Resistance is Futile ... (Original Source Haircare Products in general)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Original Source Haircare Products in general
Date:	14/09/02 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: nice looking shampoo, high quality product, free sample (LOL)

Disadvantages: expensive if bought in full size bottles, a bit too strong

The brown jiffy bag dropped onto the mat. This was the one I had been dreading. Each previous jiffy bag had been greeted with boundless glee – well, as boundless as you can get at 7am! This time, I approached the package with caution and took a deep breath before opening.

It even looked evil – bright green, shiny and with bold black lettering. This was a cocky little sod and no mistake. This did not look like ordinary shampoo. That’s because it isn’t ordinary shampoo. This is a couple of packets of extra strong mints liquidised and squeezed with malicious intent into a 25ml sachet, which – and this is the clever bit – they then send out FREE! Oh yes, they knowingly tempt students, housewives and bargain hunters with the offer of something FREE – yes, it’s always written in capitals too.

You see I was duped too. I happily filled in the form at the website, seduced by that four letter word beginning with ‘f’ (no, the other one) and slowly but surely, the samples kept popping through the door.

I was strong at first, I hated the tea tree and mint shower gel. I even told the nice woman at the Original Source website (Heather). I bet she knew I’d be easy to convert though. People have always said I’m easy.

It happened quite quickly in hindsight. It was sachet number two or three. I fell in love – or lust, maybe. I wanted it and I wanted it every day. I’d never been so clean. Still the emails continued, but Heather knew I was falling, she could tell.

It was a few days after this that I found myself in Boots. No, not the knee-high black ones with stiletto heels, I save those for special occasions. I meant the shop that sells toiletries and other stuff.

You see I had done an Internet survey and received a £10 Boots voucher. Of course, in hindsight, I can see it now. They’re all in it together, it’s very clever. I did the s
urvey, got the voucher, went to Boots and there they were – shelves of beautiful bright bold bottles begging to be bought.

I emailed Heather and told her I’d spent £10 on Original Source products. She must have known there and then, of course. I only realised how far I had gone recently – a few minutes ago, in fact.

The dreaded jiffy bag contained the tea tree and mint shampoo. I had hated the shower gel, I knew I would hate the shampoo. I only did it for the Dooyoo money. (Well, I’ve got a Blake’s 7 convention to save up for!)

But I got into the shower, had a quick Lush fix to calm my nerves and slow down my quickened heart beat, then knew the time had come, I could stand naked for no longer without reason. I ripped open the bright green sachet and lathered it on my hair.

The tea tree and mint shower gel quite literally took my breath away and was wholly unpleasant. I was expecting something similar with the shampoo and prepared myself, as if waiting in the dentist’s chair for the drill to start. But it never quite happened.

The sachet warned of a cooling sensation, but I found it wasn’t really noticeable and certainly nothing unpleasant. My eyes did start to sting a bit, but only slightly and they didn’t water. I continued, feeling a bit braver by this stage.

I have shoulder-length dyed blonde hair and it tends to be described poetically as ‘dry/damaged’. Strange how you can never buy products for ‘dyed but beautiful’ hair or ‘dry but in recovery’ – oh no, your hair is ‘damaged’ or ‘greasy’ or at best ‘normal’. Well, the tea tree and mint is for fine and thin hair. Mine is that too.

I poured the whole 25ml sachet on top of my head and rubbed it in. It really didn’t need this much, I think half the sachet would have been adequate. But it lathered well, then I let it stay
there for a minute as suggested (you see, you even get instructions on the packaging, it’s all quite subtle…) and then rinsed off.

Admittedly I stank of extra strong mints (and <sniff> still do), but it is a lot less over-powering than the shower gel. It even looks rather cute – a nice green colour (and I’m not a big fan of green) and a nice consistency too. My hair felt clean and overall, I was impressed. Even though I put loads of shampoo on, it rinsed off well.

So you see, I got taken over. It starts slowly, you think you can resist. But it’s only a matter of time. I hated the minty shower gel, now I’m singing the praises of the shampoo in the same range. Of course, I will still prefer the citrus ones – orange and lemon are huge favourites of mine – but yes, I would consider buying a full bottle of this stuff too.

Now don’t say I didn’t warn you. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t go to the website and order the eight free samples. In fact, don’t check out the website at all. It’s very colourful and pretty; bound to be full of subliminal ‘buy me’ messages in there. It keeps telling you it’s ‘natural’ and contains ‘essential oils’ and their products aren’t tested on animals. So don’t do it, you might not be as strong as you thought.

If you can resist the freebies, you still might find your feet walking off towards the toiletry section of your local shop, while your head hears a strange voice chanting “Must… buy… Original… Source…’ Even if you can walk steadily past the tea tree and mint shampoo, there are other products, other smells, it is quite an invasion.

Mind you, one way to combat this infiltration problem is to ensure you don’t have the £2.99 necessary to buy this shampoo. Or a credit card. Or a cheque book. Or a nice, kind friend to
lend you the money.

In fact, you could just stay indoors and never go to a shop again. But they will still get you. You’ll hear that interesting sounding ‘plomp’ noise and you’ll open your door to see a brown jiffy bag on your mat. You’ll pick it up, open it and that’s how it starts. It all seems so innocent, but it’s a very clever plan really. Don’t be seduced like I was. Just say no!

Must… buy… Original… Source…
Must… buy… Original… Source…
Must… buy… Original… Source…
Must… buy… Original… Source…

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