Asience Shine Therapy Shampoo TW

Bought this Asience Shine Therapy Shampoo after having had a good experience with the Nature Smooth kind in the silver bottle. This was the day after our arrival into Taipei late at night and so I wasn't paying much attention to what I was buying. So despite having Japanese on the front of the bottle, this is actually a localized product, made in Thailand, and not a Japanese import, which I have noted with a "TW". Again, this is not a comment on the quality of the product, but if you were to buy the Japanese made one, be aware that it may or may not perform the same way this one does.

Asience Nature Smooth Shampoo

Bought a bottle of this Asience Nature Smooth Shampoo to use during my last month in the states. Even though the original Asience Shampoo & Conditioner were way too moisturizing for my hair (and way, way too perfumy for me), but I saw this new Nature Smooth line at the local Asian store and though, heck, I'd give it another try.

Forgot to take a picture prior to leaving for Japan, sorry!

***Picture from Kao.

This Nature Smooth shampoo wasn't so bad. It was alright, didn't make my hair as smooth as Super Mild, but it was much better than the original, at least scent wise. It smelled more fruity than flowery and a bit on the sweet side. A friend bought it at the same time I did and she likes it much better than I do. I guess my hair is just picky, or rather, I am ^.^

See my last Asience Shampoo & Conditioner post.

Asience Shampoo & Conditioner

When I was still in Japan, I saw the commercials for this Asience Shampoo and Conditioner repeated over and over (and over!) on TV. Unfortunately, the spokemodel was also Zhang Ziyi (she irritates me to no end, no offense to her fans...) so no matter how many times I saw the commercials, it just didn't do a thing for me. If anything, it deterred me from even having the slightest bit of curiosity in the products.

Asience Shampoo and Conditioner, from Kao, another Japanese pharmaceutial giant.

***Picture from TrueRenu.com.

Recently though, I got hooked on Camellia oil for hair and body, especially my hair, so I finally overcame my distaste for Zhang Ziyi and gave the shampoo and conditioner a try, because they have Camellia oil in them, of course! But it also helped that my sister brought a pair to me, for free, all the way from Japan :D My sister loves this shampoo and conditioner. She raved about how soft it made her hair and how silky her hair felt after the blow dry. How could I say no to that enthusiasm?

So I tried them, and oddly, I wasn't impressed. First off, it was waaaaay too perfumy. I mean, really really strongly perfumed. The fragrance wasn't offensive, just too much of it. And here I thought Shiseido Tsubaki was strong, woo wee! Other than that, the shampoo and conditioner themselves weren't bad. They were very moisturizing, perhaps too moisturizing even. They felt soft and they rinsed soft. My hair felt very soft afterwards, but they also got oily and greasy really quickly, and me being in a tropical environment with 100% humidity at the time didn't help at all! I read somewhere that Asience was meant for people with thick and coarse hair, so I guess it makes sense why my sister loves it so much. Her hair is not coarse, but it's much thicker than mine. I have fine hair, just lots of it :P

So yeah, Asience is not for me. In fact, when I finish up Tsubaki, I think I'm going to back to Super Mild.

Tsubaki Golden Repair Shampoo & Conditioner

After trying the Super Mild Chikara Shampoo & Conditioner, I decided to move on to the Tsubaki Shampoo & Conditioner, which comes in two different kinds: Original - red bottle with a flowery scent, and the newer Golden Repair - white bottle with a fresh scent. They both contain Japanese Camellia oil, the oil from the flower that is the namesake of the shampoo - tsubaki.

Original (red) VS. Golden Repair (white)

***Pictures from TrueRenu.

I've read about the nourishing properties of Camellia oil for hair and skin, and plus people raved about this shampoo so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. I couldn't stand the overwhelming flowery scent of the Original though, so I opted for the Golden Repair instead. The fresh scent was a bit strong still, but it was a whole lot better than putting a bouquet in a blender and drown myself in its puree.

Sadly, the Tsubaki Golden Repair didn't impress me at all. In fact, I found it drying! After the wash, my hair was squeaking, and while it sounds "clean," squeaking hair is not a good sign - it means your hair was stripped of its natural emolient. Super Mild and Super Mild Chikara cleaned my hair well but never left it squeaky. Yet with Tsubaki Golden Repair, even after conditioning my hair -gasp- still tangled! And my hair never tangles, not with Super Mild or Super Mild Chikara, not even when I use the occasional deep cleansing shampoo to clear the build ups, which more often than not would leave my hair too clean it squeaks! So I don't know exactly what went wrong here. Any advice? I thought about trying the Original Tsubaki shampoo, but the thought of the overwhelmingly flowery scent irks me!

So yeah, unfornately I won't continue using Tsubaki Shampoo after finishing this bottle. In the mean time though, I have to supplement my hair with Camellia oil to help with the dryness and the tangles.

The shampoo & conditioner I'm eyeing next? Kao Asience, which also has Camellia oil in it.