Garnier Fructis Hair Care Line: Product Review

For a long time I stayed away from Garnier Fructis products because I had tried their shampoo in the past and it was one of the most drying shampoos I had ever used! My hair felt rough and straw like and I vowed never to buy anything else from this line again.

Walking through the hair products isle at Walmart a few months ago I noticed that Garnier had come out with a lot of new products and that some of them were even geared towards curly hair. The prices were very reasonable so I decided to give some of the products a try again.

The products I purchased (from left to right) are:

*Sleek & Shine leave in conditioning Cream

*Triple Nutrition Spray

*Sleek & Shine intensely smooth Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk

*Pure Clean Gel (strong hold)
*Curl shaping gel (strong hold)

I will begin by reviewing the gels.

The first gel I purchased was the Pure Clean Gel, and I was attracted to this gel because the packaging claimed that it was 98% naturally derived and that it provided 24 hour hold with no flaking or residue.

The smell of this product does smell natural, almost minty and I did like that it did not leave flakes or any white residue in my hair. This gel was also extremely easy to wash out of my hair. The issue I had with this gel was that it did not provide a good hold; if you add the quarter-size amount of product that is suggested on the packaging you won’t get any hold at all. To make this gel work I had to use quite a lot of it, (I’m talking globs), to get it to provide adequate hold. I do not think the extra strong label  lives up to its name.

The Curl Shaping Gel piqued my interest because it came in a spray bottle and I had never used a spray gel before. I thought it would make application easier and I liked that the bottle said “curl defining” on it. The packaging also claims to have nourishing shea that is suppose to help add shine.

I was wrong about the spray bottle; although I did not have an issue with the nozzle clogging up, the gel came out in big globs rather than a spray that evenly coated my hair. It also did nothing to add shine and like the other gel I needed to use quite a lot of product to get enough hold. The good thing about this gel is that it did not create any flakes or residue.

Both these gels are not bad if you are looking for a small amount of hold.

Sleek & Shine intensely smooth leave in conditioning cream: 

This product is a leave in conditioner that claims to give you 3 days of sleek hair and it is targeted at frizzy dry hair offering long lasting frizz control and shine.  It also claims that it works in 97% humidity and contains Moroccan and apricot oil.

Although there are a few oils in the ingredient list it does contain silicone for those of you who don’t use silicone based products but this did not bother me. This product smells divine! Like fruity tropical goodness. The first time I applied it, my hair felt good, soft and frizz free. A day later my hair felt dry and looked a bit frizzy. I could feel the product sitting on top of my hair, it felt a bit tacky and weighed down. I did not like how my hair felt the second and third day so I did not continue to use this product. If you wash your hair frequently, or even co-wash this might not be so bad but as days passed it caused more dryness. 

 Sleek & Shine Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk:

This product claims to contain Moroccan argan oil to give you 24 hours of frizz control. It says it will “smooth and tame unruly hair without weighing it down.” This product also contains silicones.

This smoothing cream has that same wonderfully fruity scent that lingers all day. Although it did not weigh my hair down and make it dry like the leave in cream did, I did not really see any difference when it came to combating frizz. I usually get very little frizz but this product didn't really make any difference in my hair and definitely did not add any shine. It may work better for people who have a bit thinner hair and less dense curls. 

Triple Nutrition Spray: 

This spray is a detangler and nourish + repair leave in that is suited for dry damaged hair. This product says that it is “enriched with fruit oils that penetrate each layer of hair, the serum repairs and softens.”  It is suppose to “instantly detangle” making your hair “silky, radiant and full of life.”

As you can see from the photo the spray separates into two layers, the top layer is milky looking, like conditioner, and the bottom layer is oily in appearance. To use it you have to shake the bottle to mix the two layers.

This is the only product that I have continued to repurchase. I do not use it to de-tangle my hair because I would need half the bottle but it does give my hair extra softness and a very small amount of hold. I usually apply this product before I apply my other leave in conditioners and it works well with my other products. It does not weigh down my hair and I don't feel it sitting on top of my hair. I think it does have slightly nourishing properties and I do notice a slight difference in the softness of my hair when I use this. 

For some reason the Triple Nutrition Spray in the U.S. looks like a different formula such as the photo below.

Triple Nutrition Spray that I have seen in U.S. stores
Seems like a different formula and packaging.