Phytocitrus Restructuring Shampoo vs. Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo

Welcome to another exciting round of Haircare Face-Off, the only online battle royale of beauty where a professional stylist (yours truly) puts competing products to the test by using them on real-life clients. This week's challenge will involve two popular sulfate-free shampoos, Alterna's Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo and Phyto's Phytocitrus Restructuring Shampoo.  As always, these products will be scored on a 1-10 scale for: Performance, Ingredients, Sensory Appeal (fragrance and packaging, among other things), and Value.

Let's meet this week's competitors.


Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo is a sulfate-free shampoo for all hair types, and is intended to prevent color-treated hair from fading with its certified-organic ingredients. Phytocitrus Restructuring Shampoo is one of the top-selling shampoos manufactured by Phyto, a company considered by many to be the leader in organic haircare products. Both products are sulfate-free shampoos infused with citrus promising to add shine to the hair while protecting haircolor, and both manufacturers are industry leaders in organic haircare.  This should make for a very interesting battle!


Let the Haircare Face-Off begin!


Performance: My big complaint with most sulfate-free shampoos is that they do not lather very well (sulfates are responsible for producing suds), but the Alterna shampoo lathered so well I had to double-check the label to make sure that is really was sulfate-free (much to my satisfaction it was). The Phyto shampoo, however, did not lather well at all. The company recommends shampooing  the hair twice, which is not only a waste of money but also a waste of time. Both shampoos left the hair shiny (when used with their accompanying conditioners), but the Alterna shampoo left my red-haired clients with vibrant color, while repeated shampooing with the Phytocitrus shampoo caused red to fade on other clients. This round goes to Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo. (Score: Alterna- 9, Phyto- 5)
 
Ingredients: Alterna shampoo contains extracts of hemp, cucumber, avocado, fennel, cranberry, orange, carrot, sunflower, and even mushroom. The Phyto shampoo's "secret" ingredient is wood cellulose. The idea is that the same sugar which gives a tree its structure should also provide structure to the hair. Unfortunately, trees and hair are not even close to being the same thing. Phytocitrus does contain grapefruit and almond extracts. Both products contain the preservative methylchloroisothiazolinone, but Phytocitrus also contains ethyl and butyl parabens, which are not good. This round goes to Alterna as well. (Score: Alterna-9, Phyto- 7) 

Sensory Appeal: Both shampoos are citrus-scented, but in my opinion the Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo smells better.  Phyto smelled vaguely of a rotten fruit basket. The Alterna products also feature much better (and convenient) packaging. The shape of the bottle is so unique that it would look great just sitting on a manlte above your fireplace. The Phyto bottle, on the other hand, looks like something you would find in your grandmother's medicine cabinet. I initially thought Phyto's metal bottle was rather cool, until I realized why 99% of shampoos are in plastic bottles- you can squeeze a plastic bottle. It was nearly impossible to get the last 1/3 of the shampoo out of the Phyto bottle. Alterna wins this round in a blowout. (Score: Alterna- 10, Phyto- 1)
 
Value: Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo is reasonably priced at around $23.00 for 10.1 ounces when purchased online. Phytocitrus Restructuring Shampoo retails for $24.00, for a measly 6.7 ounces. The clincher? You only need to shampoo the hair once with the Alterna, while Phyto recommends shampooing twice, so you'll go through the bottle of shampoo twice as quickly. Because of this, Alterna wins this round without question. (Score: Alterna- 10, Phyto- 3) 

And the winner is...


Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo in a cakewalk. Alterna breezed past Phyto, sending the organic haircare giant home with its tail between its legs. Alterna has a better lather, better haircolor protection, a better look, a better fragrance, better ingredients, and represents a much better value. (Final Score: Alterna Hemp Organics Shine Shampoo- 38, Phytocitrus Restructuring Shampoo- 16)