
longer or healthier hair.
The L'anza Long Hair Formula is also promoted as a
product that helps grow hair longer and stronger.
I really did not like this product at all. Maybe
because I am spoiled with all those years of Aveda Curessence and
ARTec Moisture Pak.
I tried using the Strengthen both with and without the
Cleanse shampoo. The first time I used the Strengthen product
with the Cleanse shampoo my hair did feel somewhat softer. This
did not last. By the time I had used the Strengthen three times
it seemed to have no real impact on my hair.
The Strengthen was definitely no ARTec Moisture
Pak.
The cost of the Strengthen was approximately
$13.00 USD for 5.1 ounces at my local Dallas Beauty Supply store.
L'anza Long Hair Formula -
Shine
This products seemed expensive. I paid $14.95
USD for 1.7 ounces of the product. It comes in a miniature
version of the tall Cleanse Shampoo bottle.
The shines is an elixir that is advertised as a
product that will strengthen your hair and seal the cuticle. It
is also designed to control frizz and protect the hair. It is
definitely one of the standard shine products on the market today.
I used the Shine product exactly twice. Both
times my hair felt really gummy. The Shine product contains
Cyclomethicone sealers which seems to make my hair feel like I have a
light layer of coating on it. Don't ask me why but my hair did
not respond very well to the shine either.
L'anza Long Hair Formula -
Not For Me
I was very disappointed that none of the L'anza Long
Hair products
worked for my very long, naturally coarse and wavy hair. I am
always on the lookout for products that I can recommend for the large
number of long haired people that visit Hair Boutique every day.
While Hair Boutique is definitely a site about hair,
it has more long hair articles and information than many sites that
specialize in only long hair. With this in mind I am always
looking for products that are helpful to growing and maintaining long
hair.
I have to make a point of saying that my hair is
unique. While my hair did not respond well to any of the four
L'anza Long Hair formulas, this does not mean it would not work well
for other hair types.
Do I believe that it will help long hair? I have
mixed thoughts about that. I am not a hair chemist. My own
opinion is that everyone has to try the product for themselves and
come to their own conclusion.
I will say one thing, the packing is excellent and the
advertising is inspired. As far as the product....judge for
yourselves.
Conclusion - I
Really Did Try
I don't know why exactly, but I really wanted the
L'anza long hair to work for me. It just didn't. I tried
many ways to find a good outcome. I used the Cleanse and the
Condition together and then I mixed and matched with ARTec and
Aveda. The results were disappointing. I also tried mixing
it up the the Shine and Strengthen formulas. Again I was
disappointed.
Maybe I wanted this to work because it was a product
specifically for long hair. Or maybe because I like the work of
its inventor. Or maybe it is those cool bottles.
At any rate, L'anza and I had to part company after
several weeks or trial and error. The bottles are still sitting
in my bathroom and they still have some formula left. I just
don't have the heart to throw them away. Besides, they look so
cool. Like like green skinny bowling pins. |