2012-05-04

Phyto Phytopolleine Universal Scalp Elixir for All Hair Types review


Here's a Phyto product review. To be honest I've used several Phyto items on and off through these two years but always found them to be a bit average and never really bothered to review them.

Here's a review of a Phyto scalp treatment product. It's the same idea as those scalp masks where it's aimed at some scalp massage and sometimes deep cleansing for scalp area only (as opposed to most hair masks that are targeted for your hair only).


It retails for 32USD for a 25ml glass bottle. 25ml actually lasts a long time because this product feels a bit like an essential oil where you application is often a matter of some drops only.

According to the official product description:

This 100% essential oil blend awakens the scalp to instantly purify and stimulate micro-circulation. Ideal for those suffering from a dry or oily scalp.

Directions:
Apply once :or twice a week to dry scalp at least 20 minutes before shampoo. To release product, press applicator tip gently against scalp and apply section by section. Massage in circular motion.

Ingredients:
Zea Mays (Corn) Germ Oil. Fragrance / Parfum. Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil. Limonene. Melaleuca Leucadendron Cajaput Oil (Cajeput). Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil. Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Oil. Cupressus Sempervirens Oil (Cyprès). Linalool. Citral. Isoeugenol. Geraniol. Eugenol. Coumarin. Citronellol. Botanical Origin





It comes with a drip type of applicator, as the bottle is a glass jar you can't really squeeze it, but when you gently shake it, a drop or two easily flows to the tip.


So I generally part my hair (on dry hair before shampooing), and drip a few drops along scalp (by pressing the dripper tip against my scalp all around head). It's not meant to be applied very liberally, so you only want like maybe 20 drops around the whole head for a single application. 

Then I massage my scalp with finger tips and focusing on coating each scalp area with a tiny bit of the elixir. You are not meant to be distributing this around the rest of the head and I would actually try to avoid the rest of the hair and only put the elixir on scalp only.

Then you wait for 20minutes, then go shampoo your hair as usual. Shampoo twice if necessary, then follow with usual conditioners or hair masks.

Here's my hair after application and before shampoo. On this particular occasion I decided to try leave it in for a bit longer, about 45minutes to see if it made any difference. I also used a tad more product to see if only a bit is necessary or the more the better. 

The result is, you get the same result whether you leave it in for 15min before shampoo or 45 min (in fact it's better with just 15minutes since if you leave it in for too long, I think your scalp actually absorbs some of the oil in and it can be difficult to shampoo it all out until the 2nd or 3rd wash). In addition the standard 15-20 drops across the whole head is more than enough. Less is more in this case.


Again before shampooing but with elixir in hair in picture below.



This is my hair after shampooing. The scalp feels a bit more lightweight and the general hair on the other hand feels a bit more light weight too. I do not think this product replaces a deep cleansing shampoo (if you use a lot of other hair styling products regularly). It is honestly for your scalp only, think of it like either a cleansing oil for your scalp or like a massage oil.


It's really similar to the Loccitane concentrated mask  which I have reviewed previously. 

To be honest Loccitane feels like a superior product as you can use it in the shower on wet head, and you can apply other hair mask at the ends of the hair and you dont really need to wait for all that long.

Due to the eucalyptus oil and other essential oil it does smell very much like essential oils when you walk around with this on your head. More than once when I walked around with this on my head waiting for that 20minutes, someone always commented "what is that smell? essential oil?" (as opposed to, what a lovely scent).  Loccitane's scent is more pleasant and comforting. Phyto's one feels like a nice soothing massage though.

I don't really have dandruff or itchy scalp but a lot of other online reviews claim it's excellent for that- again all the reviews also complained how strong the scent it (it's just a minty eucalyptus scent).

Overall I'm not too sure if I'd repurchase. If you really have all that spare time to apply this before shampoo once in a blue moon, this does what it says. But it's more like a 'spa' type of feel-good products and if you were looking to improve the condition of your hair, I'd just stick with the combination of :
- good shampoo and hair mask.
- use a deep cleansing shampoo once a week or fortnightly
- find a good leave-in treatment

Rating of 3.5/5. One of those feel good products, it does work, but don't expect any remarkable transformation to the condition of your hair.

1 comment:

Phyto Shampoo said...

Very detailed review! really appreciate it since I was thinking of changing my shampoo to a phyto shampoo cud you also review some phyto shampoos if u would be so kind?