MELU Shampoo & Conditioner 1L Pro Duo

Both formulations use ROC Black Chickpea Extract from the same source — Mr. Gabriele Colla's farm in Parma, Italy. The shampoo is essentially unchanged. The conditioner is where the difference lies: the Original Formulation conditioner is a rich conditioning balm that requires 2–5 minutes of contact time. The New Essentials 2.0 conditioner is a 30-second fast-acting formula that also adds Villalba Lentil Seed Extract (Slow Food Presidium, Caltanissetta, Sicily) — serine and glutamic acid amino acids that match keratin's structural components for genuine repair. The scent profile has also been refreshed in the new formula.

The Black Chickpea Extract protective film at the cleanse step (shampoo) is the same in both formulas — the anti-breakage mechanism there is unchanged. The difference is the conditioning system: the original used a longer-contact balm format with heavier conditioning agents; the new formula uses a fast-acting delivery system that activates in 30 seconds alongside the Villalba Lentil amino acids that add structural repair. Shorter contact time, same anti-breakage at cleanse, plus amino acid repair at condition.

Yes — the new conditioner is specifically engineered for 30-second activation. The conditioning agents and Villalba Lentil amino acids penetrate quickly in this format. The key technique regardless of contact time is to comb through before rinsing — the combing distributes and drives the actives into the hair shaft, even in 30 seconds. Cool water rinse then seals the cuticle. If you want a deeper nourishing conditioning experience alongside the anti-breakage system, a weekly MELU Hair Mask in place of the conditioner gives that.

Villalba Lentil is a heritage lentil variety from Villalba, Caltanissetta, Sicily — a Slow Food Presidium ingredient sourced from Mr. Francesco Di Gesù's farm. The lentil seed extract is exceptionally rich in serine and glutamic acid — the two amino acids most abundant in keratin, the protein that makes up the hair shaft. At the condition step, these amino acids bond to the damaged hair fibre and reinforce it structurally, making the new MELU conditioner genuinely reparative rather than just softening and slipping.

The 1L duo covers the in-shower anti-breakage foundation — the two steps where mechanical fragility is highest (wet cleansing and wet detangling). The full MELU system adds the MELU Spray on towel-dried damp hair as the leave-in step before blow-drying, and optionally the MELU Serum on the ends for targeted split-end sealing. Clinical testing: -39% breakage from brushing and -37% split ends after 4 weeks of use on 20 participants with the full MELU routine. The 1L duo is the cleanse and condition foundation; the Spray and Serum extend the protection through styling.