I have been using my old bottle of Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo as a great hair clarifier. As I came to the end of my bottle, I picked up the new formulation in hopes that it worked as well. Here’s my thoughts:

The Good:

It’s a solid shampoo that doesn’t overly strip hair. The pear scent is lovely (though I preferred the apple cider scent in the previous version.) In the rotation of shampoos I use, it is a decent shampoo that doesn’t do damage.

The Bad:

It no longer leaves my hair silky and frizz free. In fact, it leaves a bit of a reside that, in my mind, disqualifies it as a clarifying shampoo. Lyn mentioned to me that she had to lather twice, and even then it didn’t give the results that the old formulation did.

Now, I will allow the proviso that the old formulation left hair squeaky clean, which can be bad for hair in the long term. However, whenever I needed to get rid of serious product buildup, it got the job done without leaving my hair dry. This won’t be my “get the buildup” shampoo now, unfortunately.

So what’s the alternative?

If you adored the old formulation, try using actual Apple Cider Vinegar when you need to clarify. Some people say to dilute it with water, some say to mix it with conditioner, I just use it straight when I wash my hair and end up with shiny, bouncy waves after. I definitely preferred the old formulation to this, but it is a decent replacement.

Now as a word of caution: I don’t color my hair, and straight Apple Cider Vinegar will likely make your hair color fade faster if you use it on a regular basis. But Lyn uses it occasionally and it does not adversely affect color.

So all in all, the new Frederic Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo is a good shampoo that I will likely buy again, and it is great that I can pick up a shampoo at CVS that doesn’t completely dry out my hair, but if you were devoted to the old formulation, it doesn’t match the wonderful clarifying results of the old formulation.

Find Frederic Fekkai Apple Cider Shampoo at drugstore.com.