My existing shampoo and conditioner was running out and I was at Costco and came across the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Treatment Set selling @ C$17.99 + tax. The reason I bought was that it is "Sulfate Free".
Why Sulfate Free? This requires an entire blog by itself. Do checkout sulfate-freeshampoo.net and it has a very good article written on it. Basically sulates in shampoos give you the alluring bubbles in shampoo ads and they are strong grease removers. Unfortunately, it comes with some downsides, especially for those with sensitive scalp, dyed hair, oily hair and skin and those with eczema. Sulfates in shampoo also cost premature hair loss by causing damage to hair follicle. Isn't it a good enough reason to go sulfate free?
So how was the shampoo? First thing first. The smell. Not your sweet heavenly kinda of smell but I was expecting worse since it is Macadamia Oil. To set your expectation right, it was not sweet smelling but neither was it awful. It smells kinda tropical. It does not put me off but it does not motivate me to use it either. It lathers decently. Not as bad as I thought. I was expecting no bubbles. Then again, I have used baking soda to wash my hair before, so it was quite pleasant to have some bubbles. It cleans pretty well, no less than my previous shampoo containing sulfate. I would still use baking soda once a week as it really cleans all the hair products off the hair. Hair was clean, light and definitely soft after use.
What about the conditioner? It was actually really good. Same smell as the shampoo. My hair felt really good after the conditioner, very moisturized indeed. My hair used to feel very dry but after 2 days of the shampoo and conditioner, it looks shinier and definitely feels more silky.
I only tried the treatment oil once as I generally shampoo my hair before bed. I did not want to risk getting the oil on my pillow and hence my face since I may get breakouts. I have tried 3 different types of hair oils before - Joise Maran Pure Agan Oil, Josie Maran Argan Oil Serum and Marc Anthony's Macadamia Oil treatment. it ranks highest in terms of moisturing. However, I prefer Josie Maran Argan Oil Serum because it has a more pleasant smell.
Overall conclusion, I like the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil shampoo, conditioner and treatment set and would definitely recommend my friends and family to use them.
Update on 16 June 2013:
After 2 months of using the shampoo combination and especially after I bought the Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner set a few days ago, both my husband and I concluded that the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo was causing our higher than average hair loss during shampooing. As such, I am changing my recommendation for the Marc Anthony Macadamia Oil Shampoo. Buy the Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner Set instead! Much better, especially in terms of keeping hair loss during shampooing to a minimum.
