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.
About Carina Organics: On my page about Carina 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.
YouTube: Watch my review and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
I bought two conditioners from Carina Organics: the daily light and the deep conditioner. This review is about the second one. Let's get started with the basics. They have 360ml, 1 liter, and 4 liter sizes to choose from. I got the smallest size (360ml or about 12oz. If you're interested, you can see all 3 scents of their deep conditioner on their site (citrus, sweet pea, and unscented). 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 synthetics, parabens, soy, gluten, and dyes. It's 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic. Many of the ingredients are also certified organic. I don't see any organic certification on the product. They claim that their ingredients are certified organic though. That is totally possible to use certified organic ingredients, though due to laws, they cannot claim that the final product is certified organic.
Below are the ingredients for the daily light conditioner (citrus). The only differences was that the deep conditioner had certified organic pine extract and the daily light didn't.
I thought this was super weird, but they address it on the FAQ. So they state that the amount of the ingredients are different and that there is a percentage variance as far as the order goes. I always thought it was supposed to go from greatest to least amount. Their wording is a little confusing to me. I'm not sure if they're saying they're allowed to not list them in greatest to least order or if they're saying they're in the correct order. For example let's say that in one product there are 10 of A, 8 of B, and 2 of C ingredients. It's in the correct order. And the next product has 14 of A, 5 of B, and 1 of C. They would still be in the same order and it would look like the ingredient list is the same, but the amount is different.
I have two issues with their ingredients. The first is preservatives and the second is emulsifiers. I didn't know about this when I ordered from them.They do have information about their ingredients where they indirectly say that natural is good and artificial is bad. They also have a nice ingredient glossary on their site. It was only a few months ago that I started looking more into the safety of products.
I really had my doubts about their products, so I wrote to them and asked about their emulsifiers and preservatives in their conditioners. They wrote back rather quickly. They did have some grammar mistakes but I'm not sure if the person I messaged was a native English speaker or not. The products I bought had water, bark extract, carrier oils, and extracts in them. Below is their reply
Preservatives
If you have water in a product, you need a preservative. Preferably a broad spectrum preservative or a variety of other preservatives to avoid gram positive and gram negative bacteria and mold. They use tree bark extract (Birch, Cedar, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Alder, and Pine) in their products and they say it functions as a preservative.
To be completely honest, I have my doubts. I have not found anything that points to pine bark extract that says it can be used as a preservative. Now just because I haven't found any articles on it, doesn't mean there
aren't any studies out there, nor does it mean it doesn't work. It just
means I haven't found it and that makes me skeptical. One thing that
does ease my mind is that they have been in business since 1972. I would
hope that if their products weren't safe, someone would have reported
them long ago. The few articles I have found talk about health benefits and uses.
Emulsifier
The second issue I have is about emulsification in order to bind the water together with the other ingredients and make a cream. They say that the bark extract also does this. Again, I haven't found anything on bark extract. I did find a website saying that it's impossible.
Carina Organics states that they use coconut oil as
an emulsifier. That didn't make sense to me but their Facebook reply and
the screenshot below says that the saponification process is able to
work as an emulsifier. That still really doesn't make sense to me. I'm
not a soap-marker, but I do know that saponification is used to produce soap and that can be a cream
or a solid, such as a lotion or a bar of soap.
Vegetable oils or animal fats are combined with an alkali and then you get your product. Bark extract is an alkali, so it seems like it could work. However, if it is saponified, then the INCI should be sodium cocoate or potassium cocoate. Also, with saponification glycerin is produced as part of the chemical process and that's not in the ingredient list. Saponification means that the product is a soap, not a conditioner. There should be suds and there aren't. So I really don't know what's going on.
Conclusion
I'm not a chemist or formulator, just a normal person trying to figure out the ingredient list. I don't have their exact recipe nor have I had the product tested in a lab for bacteria and/or mold. I'm hoping that everything is ok since I like a lot of things about the product and company. I'm not a fan of the chemophobia they propagate though.
I think that 12oz is a lot to get if you want to try out a product. While I wish they offered 2oz or 4oz, since the price point isn't that high, I didn't mind buying 12oz worth of product for $10 (not including shipping). That works out to about $0.83 an ounce, which is perfect. I've seen some products that are $2, $3 or even more an ounce. When other companies have higher price points but don't offer smaller sizes, I'm really hesitant to buy stuff in case I don't like it. I don't throw away products I don't like (I do throw away or give away products that have ingredients I don't like). I use them even if they don't work for me. My hair just looks bad while I use it up.
The next size up is $22 for 34 ounces, which works out to $0.65 an ounce. That is four times as big as the size I bought and being a natural product, I would worry about being able to use it up quickly enough. However, I think the best thing to do would do keep the smaller bottle (or buy a new bottle and sterilize it first), then pump the gel from the bigger bottle into the smaller bottle and keep the bigger bottle in the fridge.
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.
About Carina Organics: On my page about Carina 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.
YouTube: Watch my review and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
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I bought two conditioners from Carina Organics: the daily light and the deep conditioner. This review is about the second one. Let's get started with the basics. They have 360ml, 1 liter, and 4 liter sizes to choose from. I got the smallest size (360ml or about 12oz. If you're interested, you can see all 3 scents of their deep conditioner on their site (citrus, sweet pea, and unscented). 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 synthetics, parabens, soy, gluten, and dyes. It's 100% biodegradable and hypoallergenic. Many of the ingredients are also certified organic. I don't see any organic certification on the product. They claim that their ingredients are certified organic though. That is totally possible to use certified organic ingredients, though due to laws, they cannot claim that the final product is certified organic.
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Ingredients
They have a very short ingredient list which has the INCI name as well as the common name. It is humectant-free, they can cause frizz during high and low dews. One thing that I noticed is that the ingredients were almost the same as the daily light ingredients. Below are the ingredients for the deep conditioner (citrus).  |
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I thought this was super weird, but they address it on the FAQ. So they state that the amount of the ingredients are different and that there is a percentage variance as far as the order goes. I always thought it was supposed to go from greatest to least amount. Their wording is a little confusing to me. I'm not sure if they're saying they're allowed to not list them in greatest to least order or if they're saying they're in the correct order. For example let's say that in one product there are 10 of A, 8 of B, and 2 of C ingredients. It's in the correct order. And the next product has 14 of A, 5 of B, and 1 of C. They would still be in the same order and it would look like the ingredient list is the same, but the amount is different.
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I have two issues with their ingredients. The first is preservatives and the second is emulsifiers. I didn't know about this when I ordered from them.They do have information about their ingredients where they indirectly say that natural is good and artificial is bad. They also have a nice ingredient glossary on their site. It was only a few months ago that I started looking more into the safety of products.
I really had my doubts about their products, so I wrote to them and asked about their emulsifiers and preservatives in their conditioners. They wrote back rather quickly. They did have some grammar mistakes but I'm not sure if the person I messaged was a native English speaker or not. The products I bought had water, bark extract, carrier oils, and extracts in them. Below is their reply
Preservatives
If you have water in a product, you need a preservative. Preferably a broad spectrum preservative or a variety of other preservatives to avoid gram positive and gram negative bacteria and mold. They use tree bark extract (Birch, Cedar, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, Alder, and Pine) in their products and they say it functions as a preservative.
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- Does Pine Extract Have Health Benefits? A Look At The Research
- Pine Bark Extract: the Superb Antioxidant for Healthy Circulation
- Tapping the Pine Tree . . . Plant Resins and their Uses
- Natural cosmetic preservatives ingredients and strategies
- Natural preservatives in cosmetics - a trend
- Alternative cosmetic preservatives - what are your options?
- Natural cosmetic preservative questions answered
Emulsifier
The second issue I have is about emulsification in order to bind the water together with the other ingredients and make a cream. They say that the bark extract also does this. Again, I haven't found anything on bark extract. I did find a website saying that it's impossible.
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| image source |
Vegetable oils or animal fats are combined with an alkali and then you get your product. Bark extract is an alkali, so it seems like it could work. However, if it is saponified, then the INCI should be sodium cocoate or potassium cocoate. Also, with saponification glycerin is produced as part of the chemical process and that's not in the ingredient list. Saponification means that the product is a soap, not a conditioner. There should be suds and there aren't. So I really don't know what's going on.
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| image source |
Conclusion
I'm not a chemist or formulator, just a normal person trying to figure out the ingredient list. I don't have their exact recipe nor have I had the product tested in a lab for bacteria and/or mold. I'm hoping that everything is ok since I like a lot of things about the product and company. I'm not a fan of the chemophobia they propagate though.
Smell and Texture
Citrus is one of my favorite scents. The scent is very subtle. I prefer people to see me before they smell me. Unlike the daily light conditioner, I do like how this conditioner works on my hair. It's thicker than the daily light conditioner and it has better slip.
Size, Price, and Packaging
One
complaint I often have about companies is that they have a
one-size-fits-all attitude. I'd like to try smaller sizes but still have
the option to save money and use less packaging by buying bigger
sizes.I think that 12oz is a lot to get if you want to try out a product. While I wish they offered 2oz or 4oz, since the price point isn't that high, I didn't mind buying 12oz worth of product for $10 (not including shipping). That works out to about $0.83 an ounce, which is perfect. I've seen some products that are $2, $3 or even more an ounce. When other companies have higher price points but don't offer smaller sizes, I'm really hesitant to buy stuff in case I don't like it. I don't throw away products I don't like (I do throw away or give away products that have ingredients I don't like). I use them even if they don't work for me. My hair just looks bad while I use it up.
The next size up is $22 for 34 ounces, which works out to $0.65 an ounce. That is four times as big as the size I bought and being a natural product, I would worry about being able to use it up quickly enough. However, I think the best thing to do would do keep the smaller bottle (or buy a new bottle and sterilize it first), then pump the gel from the bigger bottle into the smaller bottle and keep the bigger bottle in the fridge.
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.
Would I Get This Again?
Maybe. I'll be honest. I do have my doubts about a number of their ingredients. If you're interested, you can see all 3 scents of their deep conditioner on their site (citrus, sweet pea, and unscented). You can buy it here.
Random Thoughts
Patch test before using.
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