A’kin Rosemary Shampoo for natural highlights
I have been using the A’kin Rosemary Shampoo for over a month now and wasn’t planning to review it initially because I had already written one on the A’kin Mandarin Shampoo. However, I just have to blog about this one because I realized that it has given my hair a natural highlight. Now, this was not what I bought it for; I got it simply because it was part of a 3-in-1 pack of A’kin stuff and rosemary is supposed to work for my oily hair. In fact, you can say the result was unexpected.
Brought out subtle highlights
I recently cut my hair shorter and I did notice that some parts of my hair looked like they had subtle highlights under certain lightings. The thing is, I no longer highlight my hair. I basically colored my hair at the beginning of the year and retouch the roots every two to three months. But anyhow, I didn’t think much about it until my nephew asked me if I had highlighted my hair. That was when I suspected the shampoo did something to the color of my hair as I understand rosemary not only help to control the oily scalp and stimulate hair growth but it can also help to enhance shine and develop highlights in dark hair.
Suitable for normal to slightly oily hair
In terms of performance, I really prefer the A’kin Mandarin Shampoo but I gave this a try anyway since it’s said to be suitable for normal hair. Okay, I don’t really have normal hair but I want shampoos designed for normal hair anyway plus this A’kin Rosemary Shampoo appears to be suitable for slightly oily scalp too. Another benefit is that it is said to help strengthen hair roots; something I am in desperate need of.
Ingredients
aqua (purified Australian water*) *BP 2007 standard, sodium lauroyl sarosinate (from palm), cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine (from coconut), disodium cocoamphodiacetate (from coconut), lauryl glucoside (from coconut, palm & glucose), sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (from palm), glycerin (botanical source), sorbitol (from GMO free maize), glyceryl laurate (botanical source), sodium citrate (botanical source), citric acid (botanical source), sodium gluconate (from GMO free corn), sodium cocoyl glutamate (from coconut & sugar cane), rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, sodium hydroxymethlglycinate, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil (certified organic), cedrus atlantica (cedarwood) bark oil, elettaria cardamomum seed oil, , syzygium aromaticum (clove) flower oil, linalool.
The ingredients are all pretty mild and safe and even though this one does not contain SLS or SLES, it contains five different types of gentle surfactants, and they pretty much do a good job of cleansing. While called a rosemary shampoo, this key ingredient isn’t high up on the list and looks like it’s less than 1% of the ingredients.
Voted best shampoo
The A’kin Rosemary Shampoo is described as a highly effective pure and gentle botanical hair cleanser that combines the strengthening and stimulating properties of pure rosemary and cedarwood essences. The product was also voted the Best Shampoo at the Natural Health Beauty Awards 2010. It all sounds very impressive but I still prefer the A’kin Mandarin Shampoo because the latter gave better oil control on the whole. Plus, while the scent of rosemary is pleasant with a hint of lavender, I still prefer the uplifting scent of mandarin.
Overall summary
On the whole though, it’s a good shampoo and it cleanses my hair pretty well and so I can’t really complain. But I love that it’s also giving my hair some natural highlights, something I wasn’t expecting at all. If you have slightly oily to normal hair, this shampoo should work well for you too. Right now, I’m so enamored with rosemary for my hair and I’m going to stock up on those rosemary herbs and make myself more rosemary hair tonic rinse! They are always out of stock!
The 225ml A’kin Rosemary Shampoo is available at Guardian Pharmacy for S$21.50 or you can find them in those 3-in-1 bonus pack for S$37.
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Natural highlight… Mm interesting I will get one to try too.. Thanks
I hope it’ll work for you too.
It’s strange, I have noticed my natural hair color getting lighter. I don’t dye my hair, but when I was growing up, I had dark brown hair that looked black unless I was standing in direct light. Whenever that happened, people could see the brown in my hair. I’m wondering if my shampoos are lightening my hair, because it’s more noticeably brown now.
I’m curious about A’kin, but can I get it in the U.S?
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It could be some ingredients in the shampoo…a possible reason. A’kin is from Australia and yes, I’ve seen it available on some US online stores. You can google for it.
I’m keen to try the A’kin Mandarin shampoo but is currently using the EO Sweet Orange one. Do you think they are comparable?
I’ve not tried EO Sweet Orange but I do like EO’s products. The quality should be comparable. Maybe give A’kin’s a try after you’re done with the EO Sweet Orange.
While herbal haircolor-enhancing ingredients DO exist, I have a different theory altogether:
Shampoos that are suitable for oily hair tend to have deeper cleansing properties than shampoos that are formulated for those with drier hair/scalp (hence: one reason why rosemary is considered a naturally “volumizing” hair ingredient… cleaner hair = fuller hair!). This deeper cleansing may also be the reason behind your highlighting effect. Over time, the more “porous” strands of hair are cleanly stripped of product build-up and old artificial color molecules, revealing a more transparent “cortex” layer which light can easily shine through. Way cheaper than a trip to the salon, and far less damaging than bleach!
p.s. as a dry/coarse-haired girl, I’m jealous because I loooooove rosemary!
p.p.s. you may also like the Aveda version of this shampoo… thankfully it comes with a same-scent body lotion so I don’t have to feel deprived ?
Interesting theory. Why don’t you give rosemary shampoos a try then? If you can’t get A’kin, probably you can find the ingredient in other brands.
But this rosemary one does not really give my hair so much volume compared to the mandarin one. Nevertheless, I like it. ?
Oh Aveda has a rosemary version? But Aveda here is so expensive! Plus it’s only available at selected salons. I’m using the volumizing clay conditioner though.
Cool,I never knew I can get highlights from shampoo only.Going to try for myself.Hope it works for me!
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You can also try with a rosemary rinse…but it might take awhile to see results unless you use it daily.
I stopped putting highlights in my hair since it has been causing damage. Producing natural highlights into ones hair is great news. It is also great that this shampoo strengthens the root as well as produces a rosemary/lavender scent.
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I have tried A’kin lemongrass shampoo specialized for oily scalp, and found it worked well. I may also try the mandarin shampoo when I have used up the Trilogy shampoo that I just opened.
I haven’t tried the lemongrass one…was thinking of avoiding those for oily scalp. Maybe I’ll give it a go next time.
I have been encountering balding for quite a long time and my hair diminishing a great deal particularly on the hair whirl. Could you propose the best natural shampoo for me?
Thank you.
I recently tried Oway. Their Micro-Stimulating Hair & Scalp Bath is not bad. Check my review here: https://www.vivawoman.net/2016/08/oway-hair-bath/