Trader Joe’s Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo {Review}

Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo {Review}

 

Overview

Rating: 5/5 stars ★★★★★
Price Tag: $3.99 USD
Weight: 16 fl oz
Where to Buy: At Trader Joe’s stores

This past December I took a trip to Trader Joe’s during a visit to Chicago. I was excited to go since I hadn’t been inside one since I lived in Monterey (CA). It’s interesting how much Trader Joe’s has changed in the past decade. I don’t remember it being that great of a store in the early 2000s.

Though I think the store I visited in Evanston, IL was on the small side, it had a bunch of house brand skin and hair items. After some quick checking to confirm the products I wanted to get were indeed vegan, I ended up with a bunch of insanely inexpensive natural products.

Trader Joe's mini haul

My Trader Joe’s mini haul.

The Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo—what a mouthful—is definitely one of the highlights of what I bought. I can’t use most shampoos, natural or otherwise, unless they are medicated. I have suffered from very dry skin for over fifteen years. Not only is my face very problematic, but I also cannot wear earrings anymore (due to intense irritation), and I have a very dry scalp. There is literal pain that lasts all day if I use any sort of non-medicated shampoo on my head.

When I saw the Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo, I was intrigued since tea tree oil is often used as a natural dandruff shampoo alternative. While I haven’t had much luck with natural tea tree oil shampoo in the past, I’ve wanted to get back to using more natural options. At the low price point, I figured I didn’t have any thing to lose by trying it.

Packaging

The shampoo is packaged in a generously sized, recyclable bottle. It’s a full 16 fl oz, so there’s a lot of product for four bucks.

The design itself doesn’t really stand out from other natural products, sporting the traditional green accents of the genre.

Formulation

This formulation is perfect. Mostly because I don’t think it’s “real” shampoo. While almost all shampoos contains sodium laurel/laureth sulfates, this Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo doesn’t have any. I’m not sure exactly, but it looks like the main surfactant used is c12-14 olefin sulfonate. The rest is mostly water and lots of essential oils.

I’ve been using the Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo exclusively for over a month with zero issues. There’s no pain at all. I’m not sure why my skin reacts so well with the shampoo, but I’m super happy! I do follow the shampoo with conditioner and a hair mask once a week, which probably helps battle any potential dryness.

I do notice that if I leave it on for a minute or so, the lather fades away and the shampoo kind of turns goopy. Not really a big deal, but if you don’t want your hair to feel goopy, just rinse the shampoo out right away.

There’s also a conditioner available that I am kicking myself for not purchasing. Now I just have to figure out how to get another bottle without driving all the way to Chicago (IL), Des Moines (IA), or Madison (WI), my three closest Trader Joe’s options.

Final Thoughts

Pros: Non-drying formula, pleasant scent, tingly formulation, sulftate- and paraben-free
Cons: Not available online, contains c12-14 olefin sulfonate

I am so happy to have found an all-natural and vegan shampoo that works for my dry scalp. If you also have problems with dryness and/or dandruff, I highly recommend you give the Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo a shot.