Ichikami Moisture Shampoo

Ichikami revamped its haircare range late summer of 2012 and introduced 2 new lines of haircare, Moisture, and Soft and Smooth. This is the Moisture Set, with a full size Shampoo, Conditioner, and a smaller tube of hair Treatment. I bought this set on sale for $18.99 at the Ichiban Kan shop in Japantown, my favorite haunt in SF ^.^

I've only used the Shampoo so far and have one word for it - fantastic! I tried the old Shampoo a few years ago and thought it was great even though I had to get used to the scent, and this reformulation is definitely better. No, make it much, much, much better! Now, it's right up there with my old favorites like Super Mild, Lux Super Rich Shine, and Tsubaki Shining Shampoo! In the beginning, I only planned to try this Moisture line. But then I like it so much I returned to Ichiban Kan the next day to get the other Soft and Smooth Set too! Sure, since they're too different shampoos it might not work out, but hell, this one is so good I'm more than happy to give the other one a chance!

Ichikami Moisture Set, with 530mL each of the Shampoo and Conditioner, and a 100g tube of the Treatment.

First, the scent. It changed slightly, though still a mix of floral and fruity. The floral is strongest on the top note, then the fruity takes over the middle note, and it ends with a feminine powdery floral on the bottom note. This time, the feminine aspect isn't as overpowering, so it doesn't bother me as much as the old shampoo did. Oh, and none of that strong grapey scent either. 

But boy does the shampoo makes my hair soft without any greasiness the next day. It's not just me. It works even better with hubby who has fine blond hair, making his hair silky soft, smooth, and just overall lustrous! I looked in the mirror one day and wondered out loud at him, "Since when did you turn into a shampoo ad?!?" Seriously! And the scent of the shampoo lasts quite a while! You know how a shampoo with the wrong fragrant can and do clash with the oil on your scalp and turns your hair, well, a tad smelly coming in from a hot day? The scent of this shampoo somehow gets along quite well with the both of us, and our hair smells nice and fresh until the next wash. Still, it didn't truly convince me how great this shampoo is until my cousin J.'s visit.

J. has long, thick, and coarse Asian hair that's difficult to manage and find the right shampoo for. In fact, she has found just one from the Sunsilk brand, only this particular shampoo is exclusive to Southeast Asia, having Chinese honeylocust (皂荚, bồ kết) extract in it that has been a traditional folk ingredient for washing dark hair (sundry the pods, then boil the hell out of them and rinse hair with this stock). Whenever she vacations in Vietnam, she would stock up a case of the shampoo for herself and her mom.

Upon her first shower using this shampoo, J. started playing with her hair for the rest of the day as we hung out. Then on the third day, she asked where I had bought this shampoo. I asked why, and she said it's been making her hair super duper soft, even better than the one she's using at home! That was when it finally occurred to me that I've often play with my own hair these days. Not just that, hubby too has been playing with his hair. Hell, I've been playing with his hair - it literally feels like silk strands! 

By the time we got out to Ichiban Kan though, they had already sold out of the promotional set and only had the individual bottles, which were quite expensive by themselves. So she ended up buying the Tsubaki Shining Set instead, which I also liked and recommended to her. She said she will try to look for this shampoo at her local Asian grocery store - she never expected to stumble onto such a good find, one that is actually locally available in the US ^.^ So yeah, if you see this shampoo going for a good price - grab it! Between J.'s long, thick, coarse, and slightly wavy hair, my medium and straight hair, and hubby's fine blond hair, this shampoo seems compatible with many hair types! 

See my previous Ichikami Shampoo & Conditioner post.