A little while ago, I shared with you my opinion and experience with Giovanni’s Tea Tree Triple Treat Shampoo. While there were lots of things that I loved about that shampoo, I decided to look at some of their other varieties, in order to find a more suitable shampoo for my hair – long, straight and fine and because I am always on the look out for the most natural personal products out there.

Giovanni’s Tea Tree Triple Treat is great indeed and I loved the tingling sensation, but it was not great for the type of hair I have. As I stated then, that shampoo is the most perfect for people with short and fine hair. That is where Giovanni’s Root 66 Max Volume shampoo comes in.

This shampoo comes from the company  Giovanni Cosmetics, which is a family company that offers various products in their organic hair care and skin care lines. Giovanni Cosmetics uses formulas that incorporate vitamins, herbs, minerals, proteins, nutrients and the purest of essential oils. The patented Giovanni PureOrganic Technology^TM represents a blend of exotic organic oils, ripe-harvested from renewable plants at the peak of their freshness. They live by the philosophy of creating only the purest of formulas for all of their products.

The Root 66 Max Volume shampoo is part of the Giovanni Four Elements Hair Care line. It is recommended for limp and lifeless hair and claims that it:

• Increases volume in limp, lifeless hair
• Cleans and adds weightless bounce
• Strengthens thin, fragile hair
• Protects fine hair from damage while building body
• Zero sulfates

The scent of this shampoo is very pleasantly, sweet and fruity. It lathers much better than the Tea Tree Triple Treat one, but nothing as crazy as the average commercial brand out there, thanks to being SLS (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate) free.

This shampoo can be worked into long hair very easily and definitely leaves hair feeling clean and with an added touch of volume. I would not exaggerate on the volume however, as I quickly learned not to take those labels too seriously. They say on the label that for maximum volume results, one should wash the hair twice with this shampoo, follow with the same line conditioner and then their Root 66 Root Lift product. Perhaps after all that, one would have very noticeably bounce and volume full hair, but I would not recommended that, for the simple reason that the less personal products on us the better – no matter how naturally close they come. Plus, in our society today, most people’s hair is way too clean and hence in no way needs 2 applications of a shampoo. Plus, I don’t think that would be too economical either.

Either way, it worked great on my long, fine hair and did not leave it very tangled. With most shampoos like this, I never even have to use conditioner, as the hair is ready to be brushed just fine and conditioner would only weigh it down. Hence, this shampoo is suitable for most hair types, both long or short and straight or curly.

In terms of ingredients, they are good, but far from perfect. While the first and major ingredients do come from organic plant based sources, there are still a few questionable ones, like the cocamidopropyl betaine. The product was not found on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Data Base, so I added it in and based on my information, their preliminary report rated this item as a 3 out of 10, meaning moderate hazard.

In general, Giovanni’s Root 66 Max Volume shampoo is a great quality and naturally sufficient product that I feel comfortable to recommend. However, if one is looking for a superior natural product, then this is not yet it.

Ingredients (Plant ingredients are italicized)

• Aqua (purified water) with Organic Mango (Mangifera indica)
• Organic Kiwi (Actinidia chinensis) fruit extract
• Organic Papaya (Caroca papaya) fruit extract
• Organic Plumeria (Plumeria acutifolia)
• Organic Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis)
• Organic Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
• Organic Awapuhi (Zingiber zerumbet)
• Organic Soybean protein (Glycine soya)
• C12-14 olefin sulfonate (coconut derived) – (0* low hazard)
• Cocamidopropyl betaine – (5* moderate hazard)
• Polyquaternium 7 – (3* moderate hazard)
• Dimethicone – (3* moderate hazard)
• Polysorbate 20 – (1* low hazard)
• PEG-8 Caprilyc/Capric Glycerides – (4-6* moderate hazard)
• Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5) – (2* low hazard)
• Tocopherol (Vitamin E) – (3* moderate hazard)
• Phenoxyethanol – (4* – moderate hazard)
• Fragrance with Essential oils

* Safety Rating based on Skin Deep Cosmetic Database

Packaging

The shampoo comes in a sleek, rectangular, almost see through, plastic #2 bottle, which is recyclable once product is finished. The regular size is 250mL (8.5oz).

Price (as of this posting)

• $8 – $12 CAD per bottle at stores across Canada
• $8.69 CAD per bottle at Well.ca
• $10.42 CAD or $8.49US per bottle at DrugStore.com
• $5.35 US per bottle at LuckyVitamin.com
• $5.60US per bottle at Amazon.com

Shampoo-Root 66 – 8.5 oz – Liquid
Price: —

Availability

• Widely available at grocery, pharmacy and health food stores across Canada and the US
• Widely available at many on-line stores for Canadian, US and international shoppers

The Good

• Pleasant sweet and fruity scent
• Excellent cleaning ability
• Suitable for most hair types
• May increase or boost hair volume
• May strengthen fragile hair
• May protect hair from damage
• No artificial colors
• No SLS or other sulfates
• Made with mostly organic, plant ingredients
• Fair Price
• Nice packaging
• Easily available

The Bad

• Good ingredients, but can still be improved

WELLNESS RATING: Good

7 OUT OF 10

About the author:
Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.