I enjoy reading the absurd special ingredients supposedly in shampoo. I'll refer to them as "marketing ingredients" because not only are they not actually present in the shampoo, they're often not even real. The exist solely to exploit that special type of ignorance which wants to believe that something that sounds exotic must be a superior product. I recently compiled a list of these marketing ingredients in a single trip to a grocery store. This is only a taste of the bizarre world of shampoo; if you want to see the truly strange, go to a beauty/makeup/whatever-you-call-it store (my favorite marketing ingredient of all time is Volcanic Ash). I've divided the marketing ingredients into Food and Non-Food categories in order to highlight the ridiculous prevalence of food items used as marketing ingredients. The shampoo aisle is starting to look like the salad dressing aisle.
Without further ado:
Non-Food Marketing Ingredients:
Argan Oil from Morocco
Natural Bamboo Extract
Sea Algae Extract
Shea Protein & Warm Vanilla
Caffeine Energizer
Camellia Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Water Lily Extract + Apricot Splash
Australian Teatree Oils, Moisturizing Milk Proteins, Micro-infused Peppermint Oils
Cherry Blossom Extracts, Asian Ginseng Root, Rice Milk, Bamboo Extract
Awapuhi Ginger Extract
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Food Marketing Ingredients
Avocado Oil
Melon Essence
Cupuacu and Brazilnut Oil
Almond + Shea Butter
Rosemary + Mint
White Grapefruit and Mint Extract
Herbal Mint Fusion Extracts
Strawberries & Cream with Soy Milk Protein
Kiwi Lime squeeze with Lemongrass Extract
Fusion of Wild Violet and Pomegranate
Natural Fruit Fibers, Cucumber and Papaya Extract
Acai Berry Antioxidant
Superfruit Beads with Goji Berry + Passionfruit & Kiwi
3 Nourishing Oils: Avocado, Olive, and Almond
Coconut Milk, Ultra Whipped Egg White Proteins, Weightless Coconut Oils
Macademia Oil, Sugar Cane Extract, Bamboo Extract
Coconut Oil, Keratin Proteins, Avocado Oil, and Cocoa Butter
I'll add to this list as I find keepers. Feel free to post your own in the comments and I will update the list.
