Full Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Shampoo Review
For many of us, dandruff is our worst kept secret. We comb, scrub, and exfoliate to hide the flakes only to be outed by a busy week and a dark shirt. Dandruff is the most common among scalp issues and it happens to almost everyone at some point. But for some, itchy, flaky scalps plague us and cause us to go out and buy the newest, latest shampoo that is “guaranteed” to cure our hair care blues. The truth is that dandruff is poorly understood. Its nature suggests it’s the result of a dry scalp, but the opposite is true: the combination of oily skin and growth of extra skin cells lead to flaking that stretches from an annoyance to large, visible flakes. There are also many causes of dandruff, which is why it’s so hard to treat. The wrong shampoo only masks the problem, leaving you helpless on your worst days.
The average dandruff sufferer will tear through bottle after bottle of shampoo before settling on the one that works best for them. So what do you do when it seems like nothing is working in your favor? Well, that is where we come in. Today, we are going to take a close look at one of the best shampoos on the market that can help you tame unruly dandruff. This is the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Oil Shampoo. This unique formula from this popular brand gives you not only a clean and fresh smelling scalp, but you will be able to tame your dandruff in ways you didn’t think were possible. Now, you are probably at the point where you are asking yourself will it work for you? Well, Keep reading for our full Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo review. In our in depth review, we are going to go over all the ins and outs of what makes this dandruff shampoo one of the best on the market. We are going to take a look at the overall formal and composition of the shampoo as well as what it has to offer users. With that being said, let’s dive into whether or not this is the shampoo ou have been waiting for.
What Is Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Special Shampoo?
Tea Tree Special Shampoo, 33.8 Fl Oz
- Produced with the highest grade materials
- Get a head start every morning and experience the tingle of invigorating tea tree oil,…
- Help wash away impurities as hair becomes fresh and clean, full of vitality and luster
The Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo is a salon brand shampoo that offers to relieve dry, itchy scalps and makes dandruff a thing of the past. Paul Mitchell is a well-revered brand, and you’ve likely seen it both in salons in your neighborhood and in major retailers both in store and online. Whatever the brand name, a shampoo is only as good as its formula. In this case, the Paul Mitchell shampoo relies on a long list of regular ingredients to create the soap and active ingredients to target dandruff. Now while you do have to be considerate of the brand when you are shopping around for the best shampoo for your hair, there is something to be said about the popular Paul Michelle brand. Thousands of customers are satisfied with the cleanliness, smoothness, and overall relief that this brand is able to provide. Whether you are treating thick hair, thin hair, curly hair, or straight hair, even colored and treated hair have been known to reap the benefits of this trusted brand.
Let’s take a look at what’s inside the bottle.
What Are the Active Ingredients?
Product designers at Paul Mitchell added tea tree oil to the shampoo to serve as the primary active ingredients. Tea tree oil offers many properties including antibacterial and antifungal. If your dandruff is caused by the yeast from Seborrheic Dermatitis, then you might find tea tree oil is a good option for you. However, if you have a serious case of dermatitis, you might find a prescription shampoo better suits your needs. Additional ingredients include peppermint and lavender. These don’t do much for dandruff, but they do provide a clean, relaxed feeling that also masks some of the tea tree oil smell.
Other Ingredients
Paul Mitchell shampoo is mass produced, and you’ll find it in salons across the world. That’s, in part, why it’s important to take a closer look at the ingredients in the shampoo. Note: Paul Mitchell may use a natural remedy for dandruff, but the company doesn’t claim its shampoo is natural.
There are several ingredients to watch out for if you have a sensitive scalp:
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Sodium lauryl suflate
- Parfum (and phthalates)
- Methychloroisothiazolinone
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Cocamidopropyl betaine
- Propylene glocal
- Artificial ingredients
In other words, Paul Mitchell uses common chemicals to produce its shampoo, but many of these stand out. For example, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) are known for being skin irritants; they are used in shampoos to help you lather properly. Parfum refers to fragrance and it’s never a good idea to use if you have sensitive skin. It’s a serious contact allergen that’s particularly harmful because its ambiguous. You never know what cocktail of chemicals were thrown together to create the fragrance. Other additives to look out for are methylisothiazolinone and methychloroisothiazolinone. Both of these were implicated in a skin allergy epidemic that led to many haircare manufacturers choosing to abandon them. Paul Mitchell also adds Simmondsia chinensis, or jojoba leaf extract, to the tea tree oil shampoo. In other shampoos, you’ll find that jojoba leaf oil is a great addition because it’s a natural moisturizer. However, some people also find that jojoba leaf extract in particular contributes to the worsening of dandruff, so it could be counterproductive in this shampoo.
How Does It Work?
Paul Mitchell is a salon haircare brand that comes in bottle shapes and sizes reflecting its use among professional hairdressers. The product itself mimics what you’d expect of a tea tree oil shampoo: it offers a gel-like texture with a color best described as a light seafoam green. The thick gel means it takes more work to create a lather, but it once it suds, you’ll find you get enough to wash your hair well. Just be sure to get all the shampoo out after your wash; this is sometimes more difficult with thicker gels. Be warned: if you’re accustomed to believing that shampoos that are difficult to lather are free from SLS, this is not the case with the Paul Mitchell shampoo. It requires work to lather and it still includes sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate (SLS). The tea tree oil is easily identifiable when you pour the shampoo from the bottle. You’ll smell a light, natural scent combined with a hint of peppermint immediately. The combination of the tea tree, peppermint, and lavender should rid your hair of ‘impurities’, leaving you feeling clean. Along with that, you will be left with hair that simply smells delightful. For many, scent alone is enough to get people excited about this unique formula. A light tingle on your scalp also adds to the extra clean feeling, so do not be surprised when you feel this happening.
Some people might wonder why tea tree oil is the chosen oil to be used in this shampoo. Well, the reality is that tea tree oil is known for its nourishing and anit inflammatory properties. It’s a multi-purpose oil used to treat all kinds of ailments and inconveniences including dandruff. Tea tree oil is worth checking out because it’s both an antibacterial and an antifungal, which treats some of the underlying conditions of dandruff. The oil is effective, too: research shows that a shampoo only needs a composition of 5% tea tree oil to improve dandruff. It’s unclear how much tea tree oil is in this shampoo because the ingredients are listed but the composition is left off. The popularity of tea tree oil is one that has only started growing in popularity. Because of this do not be surprised to find that this essential oil is infused into everting from bath soaps to lotions. It is no surprise that the brand Paul Mitchell has decided to infuse it into their shampoo as well.
Finally, don’t worry if you don’t enjoy the smell of tea tree oil. You’ll find the peppermint tends to overpower it.
What Makes It Unique?
While few other shampoos use tea tree oil on its own, Paul Mitchell combines tea tree, lavender, and peppermint for a clean, relaxed feeling that also smells good. It also comes in extra-large bottles for those who like to buy in bulk: many natural dandruff shampoos and other dandruff formulas tend to stick to 8 to 16-ounce bottles.
How Much Does Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Special Shampoo Cost?
The average 10.14-ounce bottle costs between $14 and $15. Prices vary according to retailer. Some may find the bottle is quite expensive considering it also includes several ingredients designed to reduce the cost. However, if you try and like the shampoo, it’s not expensive to use long-term. The drying properties mean few people use it more than a few times a week, so one bottle lasts quite a while. If you want to save some cash, but in bulk. You’ll get a 33.8-ounce bottle for around $32 or you can buy the shampoo and conditioner (10.14 ounce) set for $23.
What Do Other Dandruff Sufferers Think?
Both beauty experts and regular reviewers have had similar experiences with the shampoo. After looking through countless experiences, it’s possible to break down their opinions into several categories.
An Invigorating Tingle
Almost everyone loves the tingling feeling the shampoo leaves on your scalp. The sensation likely derives from the use of peppermint oil rather than tea tree oil. Most people find the feeling is refreshing and relaxing, but only if you wash it off quickly (within two minutes). Leave it on too long and you might start to feel a burning sensation. The tingle goes away after the shampoo is washed off and is replaced by a cooling sensation.
Dry Hair and Scalp: Use Sparing
The tea tree oil and peppermint leave your hair and scalp feeling clean, but it often verges on being too clean. It’s not one to use every single day; try one or two times a week instead. Tea tree oil zaps up the excess oil on your head that causes dandruff. While too much oil leaves your hair looking dull and full of dandruff, it will dry out your hair if you use it too frequently. Again, if you have dry hair, consider staying away from this one.
May Feel Clean, But May Not Stop Dandruff
Few contradict the clean feeling so many people experience when they try this shampoo. Still, not everyone finds it works for dandruff. It seems as though those who experience some/light dandruff are more likely to see their flakes disappear than those who struggle with dandruff on a daily basis. Remember, there’s no cure for dandruff.
Poor Packaging
More than a few people have noted that the bottle top isn’t good quality. It’s liable to break during shipping or even during use at home. While this doesn’t have to be a problem, people who find the scent too strong won’t like the lack of control measure.
Consider Using a Mask
The clean, tingling feeling is beloved by advocates of the product, but the drying effect it has on hair is not. If you like this shampoo but find your hair reacts badly, consider applying a hydrating mask to your hair after shampooing. You’ll get the same clean scalp feeling without taking a toll on your hair.
How Does It Stand Up?
Compared to others in its class, the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo is an average dandruff shampoo. It doesn’t do much damage, but it’s expensive considering its effectiveness among most people. Additionally, because it doesn’t consider the drying properties of the oils used in the shampoo beyond the addition of the jojoba leaf oil, you’ll need to go out and buy other products like conditioners and hair masks to help your hair recover from the stripping caused by the other oils. One of the most important things to note is that people who suffer from dandruff benefit from washing their hair multiple times per week. However, this shampoo should only be used once or twice per week, so you’ll still need other shampoo and you’ll need to find a shampoo that works well with the Paul Mitchel shampoo. Ultimately, it requires striking a fine balance that adds extra hassle. The experimenting may be well worth it if the shampoo works well for you and you like the product, but there are other and less expensive shampoos out there without the hassle.
What We Think
When it comes to dandruff, nearly every product seems worth trying. You never know what shampoo is going to work best for your hair until you’ve used it a few times. However, some products belong at the top of the list of hair care essentials to try – and the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Shampoo doesn’t belong there. The combination of the irritants and chemicals in the shampoo with the lack of nourishment to counteract the drying caused by peppermint and tea tree oil make this a difficult sell. Paul Mitchell shampoos are generally well-regarded, but the addition of the irritants and allergens to the shampoo formula isn’t only problematic given the recognition these ingredients have received but also because they may make an already sensitive scalp worse. If you’re thinking about trying the Paul Mitchell shampoo for dandruff, consider the cause of your dandruff first. Is it a mild dandruff that flares up with stress? Or is a moderate-to-severe type that appears to have an underlying cause including skin irritation. The bottom line is this: if you’re looking for a middle of the road shampoo to deal with occasional mild flakes and you don’t already have dry hair or skin, then you might find this shampoo works foryou. Remember, it’s always important to treat the underlying cause of dandruff – if you can find it – rather than making the symptoms. You’ll find the shampoo more effective and be on your way to a healthy head of hair and scalp in no time.
Coupons and Deals
Amazon Rating Consumer Rating 3.9 out of 5 Stars
Online retailers like Amazon regularly run promotions on hair and beauty products like this shampoo, so keep your eyes peeled for random discounts. Some salons offer product discounts with a service, so if you’re visiting a hairdresser that uses Paul Mitchell, it’s sometimes possible to find a cheaper bottle there