Review: American Crew Trichology Shampoo and concentrate

Ok...big deep breath here... I have a confession to make... I am losing my hair. And I have been losing it pretty steadily since my early-mid twenties. For those who know PCOS, there are usually a few different side effects - I was lucky enough to miss the acne and moustache but instead I have had a battle with increased levels of androgens and the loss of I would say by this point is around 50 % of the hair I had in my 'glory days'. I am not yet bald but as my hair is extremely fine, I ain't fooling anyone about what is going on either (well close up anyway).

Liquid Hair were kind enough to allow me the opportunity to try American Crew's Trichology range including their hair recovery shampoo and concentrate. It's taken me some time to give these a fair try (hair doesn't grow overnight people) and I'm ready (another big deep breath) to let you know more of my experience now.

The Technology: Alright I'm not a scientist but essentially DHT is a natural product which is created by "the metabolism of androgen involves an enzyme called 5 alpha reductase which combines with testosterone to form DHT".  The DHT sits around the bottom of the hair roots and stops nutrients which then causes other complications which ultimately leads to shorter, finer and fewer hair strands. According to the American Crew information I had provided to me, 95% of hair loss is caused by DHT (bastard!!!).

At this point I guess you are thinking - yeah but I am a woman - well we also have androgen and testosterone in our bodies too - and in PCOS (in my case especially) those levels were way out of whack. And even if you are penning a "this research is crap" response, please save it, as I don't really care what the technology says - if it works it works, if it doesn't it doesn't. I should also say straight up in this review - just because it worked like this for me, doesn't mean it will do the same for you FULLSTOP.

The regime: This product range includes a shampoo, patches and the concentrate. I feel it is worth noting that I did not use the patches during my trial time. So how about I give a summary of the two products I did use:

• Hair recovery shampoo - this has a great fresh scent (clearly masculine but still pleasing to me) and made my hair feel really clean. My 250ml bottle pretty much lasted 2 months with me washing my hair every 2 days.
• Hair recovery concentrate ampoules - these have a similar scent and I used them on my scalp after shampoo (and conditioner of my choice). I found I only needed about half of the ampoule so one of those lasted me 4 days.
• My conditioner - during this time I used 2 conditioners Amplify (which is rubbish and expensive) and then Organics balance conditioner (a supermarket brand that I quite like).

It should be noted that I could not smell the "man" smell from these products so if you are afraid people will know, rest easy your secret will be safe.

The results: I know I should have taken a picture of my head before starting so I could show you one now and it would be all crystal clear if I have more hair or not but I didn't. I didn't because I didn't want to see the before shot - because while I'm not looking at it, it's not something that I have to be worried about for every minute of every day. So for that I get a fail but I hope you understand why I didn't.

Here's what I can tell you - I had great body and volume in my hair both on the day of washing and the next day (when it is usually as flat as a tack). I found my hair felt thicker - more substantial - like it wasn't going to snap if I brushed it too roughly. I felt like my hair grew more quickly than normal and that less hair fell out when I was brushing and combing it (especially after washing). All of these are really important for me and made me feel the product was doing a damn good job.

I was still able to use styling products such as Moroccan oil when drying my hair (I blow dry every 2 days) and I liked being able to match the conditioner I wanted to use with this regime. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if there is more hair up there just because less was coming out from brushing and combing but I can't hand on my heart say OMG 50% of my hair came back either (SAD FACE for unrealistic expectations not being met).


The price: The shampoo retails for around $30 AUD for a bottle which I think is really reasonable. The ampoules come in a box of 42 for $150 AUD - now before you fall off your seat (cos you all know I did when I saw that too) if 1 ampule lasts me 4 days, then 42 lasts for 168 days which brings that back to about a $1 a day for the shampoo and ampoules together - and I don't care who you are, that is a rippa price for hair treatment products. BTW you can also get the ampoules in a box of 12 if $150 is too big a sum to come up with at any time which is good for me to know for the future too as I'm not rolling in it either.

So what does it all mean: Well I would like to continue using the shampoo and the ampoules along with the Terrax (?) conditioner that Dee has been raving about for ages as well.

I am truly grateful to Liquid Hair for giving me the opportunity to try this because I know I wouldn't have otherwise, (I mean come on it's a men's range and it appears pricey) and you know what, I would have been an idiot. If you are sitting there right now, scared about what hair you might not have in a few years time then really what are we losing by trying something that might help? Big deep breath, have courage, and if you are still scared - you can always say you are buying it for your husband.

Be gentle with the comments guys - I've done the emotional equivalent of showing you my underwear.

More reviews coming this week  including Banana Boat sunscreen and Cetaphil Gentle Cleanser.

Jac x

Disclaimer: I was given these products by Liquid Hair to try and review. My opinions are always my own.