Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying Conditioner

I’ll start with the good thing about Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying Conditioner, which is the same great thing about the Lemon clarifying shampoo:  the smell.  Bright, fresh, zest lemons that is just fantastic, and lasts on your hair.

Unfortunately, that is the only good thing.  AO describes the lemon in this as a clarifier, which is true, but this is the only clarifying conditioner I’ve ever used, much less heard of.  And while I think that’s an interesting concept, I don’t think it really did much more to clarify my hair than the shampoo did.

I had to use a lot more conditioner than I like to use to get this through my hair, and I don’t think it did a very good job of detangling my hair either.  And even though it has shea butter to moisturize hair, I don’t think it did a very good job of moisturizing.  I wasn’t very impressed with this conditioner.

Ingredients

Purified water, organic helianthus annuus (sunflower) oil(1), cetyl alcohol, cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, stearic acid, stearyl alcohol, cetrimonium chloride, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, soyamidopropalkonium chloride, organic citrus limonum (lemon) peel(1), calendula officinalis (calendula) flower(1) and chamomilla recutita (chamomile) flower(2) extracts, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), babassuamidopropalkonium chloride, bisabolol (chamomile), sodium chloride, arginine (amino acid), organic orbignya oleifera (babassu) seed oil(3), ethylhexylglycerin, tocopherol (vitamin E), panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), organic citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil(1

Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying shampoo

The best part of this shampoo is the smell.  I’ve said before I adore citrus scents, and lemon in particular, and I think I like the smell of this better than that of LUSH Antiphilitron.  Avalon Organics Lemon Clarifying Shampoo has a wonderful, fresh, zesty lemon scent that makes your mouth water.

That’s the good part.  The not so great part is that this is a clarifying shampoo that doesn’t do such a great job of clarifying.  While this is made for all hair types, the shea butter in this shampoo makes it more appropriate for dry to normal hair, which might exclude people with oilier scalps.  I don’t feel like it did such a great job of cleaning, period, but again, I don’t like moisturizing shampoos.

It’s been so long since I used it that I don’t remember how well it lathered.  Since it contains cocamidopropyl betaine (boo!), which is a foam booster, it probably foams pretty well.

Ingredients:

Purified water, cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, sodium cocoyl sarcosinate, coconut acid, babassuamidopropalkonium chloride, organic citrus limonum (lemon) peel(1)), calendula officinalis (calendula) flower(1) and chamomilla recutita (chamomile) flower(2) extracts, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), vegetable glycerin, bisabolol (chamomile), ethylhexylglycerin, arginine (amino acid), panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), tocopherol (vitamin E), organic citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel oil(1) and other essential oils.

Avalon Organics Vitamin C Balancing Facial toner

I have an on-again, off-again relationship with Avalon Organics Vitamin C Balancing Facial Toner.  I’ve been nursing the same bottle of it for well over a year now (longer, I think).  I use it for a few weeks, then use something else.  Repeat.

The smell is pleasant enough.  It smells slightly of oranges, which is what you might expect something with vitamin C as an ingredient to smell like.

This seems thicker than other toners I’ve used.  That probably sounds weird, because toners are just a mix of different liquids, but this one seems thicker.

The reason I’ve been back and forth with this toner though is because of how it works for me.  It’s supposed to be for all skin types, but the problem is that I don’t know if it really works that way.  A few days into using this, in the middle of winter, my skin starts to feel like it does in the heat of summer.  It turns into an oil slick.  It’s even worse when it’s actually warm outside.  On my skin, this is probably due to the salicylic acid, which has always made my face oily and never helps with breakouts, but it also contains castor oil and glycerin, which both help moisturize the skin.  The benzyl alcohol and salicylic acid could be problematic to someone with dry or sensitive skin.

And a word of caution:  the salicylic acid and various fruit extracts serve as anti-aging ingredients, which can make the skin tingle or burn.  This should subside with a few days of use, but if it doesn’t, please discontinue use.

This isn’t my favorite toner of all time.  I’ve used worse, but this wouldn’t be the first toner I recommend to anyone.

Ingredients

Organic lavandula angustifolia (lavender)(1), chamomilla recutita (chamomile)(1), camellia sinensis (white tea)(2) and organic arnica montana(3) extracts (aqueous), organic aloe barbadensis(2), panthenol (pro-vitamin B5), magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (vitamin C), melatonin, lemon bioflavonoids, organic cucumis sativus (cucumber) and calendula officinalis extracts(2), allantoin, vegetable glycerin, sodium PCA, citric acid, salicylic acid, hydrogenated castor oil, echinacea purpurea, ginkgo biloba, camellia sinensis (green tea) and carica papaya fruit extracts, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, benzyl alcohol, organic citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) oil(2) and other essential oils.