The Regenerating Hair Ritual line from Christophe Robin is a 3-piece kit containing, in a storage bag, shampoo, hair mask and balm that claims to moisturize, restore, repair and protect the hair from further damage while giving shine and color protection to the hair. All three products contain prickly pear seed oil, containing proteins, vitamin E and fatty acids for softness, protection and shine to the hair.

My fine, wavy hair is bleached, colored, dry and damaged and I’ve been looking for a product to smooth, moisturize and soften the hair. I wash my hair about once a week. Previous to this, I was using Briogeo’s Don’t Despair, Repair line, and I’ll use this as a sort of comparison throughout the review, as it is also SLS- and silicone-free claiming to provide similar benefit.

Regenerating Shampoo with Prickly Pear Oil:

This shampoo has a creamy formula made for daily use and all hair types. This is said to gently cleanse, nourish, smooth and restore shine to the hair.

Directions state to apply on damp hair, gently massage the scalp, lather well and rinse thoroughly.

Ingredients: Sodium Myreth Sulfate, Peg-18 Glyceryl Oleate/ Cocoate, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Seed Oil, Opuntia Ficus Indica Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Sodium Chloride, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Fragrance, Glycol Distearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Laureth-4, Glycerin, Lactic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal, Coumarin, Caramel.

The shampoo is silicone-, SLS- and paraben-free. It has a heavy, fruity, baby powder scent. It lathers well. I got 12 uses with this bottle (6 washes; I always shampoo my hair twice in one wash). My hair does not get as tangled or dry-feeling while washing as with other shampoos (Briogeo’s Super Moisture shampoo) and it rinses well, but by the end of my 6 washes I felt like I wanted the deeper cleanse of the Briogeo shampoo.

Regenerating Mask with Rare Prickly Pear Seed Oil:

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Ingredients: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Cetrimonium Chloride, Inula Crithmoide Leaf/Flower Extract, Opuntia Ficus Indica Seed Oil, Behenyl/Stearyl Aminopropanediol Esters, Opuntia Ficus Indica Fruit Extract, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid, Fragrance, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Hydroxycitronellal, Coumarin, Limonene, Caramel, Tocopherol, Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss) Extract, Linalool, Geraniol.

This is a conditioning mask, also silicone-, SLS- and paraben-free. This claims to repair, smooth and protect the hair.

It has a thick, rich, creamy texture and has a heavy, flowery, baby powder scent.

Directions state to apply a small amount after shampooing, massaging from scalp to ends, add water to lather the product and rinse thoroughly.

I got 7 uses from the jar. It detangles well. I need to apply more than the “small amount” as stated. Comparing this to Briogeo’s deep conditioning mask, the hair feels smoother and softer while rinsing, but as I work it into the hair, doesn’t seem to coat each strand as I’ve found with Briogeo. This doesn’t weigh the hair down and leaves no residue on drying.

Intense Regenerating Balm with Rare Prickly Pear Oil:

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Ingredients: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Opuntia Ficus Indica Seed Oil, Opuntia Ficus Indica Fruit Extract, Inula Crithmoide Leaf/Flower Extract, Lecithin, Fragrance, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Linalool, Geraniol, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal, Coumarin, Amyl Cinnamal, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate.

The Intense Regenerating Balm contains a number of butters and oils for a multi-use product for hair and body. This claims to be a non-sticky formula to nourish, protect, repair and soften skin and hair. This also has the powdery, flowery scent.

This can be used on damp or dry hair as a styling aid for a messy look or tousled waves, can tame fly-aways, define curls, and can be used on dry areas of the body; knees, elbows, lips and cuticles.

This balm is quite heavy on the hair, especially my fine hair. A little goes a long way. I scrunch a bit through the hair for some texture and definition and it feels like a sticky oil – this provides a similar result and feel on the hair as the John Masters Organics Bourbon Vanilla and Tangerine Hair Texturizer (which I also don’t like the feeling of). The Christophe Robin balm works well for protecting the ends of the hair and is likely a good preventative for split ends. For curl and definition, I’d stick with Briogeo’s Curl Charisma Custard. For fly-aways, I like Olaplex No. 7, but a small amount of any other oil would work as well. I prefer to use the balm on my feet and hands, particularly the cuticles. It is not sticky or greasy on the skin (it needs a minute to absorb) and provides moisture, softness and protection, especially when used over a lotion.

Above are the results of using the Christophe Robin Regenerating Hair Ritual travel kit after about 2 months. My hair is air dried with no product. I don’t see any difference in the photos. It doesn’t look shinier or the color more vibrant. I don’t really feel a significant difference to my hair either; it was perhaps a bit softer.

I generally like this line of products, though probably not enough to justify the expense. Of the three, I like the mask the most. My hair felt really smooth and silky on rinsing, probably the closest feeling to a mask containing silicone, but once the hair is dry, there is not much difference to how my hair felt previously. I like the richness of the texture. While I don’t think it out-performs similar hair masks, it would likely help prevent damage. The shampoo was not drying, but not super cleansing. The balm was too heavy and sticky for the hair, but I like using it on dry areas of the skin.

The heavy baby powder scent of the products leaves much to be desired. It doesn’t bother me too much (though I’m not sure I actually want to smell like baby powder). It does linger until the next wash, and it is noticeable to other people. If sensitive to smells, I can imagine this could cause headaches. If using other scented styling products, the scents might interfere with each other.

Since the “star” of this line is prickly pear seed oil, one could purchase the pure oil and add to any other shampoo or conditioner, or add a few drops to the hair when damp or dry.

Perhaps once damage is done to the hair, there’s not much one can do to repair it, with the hair being dead once it grows out of the scalp. I have since gotten my hair cut to above my shoulders to get rid of the damage and start growing my hair out healthy again.

Thank you for reading.