The Best Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry Damaged Hair

The Nexxus story began in 1979 when scientist, cosmetologist, and inventor of the modern-day conditioner, Jheri Redding, discovered that hair becomes healthier and more robust when treated with protein. To this day, Nexxus believes in the power of protein science to add vitality to your mane. Their logic is, hair is made up of more than 90 percent protein and can become depleted of essential ones due to external aggressors like styling, coloring, and other hair treatments. 

The Nexxus team is dedicated to applying what they've learned about proteomics, the molecular study of proteins, to understand which proteins your hair needs to look and feel its best.

Ingredients in the Best Nexxus Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry Damaged Hair

The scientists at Nexxus can identify which proteins correspond with the needs of each hair type to replenish them. The team members, including scientists and stylists, pinpoint specific proteins and natural ingredients to create the "Proteinfusion" formula they use in their products. 

Silk Protein and Marula Oil

Nexxus scientists noticed that specific proteins appear more frequently in curly hair than in straight while using advanced protein science to examine the former at a molecular level. These curly hair proteins are much richer in specific protein building blocks such as glycine and serine amino acids.

With this in mind, and knowing curly hair is innately prone to breakage, the team set out to craft the first-of-its-kind "Proteinfusion" blend we mentioned above. The Nexxus Curl Define Shampoo and Conditioner is made up of the strengthening building blocks that curly hair needs. Their formula is infused with silk protein to replenish curly hair follicles and Marula Oil to provide intense moisture to wavy and curly hair. 

They claim a game-changing blend delivers the perfect balance of moisture, strength, and flexibility as it can restore curl strength from within for defined, moisturized curls in one wash.

Keratin Protein and Black Rice

Bleaching, chemical processing, and regular heat styling are harsh on your hair and can severely damage it inside and out. Through advanced protein science research and testing, Nexxus scientists identified that glutamic acid, an essential amino acid, is the hair protein most impacted by this damage. This discovery led to the transformative Proteinfusion blend, Keraphix, which includes black rice as a rich source of glutamic acid and keratin, a strengthening protein, to create a clinically-proven product that promotes healthier-looking hair.

The Nexxus Keraphix Shampoo and the exclusive Keratin Protein Nexxus hair products were specifically designed for severely damaged hair and split ends from bleaching, chemical styling, color treatments, and heat. It's infused with the protein complex blend of keratin and black rice mentioned above. This formula is particularly great for bleached hair and that which has been severely damaged. The hair becomes more robust and visibly healthier after a single application on wet hair. 

Elastin Protein and Quinoa

Color treated hair is usually damaged and depleted from its natural proteins, making it dull, and lifeless. Through their expertise in advanced protein science, Nexxus scientists identified the amino acids that make up the proteins lost most during the coloring process: cysteine, glutamic acid, and serine. This discovery led to them using a formula with elastin protein and quinoa. 

These are now the main ingredients in their Color Assure moisturizing shampoo blend as they're both naturally rich in the same amino acids lost during the hair color process. The Nexxus Color Assure Shampoo and the rest of the products in this line promise to replenish these essential natural proteins and even promote hair growth by reversing hair damage while keeping your colored hair vibrant for up to 40 washes.

Elastin Protein and Green Caviar

Even healthy hair loses moisture naturally and ends up dull and lifeless. Nexxus' Therappe and Humectress collections are infused with a blend of green caviar and elastin protein. The goal is to go beyond moisture to restore nutrients in every strand. Their system is designed to deeply hydrate dry hair while fortifying the surface and restoring the natural protective barriers that lock in moisture for several hours.

As you can see, Nexxus Therappe Shampoo and Humectress Conditioner are salon-quality moisturizing shampoos and conditioners designed to repair dry hair visibly and both are suitable for everyday use. 

Elastin Protein and Green Tea

Nexxus Diametress is a highly sophisticated volumizing system that can help reveal thicker, fuller hair. It's formulated with concentrated, 100 percent elastin protein and green tea extract to increase the diameter of each hair strand for beautiful fluidity and buoyant volume. The rebalancing shampoo gently clarifies while unlocking thicker, fuller-looking hair. In turn, the restoring conditioner seals in moisture and leaves hair looking thicker and full of volume.

Wheat Protein and Ginger Root/Keratin Protein and Violet Pigment

Nexxus scientists used advanced protein science to identify that healthy and robust fine hair is rich in cysteine, an amino acid. This discovery led to a system crafted with a fortifying blend of wheat protein, a rich source of cysteine, and ginger root, a known scalp energizer. The formula is designed to nourish the scalp where healthy hair starts while strengthening fine hair and preventing breakage after one use.

In turn, the Nexxus Blonde Assure purple shampoo and conditioner uses a blend of keratin and violet pigments to correct brassy tones and enrich bleached, platinum, or silver hair and intensify the blonde hair look.

What Sets Nexxus Apart From Others?

We already mentioned that it's all about the proteins for Nexxus. They use proteomics, a science that studies proteins, to find the suitable blends to restore hair regardless of damage. As you read above, each formula has the right concentration of proteins to restore hair.

The company recommends using its products as a system for best results, as each one of them has been crafted to take on different roles. For instance, all Nexxus shampoos are custom crafted to rebalance hair by rebuilding broken bonds and replenishing nutrients from within. Likewise, Nexxus conditioners restore the protective barrier, leaving hair balanced and flexible. They refer to it as "balancing the perfect equilibrium."

Silicone and SLES

Nexxus formulas are silicone-free. The company believes that your treatments do a better job at repairing, restoring, and protecting after you remove the silicone coating from your rinse. 

Shampoos with a high level of Sodium Lauryl Sulfates (SLES) can damage colored hair so the company has decreased the percentages they use in its products. This ingredient is still there a cleansing agent. (It's commonly used in all cosmetic products for its excellent cleansing and foaming properties.) The formulas might be milder but are still efficient when it comes to cleansing and maintaining their foaming properties. 

Fragrances

The fragrances used by Nexxus are a delicate balance of floral and warm oriental scents with salty notes of plumeria, vanilla crystals, and heliotrope. Others contain fruity aromas of citruses and peaches with notes of roses. Another popular blend is that of fruits and florals with notes of peach, violet, and coconut.

There's also the Nexxus Therappe fragrance that combines warm touches of vanilla and coconut with notes of benjoin, Tolu balsam, and Tonka bean. In turn, the Nexxus Humectress fragrance features a fruity-floral combination and has notes of musk, vanilla, coconut, and white flowers. Finally, the Nexxus Diametress fragrance is a blend of citrus and floral scents with notes of vanilla and coconut.

No Animal Testing

Nexxus is part of the Unilever Brands and they haven't only complied with the EU animal testing bans for cosmetics since 2004, but support calls for similar bans to be introduced globally. This organization has remained at the forefront of research into non-animal approaches to assess product safety. Among other issues, all members advocate effective, science-based regulation on alternatives to animal testing that ensures consumer safety and facilitates innovation since the 1980s. Let's read more about them.

Unilever Brands

This organization has 400 brands around the world and is on a global mission to do good, which has been its business and goal for over a hundred years. As we said above, they feel quite strongly about helping end animal testing for cosmetics for good and have been developing alternatives to it for several decades. No company needs to test on animals to ensure their products are safe, yet certain regulations still require it. The company's response: #UseScienceNotAnimals.

Animal Testing

Since 2018 Unilever has publicly supported calls for a global ban on animal testing for cosmetics by 2023. This is why they're backing the latest Humane Society International (HSI) campaign: Save Ralph, calling for regulatory change.

Ralph is a could've-been-cute, beaten-up campaign spokesbunny with thinning hair voiced by Oscar winner Taika Waititi. His swollen eye and bandaged ear are a testimony of his past. The #SaveRalph video is a bit upsetting so view it at your own risk. The story follows Ralph's daily life as a lab tester and shines a light on the plight of rabbits, mice, and other animals some scientists use in their lab experiments.

Unilever has been developing and using non-animal approaches to ensure its products' safety for many decades. The list of brands approved by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) continues to grow around the world. 

Unilever is committed to using what they've learned in this space along with its reach and scale. They're supporting efforts towards regulatory change in how chemicals and products are assessed for safety. They want to end animal testing so they've partnered with more than 50 leading research teams globally. The goal is to develop and apply their industry-leading non-animal product safety assessment capability and collaborate with peers, NGOs, and governments so all can share their research.

For instance, Unilever has worked with the Chinese and UK governments to install non-animal approaches for cosmetics safety. The regulatory shifts propose for ordinary cosmetics not to have to be tested on animals in Chinese government laboratories.

As a result of this work, Unilever is one of five companies listed by PETA as working for regulatory change. They even received the Humane Society International Corporate Consciousness Award for their efforts in 2019. Not only that, but they also received the Lush Science Prize along with their scientific partners at the University of Cambridge for their work in this area.

Unilever believes there's no need for animal testing to ensure the safety of its products. Unfortunately, announcements from the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) could undo the continued progress they've been making.

Julia Fentem, Head of Unilever's Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (ECHA), indicates that to comply with the EU Cosmetics Regulation bans on animal testing, fully implemented in March 2013, cosmetics companies cannot use ingredients that have been tested on animals anywhere in the world. This regulation is the gold standard worldwide and a success for those who don't want cosmetics tested on animals.

It's also paved the way for similar animal testing bans in over 40 countries. Unilever was the first major international company to announce its support for a global ban on cosmetics animal testing in October 2018.

However, the new proposals from ECHA contradict the previous bans they endorsed. In August 2020, they said that certain substances must be tested on animals even if they're solely used in cosmetics. They claim it's for assessing factory workers' risks during production. The two chemicals they refer to are commonly used in sunscreens. However, there are still many other ingredients used in consumer products with a requirement for animal testing.

The two chemicals for which ECHA mandated animal testing in August 2020 were sunscreens, the UV filters homosalate, and 2-Ethylhexyl salicylate. But hundreds of other ingredients are widely used in many consumer products for which new animal testing is being requested.

Animal testing isn't necessary at all. Indeed, worker safety is important but the current scientific tools can substitute old practices in this regard. Besides, the ingredients at the center of ECHA's testing decisions have a long history of being safe and workers have been handling them safely in factories for many years. The exposure-based assessments and controls are already practical and in place.

Furthermore, to comply with laboratory animal protection legislation, companies should be maximizing the use of non-animal assessment approaches to avoid unnecessary testing. Companies must have the opportunity to apply these next-generation scientific guidelines. They must make robust science-based decisions on the safety of their products and ensure the safety of people but also of the rest of the animals on the planet.

Unilever believes the future of chemical safety assessment is animal-free. The company believes it's time to embrace modern, human-relevant, non-animal scientific approaches for regulatory decision-making and anything else is a step backward. Not only for animals but for consumers and for any scientific advances and human progress.

The company has openly called for the European Union institutions to protect the ban that's been in place since 2013. They call them to assert the European Parliament's own calls for the global ban on animal testing of cosmetics made in May 2018. They're just one voice and there are still many popular consumer brands certified by international animal protection NGOs as "cruelty-free" which won't be able to use ingredients unless these undergo new animal testing.

This is why Unilever and its PETA-approved brands joined forces with animal protection organizations and many other cruelty-free brands. They did so to co-sign an open letter asking the European Union to uphold their cosmetics animal testing ban and not allow new animal testing.

Unilever has also engaged with suppliers to outline their position and spread the message clearly. This is because only by speaking out and working in collaboration with NGOs, governments, peers, and partners, will they be able to prevent unnecessary animal testing.

As we said above, modern science allows us to predict how an ingredient or a formulation will interact with human biology. It's more accurate than any results obtained on rabbits or rats. This leading-edge science also helps predict the impact a chemical could have when it makes its way into the environment. It's a great way to know when to stay below harmful levels and help keep the planet and all species safe.

Unilever's leading experts in safety science published a paper in August 2021 to discuss the shift we need. It calls for transformational change and wants to create a future-fit regulatory framework that embraces the benefits of modern, highly innovative, non-animal safety science. 

Policymakers must accept the leading-edge application of new approach methodologies — tests that don't use animals. Both cosmetic manufacturers and consumers must continue to advocate for the regulatory changes needed to uphold the legal requirement that non-animal approaches must be used when available. But, don't wait for these practices to be banned; you can stop buying animal-tested products immediately.

Nexxus doesn't test its products on animals and is committed to ending animal testing. This company has a product for most hair types, be it curly, straight, wavy, and even damaged, color-treated, and anything in between. Add the Nexxus products to your hair care routine and find out what they can do for your frizzy hair.