Frizz is a liar. It tells the world your hair is dry and damaged when, honestly, it might just be misunderstood by your current shower routine. If you’ve spent any time scrolling through high-end salon shelves or clicking around boutique beauty sites, you’ve definitely seen those stubby, minimalist clear bottles with the pastel purple hues. That’s the Davines Love Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. It isn’t just another set of bottles cluttering your ledge. It’s a cult classic for a reason. But here’s the thing—most people use it wrong, or they buy it for the wrong hair type, and then they wonder why their $70 investment didn't turn them into a silk-haired goddess overnight.
Let's get real about what this stuff actually is. Davines is a B-Corp based in Parma, Italy. They do things differently. While most massive hair care brands are pouring money into synthetic silicones that just coat the hair like a plastic wrap, Davines leans into biodiversity. The Love Smoothing line is built around a specific ingredient: the Minuta Olive extract. It’s grown on the farm of Mr. Carmelo Messina in Ficarra, Messina, Sicily. That’s not a marketing fairy tale; it’s part of the Slow Food Presidia project.
What’s Actually Happening to Your Cuticle?
Your hair isn't a solid stick. It’s covered in scales, sort of like a pinecone or the skin of a fish. When those scales—the cuticle—lay flat, your hair looks shiny and feels soft. When they pop up because of humidity, heat damage, or just genetics, you get frizz. This is where love shampoo and conditioner davines comes into play. It doesn’t just "heavy down" the hair with grease.
The formula is packed with fatty acids and vitamins. We’re talking about a massive hit of Vitamin E. If your hair is coarse or frizzy, it’s usually "hungry." It’s looking for moisture in the air because it doesn’t have enough inside the strand. By flooding the cortex with olive extract derivatives, you’re basically telling the hair it can stop reaching outward for moisture.
It’s thick. The conditioner feels almost like a heavy cream or a Greek yogurt. You’ll notice immediately that it doesn't have that "slippery" silicone feel of a drugstore brand. That’s because it’s working on the structure, not just the surface. If you have fine hair, be careful. This stuff is powerful. Use too much and you’ll look like you haven't washed your hair since the 90s. But for the thick, unruly, "I wake up looking like a lion" crowd? It’s a total game changer.
The Minuta Olive Factor
Why an olive from Sicily? Why not just any olive oil?
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Complexity matters. The Minuta olive is rich in polyphenols. These are antioxidants that protect the hair from oxidative stress. Think about UV rays, pollution, and the literal heat of your blow dryer. If you’re using a cheap shampoo, you’re often stripping the hair's natural oils and then replacing them with wax. Davines tries to mimic the lipid barrier that healthy hair naturally has.
Does the scent actually matter?
People talk about the smell of Love Smoothing constantly. It’s "citrusy," but also kind of "green." It’s a very specific scent that doesn’t smell like a candy shop. It smells like an Italian garden after a rainstorm. For some, it’s the best part of their morning. For others, it’s a bit strong. But the scent is a byproduct of the high concentration of natural extracts. You aren't just smelling perfume; you’re smelling the ingredients.
How to Get the Most Out of Love Shampoo and Conditioner Davines
If you just slap this on and rinse it off in thirty seconds, you are wasting your money. Seriously. Stop doing that.
The Double Wash: Use a tiny amount of the shampoo first. It won’t suds up much. That’s okay. Rinse it. Then do a second wash. This time, it will lather beautifully. The first wash breaks down the oils and product buildup; the second wash actually treats the hair.
The Squeeze: Before you put the conditioner on, squeeze the water out of your hair. If your hair is soaking wet, the conditioner just slides off and goes down the drain. You want the hair to be damp, not dripping.
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The Wait: Apply the conditioner from the mid-lengths to the ends. Use a wide-tooth comb to distribute it. Now, wait. Give it five minutes. Go shave your legs, sing a song, or ponder the universe. The molecules need time to penetrate that stubborn cuticle.
The Cool Rinse: Use the coldest water you can stand for the final rinse. This helps "lock" the cuticle down, sealing in all those Sicilian nutrients.
Sustainability Isn't Just a Buzzword Here
Honestly, the packaging is weird, right? Those little tubs look like deli containers for potato salad. But there’s a reason for it. Davines uses "Essential Haircare" packaging that is food-grade and carbon-neutral. They use as little plastic as possible. Once you finish your love shampoo and conditioner davines, you can literally wash the tub out and use it to store paperclips, jewelry, or even grow a small succulent in it.
Most brands talk about being "green" but then ship their products in three layers of non-recyclable plastic. Davines is transparent about their supply chain. They support small farmers who are keeping rare plant species from going extinct. When you buy this, you’re indirectly supporting a farmer in Sicily named Carmelo. That’s pretty cool for a hair product.
Who Should Avoid This Duo?
Let’s be honest. This isn't for everyone. If you have very fine, thin hair that gets greasy by lunch, the Love Smoothing line will likely be too heavy for you. You’d be better off with the Davines Volu or Dede lines. Love is specifically for the "coarse and frizzy" demographic. If your hair feels "crunchy" or "big," this is your soulmate. If your hair is "flat" and "limp," move along.
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Also, if you are looking for a massive, sudsy bubble-bath experience from your shampoo, you might be disappointed at first. Davines uses mild surfactants. They don't use the harsh sulfates (like SLS) that create giant clouds of foam but strip your color and moisture. It’s a gentler clean. It feels different. Give it three washes to get used to the texture.
The Cost-Per-Wash Breakdown
Yes, it’s expensive. A bottle might run you $30 to $40 depending on where you live. But because the formula is so concentrated—meaning there’s less water and more "stuff" in the bottle—you use significantly less. A dime-sized amount of the shampoo is usually enough for medium-length hair. If you’re dumping a palm-sized glob into your hand, you’re doing it wrong. A single set can easily last three to four months if used correctly. When you break it down, you're paying about 50 cents a wash for salon-grade Italian chemistry.
Common Misconceptions About Anti-Frizz Products
Many people think "smoothing" means "straightening." It doesn't. If you have curly hair and you use the love shampoo and conditioner davines, you won't wake up with pin-straight hair. Instead, you’ll have defined, soft curls without the halo of frizz. It’s about control, not changing your DNA.
Another mistake? Putting the conditioner on your scalp. Unless your scalp is incredibly dry, keep that heavy conditioner away from your roots. Start at your ears and work down. Your scalp produces its own natural oils; it’s the ends of your hair that are starving for the Minuta olive extract.
Essential Next Steps for Better Hair
If you’ve decided to commit to the Davines journey, don’t sabotage it with bad post-shower habits.
- Stop the Towel Scrub: Never, ever rub your hair with a rough cotton towel. It’s like sandpaper on your cuticle. Use a microfiber towel or an old cotton T-shirt to gently pat the water out.
- Heat Protection is Non-Negotiable: If you’re using Love Smoothing to prep for a blowout, you still need a heat protectant. The shampoo and conditioner build the foundation, but a hot iron will still scorch the hair if it's unprotected.
- Consistency Wins: You might see a difference after one wash, but the real magic happens after about a month. Your hair's lipid barrier takes time to rebuild. Stick with it.
- Check the Batch: Buy from authorized salons or the official Davines site. There are a lot of fakes on big marketplace sites that are just filled with cheap, generic soap. If the price looks too good to be true, it’s probably a bottle of "who knows what."
The path to manageable hair isn't about finding a "miracle" product that fixes years of damage in five minutes. It’s about switching to high-quality ingredients that respect the biology of your hair. Davines Love Smoothing is a tool, and when used with the right technique, it’s one of the best tools in the industry. Use it sparingly, let it sit, and enjoy the fact that you're supporting sustainable Italian farming while looking like you just stepped out of a chair on the Via Condotti.
Actionable Insight:
Start by purchasing the travel-size versions of the Love Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner. Because the formula is so rich, even the small bottles will give you 10–15 washes. This allows you to test how your specific hair density reacts to the Minuta olive extract before investing in the full-size tubs. Pay close attention to how much "slip" your hair has during the rinse; if it feels too heavy, reduce the amount of conditioner by half in your next wash.