Original & Mineral shampoo and conditioner review

I’m still on the quest to find my perfect shampoo, and in the last few weeks I’ve been road-testing these three from the Sydney-based Original & Mineral range. When I first saw these three products, I wasn’t expecting much – would everything-free be anywhere near strong enough to combat my super oily scalp? (For the record, by “everything-free” I specifically mean free from sulfates, parabens, propylene glycol, MIT, phthalates and triclosan). But these products slowly wooed me, little by little…

First off, the packaging is adorable. They look like little milk cartons, they’re square (like most nerds, I love things that tessellate), and they cleverly taper towards the lid so when you run out, you can turn the bottle upside down and all the dregs will trickle to the top without any fiddly leaning.

Secondly, the scent! As you may know, I am a sucker for scented things, and these smell delicious. The deep cleansing Original Detox shampoo smells like an after dinner mint (almost exactly like Lush Mint Julips), Maintain the Mane shampoo smells like an ambiguous melon, and the Seven Day Miracle masque is a creamy nutty dessert.

But most importantly, how did they fare on the hair? I loved the Miracle masque – I can see why it comes with the award sticker! My hair instantly felt conditioned on the inside, pliable and soft. But I was unwowed at first with the shampoos, since they didn’t quite seem to cut through the grease that is my scalp. Then Katherine from O&M kindly told me that I should do a three-step cleanse – detox shampoo, daily shampoo then condition. Which is why they sent me two shampoos. Duh. Clever Muffin.

Once I got over my inability to count – yes, the three step cleanse does work, even on my oily roots, while being sulfate-free! I am suitably coloured impressed. Additionally, unlike with the harsher one-step shampoos, my head stayed so unitchy that I managed to get 48 hours out of a shampoo, which is a rare feat for me. I suspect that the two gentle, sulfate-free shampoos managed to clean my hair without stripping my scalp too much.

I’m still dreaming of a one-step shampoo that will (a) de-grease my oily roots, and (b) leave my scalp moisturised enough that it doesn’t itch again in under 24 hours, but this is the front-runner so far.

This product was provided for editorial consideration, which did not affect my opinion. For more information, see Disclosure Policy.