Rants or stories for the overly technical!

[dawnss]

I do not want to come off as being overly technical, however; when I read online reviews for hair care I really have to wonder about people. The main reason is because some reviewers don't seem to really do their homework before buying products, now maybe because I buy almost all of my oils and butters from NOW foods (an excellent company by the way with pretty decent prices compared to other brands and their quality is amazing), but does anyone's almond oil smell like almonds, I ask because mine does not? I went lurking through the reviews because I check to make sure that the oils are authentic and from NOW foods because the internet has great deals.
Back to the main story though, one of the reviewers of NOW foods almond oil was upset because their oil did not smell like almonds and as a result the oil was given a lower rating. Now I know I am probably getting upset over something that is insignificant (I think it is because I minor in stats and it is somewhat interesting to see how certain reviews will bring down the overall rating of the product) but when a select few do not really understand the intentions of a product the overall rating is lowered and it drives me batty.
Maybe I am crazy but when I am looking at product reviews I want to see how well the product works from people who understand what the products is meant to do. I apologize for the rant but this also goes with the reviews for sulfate free shampoos, many sulfate free shampoos are not supposed to lather! Look all I am saying is that we should encourage people to understand what certain products are meant to do before they buy them, and when I say this I mean individuals should do five to ten minutes of research before buying a new product especially because this can save money in the short and long run. Ok I got that out, thank you. I do apologize for getting soo long winded and if this post bored you to pieces.
Have a great day and you are more than welcome to vent with me or post stories.

[Siiri]

I don't normally spend too much time reading customer reviews, because I can't be sure what sort of hair/preferences the reviewers have, so the ratings don't really tell if the product would work for me.

[Wavelength]

The other problem with review sites is that many corporations pay people to visit websites and post positive reviews, so that more people will buy their product. And lately, I've heard of rival corporations paying reviewers to post bad reviews of their competitor's products. It's kind of underhanded, really -- you don't know who's honest and who's a mercenary.

I still read reviews, but with a critical eye.

[JuliaDancer]

That does bother me. As well as reviewers who will rate 3 out of 5 stars just because it was ok and did what they wanted, but didn't blow them out of the water. If the product works and does what it's supposed to, why rate it so low?

[dawnss]

Siiri, you are right, so that right there makes the issues somewhat difficult to navigate, however; every once in a while you will run into a reviewer who will use something like the andre walker hair typer and it is kinda nice. Wavelength I have heard of that before. JuliaDancer I agree with you on the rating, I think the system is somewhat upsetting because it is so subjective, there is no way to set a standard in hair care. However; I tend to trust more hair reviews from individuals who are well informed about proper hair care practices, ingredients, and those who have a hair type that is similiar to mine.

[In2wishin]

I prefer reviews that have no stars, rating 1-10, etc. Even here on LHC I feel I get better information when a product is mentioned in a thread than I do reading the official reviews

[manderly]

I think I recall reading a review on coconut oil where the reviewer was concerned and a little grossed out that it was thick and cloudy instead of a clear oil. Many others chimed in about the temperature changes to cocounut oil and that it's normal. I think the reviewer brought down the average though.

I see this A LOT and I do find it really annoying. I always want to reply to the review that they didn't like it because they didn't use it right or expected something else.

[greygardens]

I will admit to being slightly irritated by the "I just used this for the first time. OMG HOLY GRAIL!!!!" type of review.

[Zesty]

I have noticed this too, particularly with BBBs. There will be tons of reviews going "This doesn't detangle my hair, it doesn't penetrate through my hair" etc. etc. and it seems like for that reason most of the BBBs online have really poor ratings -- just because people aren't using them for their intended purpose.

[Alaia]

Many people are not well informed about the products they buy and what they are supposed to do. Sometimes it's a case of "Oh that looks great on TV in that ad so I'm going to buy it!"

Bad reviews tend to be from misuse or just generally having, for example, the wrong hair type for a product.

Or they're fake ones :lol:

[Hiriel]

My fave are the reviews on Amazon etc, where for example someone gives a book with a specific kind of crochet patters a one-star rating because it didn't contain any "crochet basics" instructions, so the reviewer couldn't learn to crochet from that book. It never claimed you could! Or a cook book written by a Brit, which was given a one-star rating because she used British units...

It would be nice if people reviewed the products based on what they were supposed to do. Oh well.

[Madora]

I rarely purchase any hair products apart from the George Michael line, but really appreciated the reviewers who left comments (pro and con) about shampoo and conditioners, as well as the views on the Flexi-8!

Thanks one and all! I would much rather trust YOU, than what I read on some website!

[ratgirldjh]

Oh geez
This irritates me too!

But usually I just ignore these reviews!!! I do worry about them stopping people from trying things like almond or coconut oil though - because one person didn't understand the nature of the product they were buying!

[krissykins]

This is why I go to the experts here at LHC for hair related items! :D

[Lilli]

But this happens with any review for any product. I sell cloth diapers and you should see the stupid reviews. Like "The diaper was great but it was the wrong size for my baby so I'm giving it one star." :rolleyes:

[manderly]

Oh, I especially hate the ones on makeupalley.com that go like this:


"This product did wonders for my skin! I was in love, I had the best skin of my life. But then I read the ingredients and saw it used MINERAL OIL!!!. I've marked it down to 1 star because of this no-no"

The stupid burns.

Another equally hated review:

"I didn't follow the directions but I'm special and don't need to and it should work the way I thought it would. It left my skin/hair all gross and grimy. Tossed in the trash 1 star. Would not recommend"

[HoneyJubilee]

My "favorites" are the ones that go something like "Haven't tried this yet, but it looks amazing! 5 stars!!!"
And then there are the ones where people are using a product for something it's clearly not meant for, like using fabric dye as hair dye...

[Anje]

And then there are the ones where people are using a product for something it's clearly not meant for, like using fabric dye as hair dye...
Ah, but does it work?

[swetiepeti]

Re: Rants or stories for the overly technical!
I have BBB brushes that will penetrate through my hair. But they are ones that are made to do that, they are not paddle brushes, they are made with stiffer boar's hair and less rows and less clumps of bristles in each row. Would not know about detangling as I have never used any kind of brush to detangle my hair.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zesty:

I have noticed this too, particularly with BBBs. There will be tons of reviews going "This doesn't detangle my hair, it doesn't penetrate through my hair" etc. etc. and it seems like for that reason most of the BBBs online have really poor ratings -- just because people aren't using them for their intended purpose.

[HoneyJubilee]

Ah, but does it work?
That one got 4 out of 5 stars, so the person must have been fairly satisfied with how it worked.

An excerpt from the review:
"Unfortunately, I picked the first 'green dye' I found in the search, which was this one. Which happens to be for fabrics. And which my hair is not.

That wasn't a big problem, because it says right in the description that it works on 'all natural fibers', which my hair *is*. So I squeezed it out onto my head and massaged it in deep -- while I read the rest of the description, which includes the word 'PERMANENT'. Ouch."

[RitaCeleste]

Well, I try to sort threw reviews before buying a product or ordering from a merchant. I don't sweat a few bad reviews though. I understand not all products work for all people. I have been lucky in finding hair boards and their reviews of products too. What really annoys me is a product with only a few reviews and say one out of two is a bad one. Its just not enough information, two or three reviews. Sometimes I go out on a limb and waste a little money. When I can get information on a hair board as opposed to a selller's site, it way more reassuring. You never know who is posting reviews on big commercial sites.

[Nightshade]

"This product did wonders for my skin! I was in love, I had the best skin of my life. But then I read the ingredients and saw it used MINERAL OIL!!!. I've marked it down to 1 star because of this no-no"

The stupid burns.

Another equally hated review:

"I didn't follow the directions but I'm special and don't need to and it should work the way I thought it would. It left my skin/hair all gross and grimy. Tossed in the trash 1 star. Would not recommend"

I saw a lot of these for the TRIA laser I bought. The instructions are a close shave and to use the laser on the highest setting you can tolerate, overlapping treatment areas. It needs to be done every two weeks for 3 months before you start seeing any improvement, and you'll be hairless after 6 months.

I can't tell you how many reviews go something to the tune of, "I bought this and used it once and didn't see results!" Or, "I bought this and put it on the lowest setting, but oh, life with a toddler is so busy! I used it once a month or so, it's been two months and I haven't seen any improvement."

And they both rated it one star.

So... you didn't follow the instructions, you didn't use it as long as you were supposed to, you didn't even use it to the point where it said you should start to see results and you gave it one star.... because this is obviously the fault of the product that the reviewer is weapons-grade stupid. :rolleyes:

[wvgemini]

So... you didn't follow the instructions, you didn't use it as long as you were supposed to, you didn't even use it to the point where it said you should start to see results and you gave it one star.... because this is obviously the fault of the product that the reviewer is weapons-grade stupid.

:lol: I am so finding a way to use that line ...

I get annoyed at those kind of reviews too. I actually read a review for coconut oil that complained because it smelled like REAL coconuts and not some coconut concoction from a bath store. I tend to be pretty good at weeding out the goofy ones from the good ones, lol.

[RitaCeleste]

Weapons-grade stupid! I love these words! I'm stealing that phrase!

[Nightshade]

Can't take credit for it, learned it on Fark :lol:

(which, by the way is a very un-LHC place. It's funny, but not for the faint of heart, easily offended, etc. Think 4chan light.)

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5136/weaponsgradestupidgm1.jpg