Clean beauty products are popping up everywhere lately, and haircare products are no exception. While it’s difficult to balance product performance with clean ingredients, haircare companies have risen to the challenge and are formulating products that work well and also exclude many unwanted ingredients that can be harmful to your hair, scalp, and body.
The popular salon brand Paul Mitchell has launched a line of clean haircare products called Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty. When I saw that there were anti-frizz clean haircare products in the line I took notice. I have never tried clean AND anti-frizz haircare, i.e. shampoo and conditioner, so I quickly purchased some products from the line during a recent Ulta sale to give them a try.
Spoiler: I liked both the anti-frizz shampoo and conditioner a lot, so I purchased the Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment and the Repair Leave-In Treatment to see how the Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty haircare leave-in treatment products perform. Scroll to the bottom of the post for my thoughts on these products.
But first, what is clean beauty anyway?
What is Clean Beauty?
Clean Beauty products are here to stay. Many brands are either completely clean or are releasing clean beauty lines within their catalog of products. What exactly makes a product clean is up for debate. Interestingly, the US has some of the most lax rules regarding cosmetics in the world, so I suppose it should not come as a surprise that clean products are not strictly regulated in the US.
In general, a haircare product can be considered clean if it does not contain toxic ingredients or does not contain ingredients that are harmful to your health. This includes a long list of ingredients and chemicals like parabens, phthalates, PEGs, ethanolamines, chemical sunscreens, synthetic fragrances, BHT, and BHA.
Related Post: Affordable Clean Beauty at the Drugstore
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Clean Haircare: Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty
Paul Mitchell’s Clean Beauty line is made with organic botanicals that the company grows on a bio-dynamic farm. The products are manufactured using 100% certified clean energy. This helps to reduce pollution and harmful greenhouse gases.
The bio-based packaging is 90% derived from sustainably and ethically harvested sugarcane. This is a process that helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The bottles are 100% recyclable. The bottles have low-profile caps that use 46% less plastic than the standard caps used in other Paul Mitchell products.
These Clean Beauty products are formulated without many unwanted ingredients. The products are paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, mineral oil-free, DEA-free, gluten-free, and cruelty-free. They are also made without SLS, SLES, ALS, and drying alcohols.
There are 4 types of haircare products in the Clean Beauty line: Everyday, Hydrate, Smooth, and Repair:
- EVERYDAY: For all hair types, these products are formulated with aloe vera to soothe and moisturize strands and organic, cold-pressed argan oil to nourish hair.
- HYDRATE: For dry hair, these products are infused with organic olive to restore hydration and shine, and oat peptide to rebuild and strengthen hair.
- SMOOTH: For textured and frizz-prone hair, these products are formatted with organic, cold-pressed almond oil to soothe and condition hair and hyaluronic acid to hydrate strands.
- REPAIR: For fragile, damaged, and brittle hair, these products are formulated with organic amaranth extract to moisturize hair and vegan pea protein to restructure and repair damaged hair.
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Featured Ingredients in the Smooth Clean Beauty Line
Almond Oil
Extracted from the dried kernel of the almond tree, almond oil is a lightweight nut oil that is filled with oleic (omega-9) and linoleic (omega-6) fatty acids. It also contains flavonoids and phenolic acids that are rich in protective antioxidants. It also has anti-fungal properties as evidenced by this 2014 clinical study.
Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic Acid is a humectant that is naturally occurring in the skin. This water-binding molecule has exceptional hydrating properties. It can hold up to 1,000 its weight in water. Hyaluronic acid nourishes the scalp and can encourage hair growth by supporting the growth of the hair follicle. It also helps prevent the scalp from becoming dry and flaky.
Related Post: Hyaluronic Acid For Your Hair: Living Proof Restore Dry Scalp Treatment
PLEASE NOTE: I have below shoulder-length straight hair. As I have aged, I’ve lost some elasticity in my hair and my hair is frizz-prone, especially in humid weather. Since I am always on the hunt for frizz control and anti-frizz products, I purchased the following products from the Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Smooth line:
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Shampoo
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Shampoo is formulated with sustainably sourced ingredients of 79% natural origin. This shampoo designed to gently cleanse textured and frizzy hair. Its sulfate-free lather is generously filled with small creamy bubbles.
Organic-cold-pressed almond oil and hyaluronic acid hydrate the scalp and nourish hair. This shampoo smooths the hair cuticle to reduce frizz which yields smoother strands and hair that is more manageable.
The shampoo is fragranced with a mild floral melon scent and is color-safe. It is packaged in recyclable, bio-based packaging made from sugarcane.
The first thing that I noticed about the shampoo is the fragrance. It smells somewhat perfumey to me. The fragrance is also in the other products in the Smooth line including the conditioner and leave-in treatment. The fragrance transforms to a clean pleasant fresh scent that lingers after you dry your hair.
The shampoo produces small bubbles that are rich and creamy. It feels very lightweight. The translucent orange shampoo rinses cleanly and leaves hair soft and tangle-free.
Related Post: The Best OGX Shampoos
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Conditioner
Like the shampoo, Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Conditioner is enriched with organic, cold-pressed almond oil and hyaluronic acid. The conditioner is formulated to hydrate and smooth the surface of the hair for soft, nourished, and silkier strands. With each use, hair becomes more manageable and tamed.
The conditioner also has a mild floral melon scent and is also color-safe. It is packaged in recyclable, bio-based packaging made from sugarcane.
The conditioner has a thick and rich texture. The directions are to apply it after shampooing for 3-5 minutes as a hair mask. It rinses cleanly and leaves hair super silky and smooth while still wet.
The shampoo and conditioner left my hair very manageable and tangle-free. While you can smell the fragrance after drying your hair, it dissipates over the course of the day. I was happy to see that my hair still looked good on the second day after shampooing.
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Leave-In Treatments
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment
After enjoying the performance of both the shampoo and conditioner, I decided to take advantage of an Ulta sale and purchase some of the leave-in products in the Clean Beauty line.
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment is an anti-frizz leave-in conditioner. It contains organic, cold-pressed almond oil and hyaluronic acid and helps to smooth texture hair and control frizz. It also protects against humidity while making hair easier to style with each use.
The treatment is fragranced with a floral melon scent. This treatment is color-safe and made from sustainably sourced ingredients of 83% natural origin. It is packaged in recyclable, bio-based packaging made from sugarcane.
This leave-in treatment is to be applied to freshly cleansed damp hair to reduce frizz until your next washing. This cream leaves my hair so manageable and smooth. It really helps to keep the frizz down and I can even skip my longtime favorite frizz tamer when using this product.
Related Posts: Affordable Olaplex Alternatives for Frizzy & Damaged Hair, The Ordinary Hair Care Review
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Repair Leave-In Treatment
Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Repair Leave-In Treatment is a restorative leave-in conditioner that is formulated with organic amaranth extract and vegan pea protein to help strengthen the hair fiber and restore hair. It repairs weakened hair, making hair more manageable, soft, and shiny.
This leave-in treatment is made with sustainably sourced ingredients of 83% natural origin and is color-safe. It is pleasantly scented with a rose peach blossom scent. This leave-in treatment is to be applied to freshly cleansed damp hair to strengthen hair, leaving it soft and easy to comb.
My hair is quite soft and manageable when using this lightweight Repair Leave-In Treatment, although my hair is smoother when I use the Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment. I really like the light floral peach scent of Repair Leave-In Treatment much better than the floral melon scent of the anti-frizz products.
Final Thoughts on Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz Collection
I am so thrilled to see more haircare products enter the market, especially from large well-known brands like Paul Mitchell, that are formulated with clean non-toxic ingredients. While the shampoo and conditioner are rinsed out of your hair, they do reach your scalp, so if you are interested in clean beauty, using clean haircare is an important part of the clean beauty equation.
These products were very impressive and performed better than most de-frizz products that I’ve tried.
Do you use clean haircare products? What are your favorites? I’d love to know…
Thanks for reading!
Kim
Sunday 6th of December 2020
I liked your very thorough research and opinion on these clean products. However the newest ingredient that hair care products are avoiding are silicones. So I’m curious as to what is being used in these products, to make it a successful, but still “clean” anti frizz product. Without looking at the ingredients yet, it very well may be silicone free as well. But just something for you to consider in mentioning, is that non silicones are the most current need in hair care products. I have learned that buildup of silicones can cause our hair to respond poorly, and removal harsh. Thank you for your research and post, as I am always looking for that “miracle in a bottle “. Kim
Sarah
Sunday 6th of December 2020
Thanks so much for reaching out Kim. In this case, Paul Mitchell Clean Beauty Anti-Frizz shampoo and conditioner contain amodimethicone, a modified silicone with unique properties that reduces the chances of buildup on hair. It is known for decreasing fly-aways and drying time while increasing strength, color and thermal protection and improving softness. The leave-in treatments contain different silicones.
I think these ingredients will affect everyone’s hair differently. What may be an all-star hair savior for one person may be a bad hair day for another.
Keep in mind that what is considered "clean beauty" is loosely regulated and somewhat subjective. Personally, I hope in the future clean beauty products will be more strictly regulated so that we know exactly what is in and what isn’t in our personal care products that are marketed as clean. (For silicone-free products, I really like Living Proof anti-frizz products.) Thanks so much for your thought-provoking comment.