Surya Brasil Review (and Yes, Giveaway!)
Posted on January 20, 2011 by
When Julie (our awesomely organized media coordinator for The Greenists) asked me if I wanted to try out some hair products from Surya Brasil, I almost passed on the opportunity. The products we were being asked to review were specifically from Surya’s “Color Fixation” line, and my color doesn’t particularly need fixating. (It’s remained pretty fixed in the medium brown range for most of my life, without any help.) I thought perhaps someone who’d colored her hair more recently than the first half of the Bush administration might be a better tester of Surya’s wares.
Lucky for me, Surya Brasil’s rep was all equal opportunity about the offer, assuring me that the plain brown hair nature gave me was just as worthy of exotic nutrients as a color-treated head would be. And hence, I got to try five products in the company’s Color Fixation family:
- Restorative Shampoo
- Restorative Conditioner
- Leave-in Cream Conditioner
- Restorative Serum for Split Ends
- Single Application Intensive Treatment
All of the products are 100% vegetarian and free of parabens, sulfates, and artificial fragrances. They’re created with nutrient- and antioxidant-rich ingredients from the Brazilian Amazon, like buriti fruit oil, cupuaçu seed butter, and essential oils of rose flower, jasmine, ylang-ylang, and sandalwood. Which all sounds luxurious and lovely, of course, but… do they work? Well, let’s see.
For me, the shampoo and conditioner worked as well or better than other sulfate-free, paraben-free products I’ve tried. Maybe it’s my hard water or maybe I haven’t given those shampoos enough time for my hair to adjust, but I always feel I need to switch back to a less ethical alternative every few washes, to avoid that lifeless, weighted down effect. Surya’s shampoo and conditioner worked really well for me on the first use, and seemed to continue working for longer stretches before I caved and rotated in my previous brand. So overall, a semi-cautious thumbs-up for those two.
The Single Application Intensive Treatment didn’t seem to do much for my hair. I like to do a deep conditioning treatment once a month or so, and I was hoping this would be an effective option for that, but I didn’t notice any particularly positive difference after using it.
The Restorative Serum and Leave-in Conditioner I had much better luck with, however. A few drops of the Restorative Serum really does help to add shine and smooth flyaways. And the Leave-in Conditioner? Woah. I’m telling you, that stuff may actually be magic.
We’re in the depths of winter here, which in Minnesota means wool sweaters, fuzzy socks, and down coats, all of which lead to loads of static in the cold, dry air. Anytime I leave my house, I wrap a scarf around my neck, temporarily trapping my long hair between said scarf and my neck, and when I reach behind my head to pull my hair out of the scarf’s bind, I instantly look like one of those kids in a Tommy Bartlett’s Robot World ad. Note: For those of you who didn’t grow up in the Midwest, where Wisconsin Dells is the most enthusiastically marketed family vacation destination around, that looks something like this…
(Photo courtesy of Tommy Bartlett Show & Exploratory, who has apparently dropped the “Robot World” from their name since I was a youth in Wisconsin, but who I’m strangely delighted to see is still using an updated but very similar version of the photo I remember as the primary image on their website.)
But I digress. Back to my point, which was that after using Surya Brasil’s Leave-in Conditioner, I can actually free my hair from my scarf swiftly and not look like I’m checking out an interactive science exhibit immediately thereafter! No, amazingly, my hair now obeys the laws of gravity and simply falls to my shoulders rather than reaching for the sky! I’m telling you, it is a minor miracle. Dudes, I don’t know how Surya did that. To be honest, I’ve never heard of cupuaçu seed butter; I’m really hoping it’s not actually marketing code or euphemism for “tears of endangered rain forest animals.” (Note: If it is, this conditioner may be as compelling a reason as any to save their habitat.)
The bottle of magical conditioner I’m using was free-to-me, of course, but given how well it works, the usual eight-dollar price tag is more than reasonable. And a little bit goes a long way, which means this proportionally giant bottle will likely last me well into next winter as well. Score.
Surya Brasil’s Color Fixation products are available online and at Whole Foods nationwide, but you can win your first bottle for free (just like me)! Just visit Surya’s shop to read up on the products and leave a comment on this post telling us which one you’d like to try. Contest will close at 12:00 am next Friday, January 28. Good luck! Trust me; it’d be awesome to win this one.
I’d like to try the shampoo for myself (I have thin, fine hair, so conditioners aren’t all that helpful for me), but my daughter, who is AA would definitely benefit from trying the serum or conditioners.
Thanks!
One of the products that caught my eye was the leave-in conditioner. The use of a product to style & condition is very appealing to me. I also like the other products & will be considering them more during my shopping experiences in Whole Foods.
Wish the shipping were more affordable. I would have liked to purchase this product to try before purchasing others in the store.
I am quite pleased with green products! Green for our enviro & green for our Bodies. It’s a Great Combo for Healthy Living! 0=)
I would really like to try the leave-in conditioner. I’ve got curly hair and it needs some help taming the frizz.
I would love the leave in conditioner. I don’t always need extra conditioning but if I did this would be perfect.
Thanks for the giveaway!
I would LOVE to try the Restorative serum! I have long curly hair that is prone to split ends
Oh please send me some leave in conditioner! Last time I had my hair cut everyone had to be called over to see why people should use quality hair products…. shame…
Leave-in conditioner. We can see how it does on slightly more “mature” hair. Hee.
I would love to try the leave in conditioner also! My hair is also trying to survive this MN winter!
I would love to try the restorative serum because my color treated hair is in dire need of it! I’ve just recently switched over to a more natural coloring brand that hopefully won’t fry it as much, but even though it’s tough on my hair… I just can’t give up the red! Thanks for the review!
Looking at my hair in the mirror I can tell I NEED the restorative serum. Badly. I’m interested in how sulfate-free products work!
My hair is fine as peach fuzz, but it’s full of static if I don’t use a leave-in conditioner. I really would like to try Surya Brasil’s. The ingredients are interesting.
Lori
I would like to try the leave in conditioner as i need something that can give my hair daily moisture
I would love to try the conditioner!
The restorative serum would be awesome. I have fine, terrible hair, and it’s always splitting!
Hehahe it’s obvious it’s winter and everyone’s hair is dry: (nearly) everyone wants the leave-in conditioner or the restorative serum!
I’m in the gaggle… leave-in conditioner would be my pick! I’m like you, my hair often starts trying to fly off my head when I pull the long locks out from under coats and scarves!
Btw, “To be honest, I’ve never heard of cupuaçu seed butter; I’m really hoping it’s not actually marketing code or euphemism for “tears of endangered rain forest animals.” (Note: If it is, this conditioner may be as compelling a reason as any to save their habitat.)”
–>Best line I’ve read on a blog in a while! Thanks for the chuckle!<–
I really am interested in some type of Restorative Serum product. I have just recently made the switch & am trying to learn the everyday kind of Healthy Body products. I just don’t know other people who use them so it becomes quite confusing. I think I experience more difficulty in selecting new products, other than just shampoo. Thanks for the tips & I look forward to Learning More. 0=)
I would love to try the Restorative Shampoo. I have recently gone back to coloring my hair and the descriptions says it helps with that. Also, I noticed that it is gluten free and since I have celiac, it would be a great product for me.
The leave in conditioner sounds perfect for my dry flyaway hair! Thanks!
CONTEST CLOSED