A Lack of A-peel

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the mall (a rare occurance, believe me) and found myself standing in the middle of The Body Shop. Drawn in by a window display promoting the return of "the classics", I started to load up my basket with 3 of my long-lost faves; banana shampoo, banana conditioner and passionfruit cleansing gel. I couldn't believe my luck; it's been years since I last had them on my shower shelf. I had it all worked out in my head - the next morning I would take a shower, then wrap myself in my big, fluffy red robe and, with my hair still wrapped in a towel, blog about how they were exactly the same as I remembered them. But, sadly, they weren't.

I worked at The Body Shop for several years. From 1998 to 200-and something, I stacked soap and refilled bottles at three locations in Edmonton, Oakville and Coquitlam. It was an interesting time for the company; still in the Anita Roddick years, but at the start of what we called "the coup". We promoted reusing, recycling, refilling and a myriad of issues - from self-esteem to fair-trade. All of us were proud to wear "the pod" and carry the torch for our red-haired, renegade founder. And then things changed. A little. The company started to shift to a less social-driven and more profit-driven agenda. Products became sleeker and glossier (glitter? what?) and favourites like my beloved banana hair products were phased out to make room for their pretty, new step-sisters.

In 2006, the company was purchased by L'oreal; a move that raised many eyebrows due to the new parent company's questionable animal-testing policies. It was around that time that I stopped shopping at TBS. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it just didn't feel "right". Fast forward 4 years and I have finally figured it out. The banana conditioner is a perfect example of all that went wrong. Gone are the random chunks of banana and the little black bits. Gone is the yummy scent and creamy, super-moisturizing goodness. Gone is the feeling that you are using a product that someone had whipped up in their own kitchen; braless and singing along to Peter, Paul & Mary. What I got for my $7 was a soul-less, yellow, banana-scented dissapointment. And it didn't even make my hair soft. Boo.