Rossano Ferretti Parma Intenso 03 Softening and Smoothing Shampoo and Hair Mask Review

I want to start this blog with a disclaimer, I do not enjoy leaving bad reviews for businesses, products or services. It isn't in my nature and rather than leave a bad review, I would just skip the reviewing process all together. What works for some might not work for all and vice versa. Being a small business owner, in the beauty and fashion industry, I understand this all too well. Having said that, my 2018 goal is to actually use all the products I own. I don't want to be wasteful and I no longer want to hoard samples or products of things that I never actually use. What's the point? So I have been going through everything I own, old and new, and I've decided to not only use it but to also review it. As much as I don't enjoy negative reviews, I think it's important to be honest about your experiences so that it can help others. So here we are with the Rossano Ferretti parma Intenso 03 Softening and smoothing shampoo and hair mask. I made a Sephora purchase right before the New Year but the samples I wanted were out of stock, so as a replacement I received these. I thought it was great because I am always in the market for good quality hair products, what do you expect I am a hair stylist?! Here are the details which can be found on the Sephora Website:

Which hair type is it good for?✔ Straight✔ Wavy✔ Curly✔ Coiled✔ Tightly Coiled
What it is:An intense, sulfate-free, low-foam shampoo that disciplines unruly hair.
Key benefits:- Creates richly moisturized and manageable hair- Controls and tames frizziness and unruly hair- Safe for color- and keratin-treated hair
If you want to know more…Intenso 03 Softening and Smoothing Shampoo revitalizes hair, leaving locks smooth and shiny. It reduces the appearance of damage—such as breakage, brittleness, and split ends—making hair more manageable.
Rossano Ferretti shampoos do not contain aggressive surfactants. The cleansing agents in the formulas are normally used to clean contact lenses, allowing a gentle, respectful approach to hair. The whole product range is free of parahydroxybenzoates, formaldehyde, and SLS. Being sulfate-free, these shampoos produce less foam, without losing their cleansing effectiveness.
What it is:A hair mask with an exceptionally rich concentration of nourishing, strengthening, and moisturizing ingredients to leave hair incredibly smooth, soft, strong, and shiny.
Key benefits:- Fortifies, nourishes, and repairs the hair from damage- Controls and tames frizziness- Detangles
If you want to know more…Intenso 03 Softening and Smoothing Hair Mask is safe for color- and keratin-treated hair. It helps diminish the appearance of future damage—such as breakage, brittleness and split ends. This long-lasting, weightless formula leaves hair silky smooth. 
What it is formulated WITHOUT:- Parabens- Sulfates- Phthalates
What else you need to know:Inside its black and white packaging, a green heart beats. Rossano Ferretti Parma products benefit from the best that nature can offer for the beauty of hair. 
The Rossano Ferretti Parma hair care portfolio is unsurpassed in excellence, thanks to a high concentration of the finest raw materials from plant and vegetable oils, optimized in durability and stability by a minimum use of the most advanced biopolymers.
This product is also cruelty-free and 100 percent made In Italy.

The shampoo retails for about $39 and the hair mask retails for $65. Can you blame me for expecting excellence? Now before I begin my actual review I have to be fair and tell you what I don't like in products, regardless of the price tag. I do not like shampoos that don't lather. I do not like extremely strong scents in shampoos. And I also do not like conditioners or hair masks that aren't heavy. When I condition or use a hair mask I expect moisture to be regained. In short, I expect to feel like I actually used conditioner. 

Now let's talk about the Rossano Ferretti parma Intenso 03 Softening and smoothing shampoo and hair mask. For starters the smell was overwhelming. The shampoo smells like the stereotypical Italian grandma while the hair mask has a little bit more of a masculine smell. The hair mask smells like the stereotypical Italian grandpa. For the record, I am Italian and my grandparents did not and do not smell like the stereotypical grandparents, but just for reference, it's that grandparent mixed with bug spray smell that I am referring to. It's been a week, I've washed my hair since with my typical shampoo but every once in a while I still get a whiff of the grandparent/bug spray smell. I think my biggest issue with strongly and poorly scented shampoos and conditioners (or hair masks) is that I want to choose what I want to smell like that day. I want to choose my perfume scent that morning. I don't want to commit to smelling like my shampoo or conditioner scent until the next time I wash my hair. In all honestly I can go on and on about the scent but I think you get the point. The last thing I want to mention about the shampoo is that it boasts "less foam" but I personally need the foam. Suds are how I gauge how clean my hair is. The more suds, the cleaner the hair... a hairstylist trick!

I think it's important to address the fact that I refuse to call the conditioner a "hair mask". It certainly does not function as one. Hair masks do not require daily use. According to the directions you are meant to use the mask after every shampoo... that is what a conditioner is used for. In my opinion, I've used drugstore hair masks (at a way lower price point) that performed better than this one. I think when people slap an absurdly high price tag on anything, it is automatically expected to be the best. Price tags do not always reflect quality. By definition, they simply show the price a manufacturer, company or brand decided to sell the product for. Sometimes the name behind a company, brand or an individual can warrant a large price tag. In such cases you have to be willing to accept that you are paying for the name, not the performance, function or quality, think Kylie Cosmetics. There was nothing to this shampoo and hair mask duo that justifies the $104 price tag, in my opinion.

I hope in no way to deter anyone from purchasing or trying out any product they have an interest in or want to try. You should always draw your own conclusion just as I have done. The price point is a large investment in my option so if you can, try to get your hands on the free sample before committing to the $104 shampoo and hair mask. 

I hope you enjoyed this post and/or found it useful! To continue to show support for me and my efforts, check out my cruelty-free, woman-owned small business, made in the USA! https://www.roxdollcosmetics.com/

It's the hair, scalp, and skincare you DESERVE!