ACURE Organics Mega Moisture Conditioner (aka ultra-hydrating) Review

My hair is about to the middle of my back. I have 2B, low-porosity, protein-sensitive hair. My hair is medium thickness and low density. I'm of European descent and I have dark virgin hair. I used to henna it, but it's been about 5 years since I've used henna. The henna I used to purchase was from Henna Sooq.

About ACURE Organics: On my page about ACURE Organics, you can read more about their company and read my product reviews. I have reviewed other companies and their products as well and you can find those on my complete list.

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I got this for free: I love free stuff! My mom ended up buying this thinking it was a shampoo instead of a conditioner. She uses shampoo, but doesn't use conditioner. I use conditioner, but don't use shampoo. I was more than happy to take this off her hands. Win-win situation!

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Name Change

They literally just changed this right around the time that I was writing this post. This used to be called the ultra-hydrating conditioner with argan extract and argan oil. It's now known as the mega moisture conditioner with argan oil and pumpkin. The ingredients are the same! I'm guessing they re-named it because they didn't want to have argan in the name twice. Or maybe mega sounds more than ultra. They have also trademarked the name " Mega Moisture". It's just marketing. Same stuff, different package, different name.

I have the old version, so I'm going to review that one. I'll post both ingredient lists so you can see how it changed. Here's a summary of the changes.

• Name
• Price: a bit more expensive
• Packaging: orange soft 8oz tube changed to white hard 12oz plastic container 

ACURE Organics' ultra-hydrating conditioner 

Let's get started with the basics. It's vegan and cruelty free. I follow the conditioner-only Curly Girl Method and the good news is that it's also free of sulfates and parabens and loads of other unhealthy ingredients that you can read about here. With natural products, the shelf life is often shorter. This one is is six months, so that's something to keep in mind. I use a decent amount of conditioner and this is only an 8oz container (the new version comes in a 12oz container), so I'll have no problem using this up in time. You can buy it here.

Ingredients

Here's a list of their ingredients for the new version.

image source: you can buy it here

Here's a list of their ingredients for the old version.

image source: you can buy it here

Preservatives

This paragraph is for the new version since the old version is being phased out. ACURE Organics does say they have third party testing to show their products' benefits, but I'm slightly concerned about the preservation.

I reached out to them and asked them about this particular product and they said that they use potassium sorbate as a preservatives for most of their products and this give them a two year shelf life. Potassium sorbate is often used as a food preservative and it GRAS (generally regarded as safe). That sounded great, but I didn't find it in the ingredient list and according to Making Skincare, while it does protect against mold, it only somewhat protects against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. They got back to me and said the preservative in this is ethyl lauroyl arginate, which is high up on the ingredients list. They also have a few other ingredients that work as preservatives.

According to Making Skincare, a product with water needs to have a preservative to protect it from gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria, and mold. They suggest using a broad spectrum preservative or a few preservatives. Chemists Corner also has some articles about natural cosmetic preservatives ingredients and strategies, natural preservatives in cosmetics - a trend, alternative cosmetic preservatives - what are your options?, and natural cosmetic preservative questions answered.

• Glycerin would have to be used at a high percent (70%).
•  There is gluconolactone,  tocopheraol acetate (Vitamin E), and lactic acid which can help boost alternative preservatives by disrupting growth, but it doesn't say that it protects against any gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria, and mold.  
• Stearalkonium choloride is an antimicrobial, but it's been used as a fabric softener, which is not good news.   
• Ethy Lauroyla Arginate is an antimicrobial food preservative and it works against bacteria, yeasts, and molds.  

It does look like it has a good amount of preservatives , however, I am concerned about  stearalkonium choloride.

Smell and Texture

I personally think it smells amazing. Even though sweet almond extract is one of the last ingredients, it smells like almonds to me. It reminds me of marzipan. It smells delicious. It's not that thick and it's not thin either. Although it says ultra-hydrating, I think that it would work better for me in summer than it does in winter.

Size, Price, and Packaging

I wish this came in a larger size. At only 8 oz (the new version comes in a 12oz container), it won't last that long. I prefer having an option to buy different sizes. The cost is a little more expensive than what I'd usually pay.  Keep in mind that I did end up getting this free from my mom though.

Because I'm cheap and like to get my money's worth as well as cut down on waste, I cut open containers to get the last little bit out. This is a soft container and is easy to cut. Unfortunately, packaging has changed. It's now hard plastic, so cutting it open will be harder.

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Would I Get This Again?

Despite the fact that the container is small and the price is kind of high, I probably would buy this again, if I can confirm that it's properly preserved. I like the ethics and history behind the company. It's a small company, not a huge conglomerate. I like the ingredients they use. The smell is amazing. It makes me happy just smelling it. I have used it as a leave-in rather than a rinse-out conditioner and that might work better for me. It would last longer and I'd feel better about paying as much as it is since I'd be leaving it in. You can buy it here.

Sales and Discount Codes

I have a list of all the discount codes that I know of here. Be sure to check back often since I update my post with new sales as soon as I find out about them.

Random Thoughts

Lastly, I've got to say that somethings are a little confusing. The punctuation is different and I'm not 100% sure of their name. ACURE is in full caps; their products and ingredients are all in lowercase. Their website is www.acureorganics.com but they only put ACURE on their products.

Patch test before using.