Aveda Sap Moss Shampoo

Introduction

Recently I received an email from a HairBoutique.com visitor who complained that I had "abandoned Aveda, ARTec and Redken" products in favor of Phytotherathrie, Giovanni and KnottyBoy.

While it is true that I love the three lines mentioned above, I still have fond feelings for the three other lines. Yes, I still like the Aveda product line. Have I abandoned it? Yes, in a sense I have. OK, I have very good reasons and not just because I am "hawking" Phytotherathrie, Giovanni and KnottyBoy.

Aveda was the original savior of my hair. It was truly fabulous in every way. The line was also owned by Horst Rechelbacher, the original founder, who watched over the line like a benevolent parent. In the past Aveda was easily available and a little pricey, but mostly affordable. I used to buy my Aveda from a variety of sources, including the Internet.

Life After Estee

A few years ago the Estee Lauder corporation swooped down and acquired Aveda.

Don't get me wrong. I have always been a big admirer of the late Estee Lauder. I've always felt that Estee was right up there with Bill Gates and Michael Dell in terms of growing a magnificent business empire from ground zero. I still think about Estee sometimes when I dance with some of my own daily business challenges.

To be frank, I really am uncomfortable with the direction that the Aveda line has taken since it became an Estee Lauder line.

Shortly after the Estee Lauder acquisition Aveda prices shot skyward. Lauder quickly shut down any salons or beauty supply stores that weren't either Aveda Concept Salons or dedicated solely to Aveda products. They also moved to fix pricing and shut down any Web sites or outlets that had consumer friendly prices.

I used to be able to buy Aveda Shampure in the gallon sizes at a local beauty supply store that rewarded me with frequent buyer punch cards. Not only was I able to buy wisely, I could get more for my Aveda dollar.

Those days are long gone. Not only has the beauty store been forced by Lauder to stop selling Aveda, I can't buy my old favorites anywhere, except at Aveda Concept Salons, in the golden Galleria.

Pricing Is An Issue

Although I am a true blue businessperson at heart, I also believe in making an honest buck and win/win pricing. Yes, I want to make a profit, but I also want my customers to feel that they are getting a great product for a fair price.

I do not feel this is the current case with Aveda. After years of researching shampoo formulas and talking to lots of hair chemists, I know approximately what it costs Aveda to manufacture their hair care products. I also know their general mark-up strategies.

I can not, in good faith, recommend the Aveda products to the HairBoutique.com consumers. At HairBoutique.com we pride ourselves in being a consumer friendly site and at the present time I do not feel that Aveda falls into this category. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and that just happens to be mine.

The Sap Moss Shampoo product was quite expensive ($12.95 plus tax for 4.2 ounces). That works out to more than $26 for 8.4 ounces of shampoo plus tax. Okay, I know it has moss from trees and other good stuff, but this seemed way too high for my pocketbook.

Packaging

This shampoo comes in a clear 4.2 ounce plastic see-through tube with traditional Aveda lettering. The Sap Moss packaging has the new pop top squeeze top that controls the output of the shampoo. The tube also has a very beneficial matte type of surface that makes it easy to hold on to in slippery conditions.

I was anxious to try both the Sap Moss shampoo and conditioner but when I purchased the shampoo, the conditioner was still not available. I could not find it listed on the Aveda.com site and the Aveda Concept salon where I purchased the Sap Moss shampoo advised me that the matching conditioner might be further off into the future. I recently saw an ad for the conditioner, so it should be in Aveda shops in the next few weeks.

According to the Aveda Concept consultant, this concentrated shampoo "was designed to be ideal for dry and color-treated hair". The tube touts the fact that "the product restores health to hair by carrying and delivering key conditioning ingredients through an incredibly rich, dense lather". The tube also states " that the Sap Moss provides gentle cleansing through saponins including yucca, soapwort and quillaja".

The Concept consultant told me that the Sap Moss is especially beneficial for long and curly hair.

Usage

According to Aveda, "the sap resins, olibanum and galbanum, provide an earthy arboreal aroma. Aveda advises that you use the product daily or as a weekly supplement". They also point out that "the longer the shampoo is left on the hair, the greater the conditioning effects"

I followed the directions on the tube very carefully. I wet my hair completely and then squeezed a small amount of the shampoo into my hair and massaged it into my hair and scalp. Since the tube advised me to leave the shampoo on my head for a longer period to guarantee the best results, I left the product soaking on my head for close to 10 minutes.

The tube instructions suggest that you use a matching Aveda conditioner. Since the Aveda Sap Moss conditioner was not available, I slathered on the Aveda Curessence for the first trial. I alternated with Aveda Cherry Almond Bark and Aveda Deep Reconstructor.

Bottom line, I was careful to match the shampoo with Aveda conditioners and styling products (Confixer).

Fragrance

I was hard pressed to describe the Sap Moss aroma. It smelled nice but I could not put a label to it. It had a sweet fresh scent. That was about all I could conjure when I tried to explain the aroma to a HairBoutique.com visitor.

Shampoo Ingredients

Water, (Aqua Purification) Purified, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cetyl Alcohol, Sodium CocoSulphate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Soapwort (Saponaria Officinalis) Extract, Yucca (Yucca Filamentosa) Extract, Quillaja Saponaria Extract, Galactoarabinan Sap Extract, Iceland Moss (Cetraria Islandica) Extract, Glycerin, Galbanum (Ferula Galbaniflua) Oil, Olibanum, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, Citric Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Fragrance (Parfum) Polyquaternium -10, Polyquaternium -7, Disodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea, Propylparaben, Caramel,

Conclusion

I liked the Sap Moss aroma and the see through squeeze top packaging. It had a very high tech look and feel, which is very attractive to software types like me.

As I mentioned above, the bad news is that this product is quite expensive ($12.95 plus tax for 4.2 ounces). That works out to more than $26 plus tax for 8.4 ounces of shampoo.

I have seen the Sap Moss product advertised for $11 - 13.95 for 4.2 ounces in various locations. I was only able to find it for $12.95 plus tax. Since I was not ordering on the Net, I was required to pay Texas taxes.

The product felt good on my very long hair. It made it extremely soft and it felt very conditioned. It didn't seem to matter whether I used the Curessence, Cherry Almond Bark or other Aveda conditioners. The product did make my hair soft and shiny and full of moisture. The product did everything that the tube said it would do for dry hair like mine.

Was the product significantly better than the current Phytotherathrie hair care products that I am using? In all honesty, I think they are pretty similar but the price is much less.

Yes, I want the best for my hair. However, I find that I can get great results from Phytotherathrie and related products for a lot less dollars.

Maybe I am overreacting but I think Aveda has become too rich for my blood. Yes, it is true that packaging is everything but this product comes in a plastic tube. Not a spec of gold compact or custom Calvin Klein packaging to be seen.

Yes, the product smells nice, does what it is supposed to do but it left a gaping hole in my checkbook. While I know that some people don't mind spending top dollar for their hair care, I just want people to know that they will have to do just that for the new Aveda Sap Moss shampoo.

Yes my long hair is worth the best. However, I think the Sap Moss has exceeded all my boundaries for best.

Proceed at your own risk.

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