Garnier Fructis Hair Food Papaya Review

I received a full sized tub of this for review from Beauty Review.

The first thing that struck me about this product is the scent! It smells good enough to eat. Natural, fruity, and light - yum!

It comes in a 390ml tub, surprisingly large compared to other similar products. The lid doesn't screw on super tightly, so I'd be cautious about storing this in the shower as I'd worry it may let water in. There are instructions on the tub for how to use the product as either a conditioner, a mask, or a leave-in conditioner. The instructions for use as a conditioner or mask don't include details about the amount of product to use or how long to leave it in for, so I just made my best guess and went with "a generous dollop".

I have fine brown hair that comes down to just below my shoulders, I don't use any hair colour or styling products regularly, and it tends to get a bit neglected with blow-drying every second day.

As a leave-in conditioner, this product went on easily, absorbed quickly, and my hair felt soft and silky with no heavy residue. The scent didn't linger as long as I'd hoped it might, but overall I liked it as a leave-in.

As a conditioner, this was easy to use, I just put a dollop (about 2Tbsp) in my hair, focussing on the mid-lengths and ends, and left it in for two minutes. It left my hair soft, silky, and smelling great, but it started to feel oily and heavy by mid-afternoon. I really thought I'd need to wash it the next day, but I managed to get a second day out of it. I'm not sure if I used too much product or if it didn't rinse out as well as I thought it did, but this just didn't work as a conditioner for me.

I was a bit nervous about trying this product as a mask, after my experience trying it as a conditioner, but I'm glad I did. I used about 1Tbsp and applied to wet hair, rinsing after 1 minute as instructed. After blow drying my hair felt soft and nourished, no heavy or oily residue, and a faint tropical scent. I think perhaps this is in part due to the silicones in my conditioner stopping my hair from fully absorbing the product.

Overall, I prefer this product as a leave-in conditioner. It smelled good and I like the fact that it's free from so many nasties. I would probably not purchase it as it was a bit heavy for my fine hair, but I'm glad I had the chance to try it.

On receiving this in the mail, my first impression was delight at the size of the container. Most of my hair products sit around 250ml so this was a treat at 390ml.

Upon opening it, it reminded me of a big container of body butter. The shape, colour, texture and even packaging all reminded me of some body butters I've used.

The packaging itself is interesting reading. An ingredient list is shown that highlights the source of the ingredients, showing most of them as from vegetable origin. It also makes a point of announcing that there are no parabens, silicones or artificial colours in this product. Overall the ingredients in this product were some of the best I've seen in a hair conditioning product. And I agree they need the 2% of ingredients of non natural origin for efficacy and preservation.

Now onto using the product. It can be used three ways; as a mask, a conditioner or a leave in.

I tried it as a leave in first. Much like other leave in's I've used, I found the effects limited and had to be careful how much product I used to ensure it didn't weigh the hair down and make it greasy.

The second way I used it was as a conditioner. This could easily work as a conditioner and I like that it can be a substitute as I often run out of conditioner before I do shampoo. Unlike as a leave in, to be an effective conditioner, I used the product liberally.

And finally I tried it as a mask. Much like as a conditioner I used the product liberally and found my hair felt a little softer and protected for the next 24 hours. But overall no other effects.

What I wasn't struck on with the packaging was that when using it in the shower it needs to be kept away from the water more than a tube does. But on the plus side it is very easy to get the product out.

So I probably need to start this by clearing one important fact up.... Even though this container is gorgeous and bright and inviting, and even though it smells divine, you need to remember that this is NOT yogurt. I know you're now asking why that is something that needs to be said, but I got this delivered to work and 3 of my coworkers tried asking me about the delicious looking yogurt on my desk, and it honest to goodness smells good enough to eat. So, if you're severely sleep deprived you might have to be careful not to confuse it.

Anyway, onto the review. I'm admittedly a little bit of a hair product snob, mostly due to the fact that I use a Joico K-pak treatment in place of my conditioner anyway. So lets start from the top. Packaging - divine Smell - delicious Ease of opening - a little tricky to put the lid back on when you've got a few fingers covered in product, the container is wet, and you're trying not to get it filled with water. So could do with a little texture on the lid or base to make it easier to twist on. Mask - feels really good going on, washes out nicely and does leave the strands feeling more substantial or 'thicker' than they normally do. Will definitely keep using it

Leave in - not so much. I'm sure this will be good for some but I have dry curly hair and after the second use and leave in my ends feel more gunky or textured rather than soft. I can feel a bit of residue on my hands after playing with the ends 24 hours post shower and I don't think I put a huge amount on. I think I'm going to skip doing a 10c coin sized leave in in future.

So overall - smells great - could be made easier to put the lid back on - great as a mask - fairly weighty as a leave in if you're not used to being able to feel the product the next day.

I'll keep using it because it sure smells good, but unsure if I would purchase it when I run out.

I was first and foremost surprised at the size of this! It was far bigger than most hair mask like products I have ever purchased, it meant I didn't feel like I had to scrimp on the amount I used. The texture and smell are awesome, it made the entire shower smell so good and fruity.

Although for the most part I liked this product I am not so sure about the actual results. My hair didn't feel particularly smoother or stronger after use and I feel like it had about the same efficacy as a standard conditioner rather than a stand alone treatment. Overall I think it's a nice little extra to have but perhaps would not recommend it if you are really trying to help with damaged hair.

This is one flexible product and I tried each of the methods suggested on the Garnier Fructis Hair Food tub.

As a leave in - I put a large dollop of the product through the lengths and ends of my dry hair the morning of the day I was due to wash it before heading to the gym. No one would have been able to tell as it absorbed, didn't weigh down my hair or leave it sticky and the sweet papaya smell followed me around. It can also be left in wet hair.

As a conditioner - I used a small amount and left it for about a minute after shampooing before rinsing. The naturalness of this product seemed apparent with this method as does how soft and shiny it makes your hair as this was most definitely the case for the lengths and ends of my long, slightly damaged and usually dry, thick hair.

As a mask - this is my favourite and most effective use for the hair food as I've been getting hair mask treatments every time I have my hair cut but haven't taken this luxury into my own home. I smear the hair food through in the shower after I've used shampoo and conditioner and leave it for just over a minute before rinsing. It has resulted in softer hair and the papaya scent remains between washes on top of the soft but not weighed down feeling of my hair.

The only wee downside is that this is a massive, heavy tub of product which is certainly not gym bag friendly for girls who tend to wash their hair after their workouts. Without knowing the price I'm unable to really comment on the value for money but given it's effectively three products in one it'd be hard to lose!

I received this product to trial from BR which was very handy as my hair was in need of some extra care.

I've been using this product after shampoo, instead of a regular conditioner and have since noticed a significant change in the texture and appearance of my hair.

This deep conditioning hair treatment comes packaged in a large plastic tub, it's a lot of product, I imagine that it will last for quite some time.

The texture of this stuff is like a super thick and smooth custard, and it smells exactly like papaya fruit.

I rub a good dollop of this product through the lengths of my hair and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing it off thoroughly.

The condition of my hair has noticeably changed since the first time of use with this treatment, it looks and feels smooth and nourished, and is also glossier than usual.

This is a really nice product to use, it does what should and I would definitely purchase and use it again.

I loved this product. Packaging was easy to use, the the scent of the product was pleasant. The consistency was like a normal shampoo and the product rubbed easily into my hair. I used this product as a treatment, but the option was there to use it also as a condition. It left my hair feeling smooth and looking healthy. Would definitely use again.

The first thing that struck me with this product was the size of the container, it’s HUGE. I couldn’t wait to use it as the smell literally had me drooling. It’s honestly like a big bowl of fruit salad. The product itself is thick and easy to use and really does leave the hair soft and smooth. I have used this as a daily conditioner, a leave in conditioner or a mask. As a conditioner it’s good it does the job but isn’t the best one I’ve used and the large container can be cumbersome in the shower. I like it as a leave in and it leaves my hair smelling amazing but for me it was using it as a mask that sold me on this product. It’s so thick and luxurious that your hair feels softer just applying it. I used about a tablespoon worth and left it on my hair for a good 3 minutes. After rinsing it out my hair shone and my unruly curls were much more manageable. I would definitely buy this product after trialling it (thanks Beauty Crew) but keep it out of the shower and use it as a mask only.

The hair food comes in a chunky tub. I love the fresh papaya and tropical smell, although it sadly doesn't last for very long post-shower. The tub also has plain English explanations of where each ingredient is from, which I thought was a really cool touch.

I used it as a conditioner because it felt too thick for a leave-in mask for me. It did leave hair noticeably smoother and slightly shinier, but I don't think this is my holy grail conditioner / hair mask. When my hair dried, it looked really limp and the conditioner also did not dampen the little frizz I have on my straight hair. It was like my hair had gotten really oily. It was smooth though, but it didn't feel light as it would normally feel after washing my hair. Maybe if you have really dry thin hair, this would work really well for you.

Overall, I think I liked it as an affordable hair mask / conditioner that smells very nice and is a bit fun and obviously has the bonus of having natural ingredients.

I feel very lucky to be on this trial, my hair was feeling drab, dry & generally unloved, although I was regularly using hair oils and other treatments. Firstly the tub is a value size, I’ve now seen this product at the supermarket for around $15, which is a good price for a hair mask, and when you get a tub this size, it is very good value. I have used it as a conditioner in the shower, very easy to fit in my regime, when it only needs to be in your hair for a few minutes, just right amount of time to wash the rest of me, and shave my legs.

The scent is nice and fruity, yum! But I didn’t find it overwhelming. The texture is nice and thick, and easy to scoop in my hand as well as distribute through my thick hair easily.

I also used it as a leave in conditioner, and found it didn’t weigh my hair down, but I definitely used more than they recommended. But I have thick hair so felt it needed more.

Results are in and I am very happy, the ends of my hair were very dry almost brittle, not my hair is softer, the ends are better and I feel a lot more confident to wear my hair out again, rather than hiding it in a messy bun.

This is a product I’ll purchase in the future.