aveda invati exfoliating shampoo and thickening conditioner

Knowing my penchant for hair thickening and hair loss prevention products, my sister passed on a sample of this to me when she popped by for a visit earlier in the year.  I had seen the Aveda invati line widely advertised in magazines but had not taken the plunge yet since I still had a generous supply of Nioxin, Kiehl’s, and other shampoos in my collection.

The invati line consists of a shampoo, conditioner, and a scalp revitalizer (treatment).  The little sample kit I had only came with the shampoo and conditioner (and very tiny ones, might I add, coming in at a whopping 10ml each).

My first impressions of the product were not great.  Based on the ads, I knew the line contained turmeric and ginseng, so I was prepared for the “spicy” smell.  What I was not prepared for was the runny consistency of the shampoo, which flowed freely from the sample tube.  The shampoo did not foam up like most other shampoos, although the conditioner consistency was more like “regular” conditioner.  I noticed when using the shampoo and conditioner together that my hair felt pretty greasy after, so I also tried using the shampoo only, without any conditioner. The roots of my hair still felt a little greasy, so the shampoo does not feel like it rinses out clean.

To be honest, I didn’t end up minding the smell much – it reminded me a bit of ginger and while the scent does stick around for awhile, I couldn’t smell it unless I actually held a piece of hair up to my nose, so I’m pretty sure people in my vicinity would not have found it offensive.

The level of hair loss for me fluctuates by season, and right now, I’m going through a pretty good spell (i.e., not losing too much hair despite washing everyday).  Based on this, there was no drastic reduction of hair loss and/or breakage for me during the four days I tried out the shampoo and conditioner.

Verdict: I wash my hair to get rid of the greasy feeling, not to add to it.  The shampoo and conditioner were pretty underwhelming, which is consistent to the results from other Aveda shampoo/conditioner lines that I have tried (rosemary mint, shampure).  That, when added to the heftier price tag of Aveda products, mean I will not be purchasing a full-size version of this product.  ~shampoo & conditioner, 200ml bottles, US$25 each