Overhyped Beauty Products or Legit Hair Heroes? — A Look at the New Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Shampoo & Conditioner

It’s not uncommon for brands to make minor tweaks to their product formulations in order to better appeal to a contemporary audience (think of all the “new and improved,” “paraben-free,” and “alcohol-free” labels now stamped on lotions and shampoos) nor is it rare for them to update their packaging to better catch the attention of fickle customers. If you’ve been seeing splashy new Herbal Essences ads in your favorite fashion glossies touting a new “bio:renew” complex, then, you might have been tempted to dismiss the announcements as yet another run-of-the-mill marketing gimmick. But, folks, this is not a drill: the new Herbal Essences bio:renew line is the brand’s most significant launch in the 45 years since its inception.

The expansive Herbal Essences bio:renew line is comprised of 9 collections: the Argan Oil of Morocco Collection, designed to repair damaged strands and bestow upon them a silky feel and lustrous sheen; the Cucumber & Green Tea Collection, a very gentle collection with a lightweight moisturizing technology that won’t weight strands down; the White Grapefruit & Mosa Mint Naked Volume Collection, which gives the hair body and movement; the Passion Flower & Rice Milk Collection, which nourishes hair and leaves it healthy and renewed; the Vitamin E & Cocoa Butter Collection, designed to strengthen strands and restore softness; the Arabica Coffee Fruit Collection, which gives hair a volume boost; the Rosemary & Herbs Naked Moisture Collection, which cleans and moisturizes hair while calming the sense; the Golden Moringa Oil Collection, designed to yield sleek and glossy strands; and the Coconut Milk Collection, which moisturizes parched strands. Each collection includes a shampoo and conditioner, each retailing for $5.99 at food, drug, and mass market retailers. Some collections also include styling products; for instance, the WhiteGrapefruit & Mosa Mint Naked Volume Collection includes a dry shampoo, while the Argan Oil of Morocco Collection incorporates an oil-infused cream.

Besides the signature ingredients demarcated in their names and their unique scents, what makes these new Herbal Essences collections — and, for that matter, the bio:renew line as a whole — so novel? Well, the entire line hinges on the addition of a powerful antioxidant, histidine, that serves as the core building block of the bio:renew complex. Histidine is an alpha-amino acid that’s considered vital for tissue growth and repair. Now, remember that amino acids are naturally found in hair strands — after all, they’re the building blocks of protein, and our hair is primarily made up of the tough protein known as keratin (it accounts for 88% of each strand of hair). The cuticle of hair, which is its outermost coating, contains more amino acids than the innermost layers given that it’s more likely suffer protein break-down and even protein loss. In order to fortify strands and promote the formation of keratin, then, many shampoos and conditioner incorporate amino acids. Not only do they replenish strands, but amino acids help to create red blood cells which, in turn, deliver nutrients and oxygens to hair-producing follicles. Lysine, methionine, arginine, tyrosine, and glutamine are among the amino acids found in hair care formulations. You’ll note, however, that histidine is missing from this list — not because it doesn’t have its share of benefits but, rather, because it seems to have been fairly overlooked thus far.

That said, in 2005,  when Pantene unveiled its new Pantene Pro-V range, it unveiled some of its research team’s findings regarding histidine. According to their studies, histidine was able to penetrate the hair shaft much more effectively than other amino acids (which tend to stay in the outer 5% of the hair fiber). According to Pantene scientists, histidine could penetrate the hair shaft and work to remove any mineral impurities therein, thereby preventing damage to strands and ensuring stronger, silkier, shinier hair. A 2007 study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science also found that histidine could improve hair’s tensile strength when added to shampoos and conditioners.

The Herbal Essences bio:renew complex, then employs histidine to purify and protect hair from the inside out, neutralizing and eliminating the free radicals caused by environmental pollution, UV rays, and even water. Each product’s formula also contains antioxidants designed to protect strands.

For the last three weeks, I’ve been using the Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Shampoo and Conditioner. Both products contain histidine, as well as aloe leaf juice (which contains proteolytic enzymes that remove the dead skin cells sitting on the scalp, clogging pores, preventing hair growth and potentially leading to dandruff, plus it restores the hair’s pH balance), and sea kelp (which is thought to strengthen hair and prevent breakage thanks to its high concentration of vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D and E, as well as minerals like zinc, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper and potassium). They also contain their namesake ingredient, coconut milk, which is known to nourish, moisturize, detangle, condition, boost shine, and strengthen brittle locks.

Now, shampoos tend to be most problematic so let’s start with the Herbal Essences bio: Renew Coconut Milk Shampoo. If you examine the ingredients on the shampoo’s label, you’ll discover such beneficial ingredients as corn silk extract, which has anti-inflammatory properties that could soothe the scalp, and Orchis mascula flower extract, which is extracted from the purple orchid blossom and is believed to have soothing and emollient properties. But here’s the rub: while the shampoo contains these nourishing ingredients, it also contains quite a few chemicals known to strip hair of moisture, lead to protein loss, and fade color — namely sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate. That’s where the labeling becomes incredibly misleading because, while, the shampoo is paraben-free, colorant-free, and vegan, it’s not free of sulfates, alcohols, or artificial fragrances. Now, the shampoo lathers nicely and smells delicious thanks to a blend of creamy coconut, vanilla, and subtle floral notes. But I have to wonder whether the good outweighs the bad in terms of its ingredients. I personally have been more satisfied with this Herbal Essence shampoo than any of the brand’s other cleansers, but I also have to admit that Herbal Essences isn’t my usual go-to brand since I do have color-treated, dry, and oft-damaged hair that requires a lot of TLC.  So, while this shampoo does cleanse my hair and doesn’t tangle it in the process, I don’t know that it’s moisturizing or strengthening my strands in any way.

The conditioner, in my opinion, scores way higher since it detangles and softens strands, and it doesn’t include any yucky sulfates (though it does still contain an artificial fragrance). After three weeks of using these products, my brittle locks do feel slightly softer — though, admittedly, the difference isn’t as pronounced as when I tried the Fekkai Essential Shea collection, for instance.

Overall, both the shampoo and conditioner smell lovely and they do moisturize strands on some level, but I wouldn’t go as far as to claim that they’re somehow must-haves or that they’re life-changing. As for the power of histidine to improve hair’s health from the inside out? Well, the claims may have some validity, but the changes are certainly not visible or tangible to me as a consumer. Still, for $5.99 each, this shampoo and conditioner are affordable alternatives to many of the ultra-drying, tangle-inducing, chemical-packed alternatives at mass market retailers.