March - April 2005

Shampoos

• We tested 23 brands of shampoo as per IS specifications for “shampoo surfactant based”, of which 22 were national brands and one regional. They were : Dabur Vatika Antidandruff, Dabur Vatika Henna Cream Conditioning, Sunsilk Black Shine Sunflower Extracts, Lux Super Rich, Johnson’s Baby, Chik Black Double Conditioner, Nyle Herbal, Ayur Herbal, Mediker Anti-lice Treatment, Head & Shoulders Anti-Dandruff, Clinic All Clear, New Clinic Plus Family Health, Himalaya Ayurvedic Concepts Protein, Pantene Pro-V Volume & Fullness, New Sunsilk White Antidandruff, Biotique Bio Margosa Ayurvedic Recipe, Rejoice Rich, Lever Ayush Dandruff Nashak, Garnier Fructis Fortifying, Shahena, Shamla, and Nizoral. The only regional brand shampoo was Beauty Plus Conditioner.

• The brands comprised 9 detergent based, 6 anti-dandruff, one anti-lice, one `baby’ shampoo, 5 `ayurvedic medicine’ and one brand with no claims.

• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, makes it mandatory for shampoo to conform to Indian Standards.

• We tested all 23 brands as per IS:7884:1992 (Second Revision)/2003 and (Third Revision draft standard for shampoo surfactant based) for the parameters: pH, active detergent content, non-volatile alcohol soluble matter, foam height, and packing and marking. We tested all the brands also according to the Weights and Measures Act, 1976.

• Eight brands — Ayur Herbal, Mediker, Himalaya Ayurvedic Concepts, Biotique Bio-Margosa, Lever Ayush, Garnier Fructis, Shaheena and Shamla — contained active detergents, even though the labels did not mention “Shampoo Surfactant Based”.

• Beauty Plus, showing a label weight of 1 litre (1000 ml), did not conform to the Weights & Measures Rules, 1977.
  
  All the rest conformed to the weight requirement, though some showed variations in the volume but within the permissible error limit.

• Eight brands — Shaheena, Shamla, Bio-Margosa, Mediker, Garnier Fructis, Ayur Herbal, Himalaya Ayurvedic Concepts and Lever Ayush — did not conform to the labelling information requirements of Packing & Marking as per IS:7884: 1992 (Second Revision).

• We tested the brands also for their sensory qualities. Only Medikar (anti-lice treatment) was not included in the test. Our panellists liked the most Sunsilk Moisturising White Anti-Dandruff, which recorded the highest score of 83 among the anti-dandruff shampoo brands. Among the regular shampoo brands, Rejoice Rich scored the highest at 79.

• As all shampoo brands fall under Schedule ‘S’ and must conform to the mandatory requirements as per the IS, we considered even those marked `Herbal’, `Ayurvedic’, etc.

• Sachets were tested for their weight and labelling information as per the IS and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Some brands like Nyle Herbal, Sunsilk and Clinic Plus did not print the net content on their sachets, although it is mandatory to mention the net content. Most brands did not mention month and year of manufacturing/packaging. This is also compulsory as per the IS.

• Except 4 brands — Mediker, Pantene Pro-V, Rejoice Rich and Head & Shoulders — out of the 13 brands of shampoo sachets taken for the 8-week accelerated study, all the others showed loss in weight.

• We recommend that, with a good overall score and reasonable price, Super Rich Lux Shampoo is your Best Buy in the regular shampoo category. Among the anti-dandruff shampoo brands, Sunsilk White Anti-dandruff is your `Best Buy'.
  

Details of the test report can be read in INSIGHT

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