Dealing with a dry, irritated, flaky scalp? Tired of the stigma that goes along with dandruff? There is no reason to feel alone or embarrassed – over 50 million Americans struggle with dandruff, and every year we spend nearly $300 million dollars on products to treat dandruff. So for some, the search for the right product has been, and continues to be, a long journey. With new hair products and trends arriving on the market seemingly every other week, how does one know which scalp treatment is best? And what do all these new, trendy, ingredients actually do? In this article we take a look at Briogeo’s Scalp Revival Shampoo, a naturally derived, micro-exfoliating product with charcoal and coconut oil – let’s see what all the fuss is about.

A 5-Star Dandruff Shampoo

Briogeo is a hair care brand that focuses on nourishment using naturally derived ingredients. This is what they say about their brand:

‘Briogeo believes that beautiful hair is for everyone and its line of shampoos and texturizing conditioners deliver on that belief. Formulated with naturally pure blends of vitamins, proteins and botanical extracts, its treatments nurture your hair’s beauty as well as its health, leaving it fresher, fuller and more beautiful than ever.’

Here and now, we want to take a look specifically at their Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo – a shampoo that soothes and promotes scalp health. The product makes quite a few impressive claims. They say the shampoo detoxifies, gets rid of impurities, soothes, and moisturises to prevent flakiness. Briogeo boasts that their shampoo cleanses AND fortifies the scalp, while reducing build up and keeping hair soft. All of these benefits sound great, but do customers actually experience this when using the product? It appears so, for the most part.

Briogeo Scalp Revival Shampoo is a highly rated shampoo online. Many boast of the effectiveness of the product against dandruff, itchy scalp, or oily scalp. This list best describes the most common motivators for reviews to purchase again.

The few that choose to omit a star or two are usually dissatisfied with the packaging or the price. The shampoo comes in a plastic jar with a screw top lid, which is understandably quite cumbersome in a shower. There’s nothing worse than investing (and at over $40, this really is an investment) in an exciting new product, and then realizing that much of it is going to waste. If the product were to be packaged as a regular shampoo bottle or in a pump, it would solve the problem of getting water in the jar and unnecessary waste.
There are also a few users dissatisfied with how their hair was left feeling afterwards, saying the Scalp Revival Shampoo was drying.

Briogeo Scalp Revival Shampoo: The Not-So-Nice

Briogeo says their anti-dandruff shampoo is clinically proven and derives from 98% natural ingredients – but we put it to the test and discovered that maybe, one should not take these claims at face value.

First of all, when looking at the list of ingredients, there are many appearances by non-natural substances. Reading the fine print, we found a few ingredients that may be cause for concern, such as Polyquaternium-7, Lithium Magnesium Sodium Silicate, and Xylitylglucosid. These ingredients may be responsible for the dryness of the hair ends many experience after using. 

In addition, there are several surfactants – these can contribute to build-up on the hair, which kind of defeats the purpose of a cleansing and purifying shampoo.

• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
• Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
• Sodium Methyl Ally Taurate

And, a few preservatives in the form of harsh ingredients like Benzyl Alcohol and Dehydroacetic acid.

It is positive to see that Briogeo Scalp Revival Shampoo is certified cruelty free and vegan. The brand also points out that their product is gluten free – but since we don’t plan on ingesting it, we aren’t sure why this is relevant or who it applies too.

After taking a closer look, it is hard to believe that 98% of the entire ingredient list is naturally derived. So if that is a priority to you, it is worth considering an alternative. It is also worth considering the lack of evidence backing up the claims that Briogeo Scalp Revival Shampoo makes. Does Binchotan charcoal really detoxify and draw out impurities from your scalp? Why don’t we have access to the so-called ‘clinical proven’ studies that say 100% of participants said the shampoo was effective?

Final thoughts

Now for the real hard-hitter – the price. For us, this was the number one factor in terms of the buying decision. At a whopping $42.00 USD for 8 ounces, you want to be sure that this product works. There is a slightly more reasonable option if you purchase via subscription. In this case, the shampoo will cost $37.50 – and you can cancel at any time. There are many customers that say they use the shampoo as needed, when they notice the dandruff coming back or experience a particularly irritated scalp. If used in this way, it could be worth the investment and therefore last a longer time.

The high price and the impractical packaging make us hesitate when giving Briogeo Scalp Revival the full five stars they currently claim. But it is a fine product that obviously has a large and loyal following, so maybe in the future Briogeo will listen to their customers and make some adjustments. In that case, count us in! I mean, in terms of sheer numbers, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. The choice is up to you!