After using up my big bottle of It’s A 10 in November, I took advantage of their pre-holiday sale to stock up. I have used It’s A 10 Original off and on for about 10 years, maybe longer.
In fact, I was surprised that the brand had such an extensive product line on their website, since I usually just repurchase Original at Ulta or CVS without giving it much thought. This time, I looked at all the options. I decided to buy It’s A 10 Plus Keratin to see if that would keep my hair healthier as well as provide the usual heat protection that I am usually looking for. Since this would be the first time using this SKU, I bought the 4 fl. oz. size. I also bought the 2 fl. oz./travel size of It’s A 10 Original to keep in my suitcase.
My Thoughts On Both Options
As I mentioned, I use It’s A 10 primarily for heat protection. I use so many hair products that even though It’s A 10 promises 9 other benefits including hair color protection/protection from UV which is important to me, I don’t think about the other 8. Heck, I don’t even know what most of the other 8 are!
It’s A 10 is positioned as a lightweight conditioner applied to damp hair. I couldn’t imagine using it as a conditioner on my thick, coarse hair. It’s supposed to provide frizz control, but during humid weather, I need a stronger anti-frizz product. I’m telling you this because I can’t compare the two products on those benefits.
The two products are quite similar as you will see.
It’s A 10 Original: Key Ingredients
- Sunflower Seed Extract: a super light extract that helps soften and add shine
- Green Tea Leaf Extract: shields hair from environmental damage with powerful antioxidants
- Silk Amino Acids: helps restore natural moisture balance while facilitating strength and shine
- Aloe Vera: provides intense soothing and protective moisture
- Panthenol: a highly effective moisturizer, fortifier and anti-oxidant
It’s A 10 Plus Keratin: Key Ingredients
- Keratin Amino Acids and Hydrolyzed Keratin: helps restore lost moisture to dry, brittle, color treated or otherwise damaged hair by infusing it with the same natural proteins that make up hair in the first place
- Panthenol: a highly effective moisturizer, fortifier and anti-oxidant
- Sunflower Seed Extract: a super light extract that helps soften and add shine
- Green Tea Leaf Extract: shields hair from environmental damage with powerful antioxidants
- Silk Amino Acids: helps restore natural moisture balance while facilitating strength and shine
- Aloe Vera: provides intense soothing and protective moisture
For me, the “pros” of Plus Keratin are serious softness and increased shine. Both are benefits of Hydrolized Keratin and Keratin Amino Acid ingredients. This past week, I was told by two different women how much they liked my hair color, and they mentioned how shiny it looked. Nice.
The “con” of Plus Keratin is that it seems heavier on my hair. While my hair still feels incredibly soft, my scalp and my hair feels dirty sooner. I usually wash my hair every 5 days in the winter, but after using Plus Keratin, my hair needs washing after 3 days.
I haven’t noticed the extreme softness with the Original It’s A 10, though my hair seems fine. But I also haven’t noticed the scalp greasiness that I feel with the Plus Keratin version.
Frankly, I’m not sure whether I should go back to the Original or just start washing my hair more often. Ah, what to do?
Since all of us have different hair types and different haircare routines, it’s impossible to say how the It’s A 10 Plus Keratin would work for you. But I am curious to find out, if you have used Plus Keratin, what your reaction was?
More Info
The It’s A 10 Leave-in Conditioner product line comes in 3 sizes: 2 fl. oz., 4 fl. oz. and 10 fl. oz. The prices tend to range from about $10 to $30. It’s sold just about everywhere: Ulta, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, and Amazon – the usual suspects! Both versions are:
- Color safe
- Thermal protectant
- UV protectant
- Leaping Bunny Certified
It’s A 10 Original Ingredients: Water (Aqua, Eau), Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Behentrimonium Chloride, Panthenol, Silk Amino Acids, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Quaternium-80, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Fragrance (Parfum), Citronellol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool
It’s A 10 Plus Keratin Ingredients: Water (Aqua/Eau), Propylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Behentrimonium Chloride, Quaternium-80, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance (Parfum), Methylparaben, Panthenol, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Hydroxide, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Keratin Amino Acids, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Silk Amino Acids, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Benzyl Benzoate (preservative), Benzyl Salicylate (UV absorber), Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool
I used to use It’s a 10 and loved it. But I don’t like heavy items on my hair now that it’s gotten so thin. I think I’ll have to skip this version.
Skip it for sure! What do you use for heat protection these days, Marcia? At my salon, I use Oribe, but I’m looking for a more affordable alternative.