When I looked up the Iraya shampoo and the details at the Iraya website, I was quite happy that I managed to lay my hands on a perfectly good shampoo.It was only post delivery that I actually had a look at the ingredients in the shampoo and let me say, that I felt cheated. You know when you use a product as brilliant as their Mandinta Ubtan, you expect something equally excellent or maybe better. And when it does not keep up to the expectations, it is a huge disappointment. Anyway, here is the review.
Iraya Classic Shikakai Shampoo
The first thing that I noticed in theis shampoo was the fragrance, it smelt like, let me put it very mildly, a disinfectant. The shampoo has a gel like consistency and it lathers very well. It cleans your hair but the after fragrance that it leaves is not that great. You would definitely need a conditioner post this, since I did not have the conditioner by Iraya, I used my regular conditioner that is Jungle by Lush.
Just the shampoo left my hair quite dry and unmanageable.
Packaging: This comes in a pump bottle and you can pump out just the amount of shampoo that you want to use. I quite liked the packaging of the product.
Price and shelf life: This 150 ml of shampoo bottle is priced at Rs. 345 and it has a shelf life of two tears from the date of manufacture.
Where can I buy this?: I bought this from UT, but you can also buy Iraya products from their website as well as their physical stores.
Will I recommend this?: No. I guess the major let down was that Iraya did not be transparent about all the ingredients that went into the shampoo. So if you are looking at something natural and organic, please strike this product off your list. If you are alright with it not being organic, go ahead and make a purchase.
About the product (on the Iraya Website)
Ideal for cleansing & reviving thereby maintaining the natural oil balance of scalp.
For all hair types and sensitive scalp
A classic formula “Shikakai” is made with concentrated extracts of the shikakai fruit, rosemary and lime. Ideal for cleansing and reviving all hair types and sensitive scalp, while ensuring that the natural oil balance of the scalp is not disturbed. Regular use promotes strong and healthy hair.
Usage:Shake the bottle well before use. Apply to wet hair and scalp. Gently massage in for 2 minutes. Wash off. For best results, follow with a suitable Iraya hair conditioner. For excessively dry scalp, apply an Iraya hair oil for 30 minutes before shampooing.
Ingredients:shikakai, rosemary, lime & mandarin oil
Note the ingredients. This list is incomplete. One look at it and you would consider this to be a natural shampoo, but sadly it is not.
Here is the complete list of the ingredients: Aqua, Shikakai, Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS), CDEA, CMEA, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Essential oils of Rosemary, Lime and Mandarin. The ones that I have underlined are not mentioned in any of the online websites.
I hate websites that do this….. Of course Iraya products are good. But this is just cheating.
Well , I had a similar experience with Iraya almost an year back. Before purchasing its shampoo and face wash , I had a conversation with its owner regarding the safety aspect of its shampoos/face washes. She did not inform me about the presence of SLES , and instead kept talking about the organic stuff they add to their shampoos. Prior to this conversation , I had already purchased its vanilla lip balm and tulsi face lotion , which were quite good and were safe ( except for the presence of phenoxyethanol in tulsi lotion ) . Hence I was confident about this brand and my conversation with the owner further strengthened my belief. And then I purchased its henna shampoo and face wash from urban touch. And when I received the parcel : OMG , I was stunned to see SLES in both the products. My Rs600 [ which I had borrowed from my sis 🙁 ] were wasted. But thanks to urbantouch , they refunded the money. And since then , I have kept Iraya’s products at bay 😀
You are right. They never respond to mails or answer any queries. Picked the shampoo from UT too and I put it mildly in the post that it smelt like a disinfectant, it actually like those phenyls that you get in the kirana store. One use and it was thrown away.
Well after seeing SLES , I did not have the guts to use this shampoo , and at that time , I was mainly concerned about my borrowed money that had got wasted. But, yes these spa-based brands do lack accountability and transparency. Maybe , just for the sake of doing some business , they launch their enterprise , but forget to include the very essence of an organic product. Indian enterprises really need to tighten their laces , and seriously come up with authentic organic stuff. But a developing economy , as India is , I guess it will take quite a long time 🙁