Beauty Review: Fructis Fortifying Cream Conditioner

Let's take a look at Garnier's Fructis Fortifying Cream Conditioner.
This product is appropriately positioned for "normal" hair, in other words, hair that doesn't need intensive conditioning. (That means you don't color or highlight or any other kind of chemical processing!) So, if you need a moderate level of conditioning and you like bright fruity fragrances, then you should give it a try.

The most interesting aspect of the product is its claim about Active Fruit Concentrate. The back of the bottle states that the concentrate is "the innovative combination of ingredients naturally present in fruit: fruit acids, vitamins B3 and B6, Fructose and Glucose." Here's where The Beauty Brains' reality lesson kicks in: there is no scientific data to show that these fruit ingredients do ANYTHING for your hair. Now, that's not to say that this isn't a fine formula. In fact, it uses some rather sophisticated conditioning agents, like behenitrimonium chloride. (That might sound scary, but it's actually good for your hair!) Anyway, the effect on your hair comes from this kind of ingredient NOT from the Active Fruit Concentrate. Most companies play this game to some degree - they add ingredients to a formula that give the product a sexy, hip image. There's nothing wrong with that! That's what Marketing is all about - BUT they do have to be careful to present it in a way that's not misleading to the consumer.

So, congrats to Garnier (which by the way is a division of L'Oreal) for developing a great smelling, solid performing formula - but shame on them for not being a little more careful with their claims.

PS: Garnier takes a very "science-y" approach with this brand - they even include some pictures and graphs on the back of the bottle to show how it works. Some other time we'll talk about how they support their strength and shine claims. Meanwhile, drop us a line if you have any questions.