Alberto Balsam shampoo is one I'd class as a bargain shampoo as I see it in all the cheap shops at no more than £1 a bottle, and usually see it bundled with a conditioner for £1.50.

I bought a bottle of this Alberto Balsam Juicy Green Apple Shampoo, bottle size 300ml, from the bargain store B&M, to try, as I liked the smell when I gave it a sneaky sniff before buying! It's a lovely, fresh scent, crisp juicy apples as promised.

The bottle itself is tall, thin, with a colourful black and green label. All of the Alberto Balsam shampoos have a silver plastic flip top lid. The bottle is a frosted plastic so you can see the green shampoo inside.

So, into the shower. The shampoo itself is a good clear green colour and is nice and thick without being gloopy. You only need a 10p sized blob to get a good, creamy, thick white lather. It washes off the hair well, leaving it squeaky clean with a hint of apples. Lovely. I followed it up with the matching conditioner.

All was good, and if that was the end of the story I'd be giving this shampoo five out of five stars and telling everyone to buy it. But sadly not! The very same day my head was itchy and within three days of using the shampoo my head was an itchy, scaly mess. I stopped using the Alberto Balsam, went to T-Gel which didn't work and then had to go to the doctor's to get some medicated shampoo. The doctor explained that she'd seen a few people affected by Alberto Balsam shampoo, and cited it's 'strong chemicals' in the colour / scent to be the problem. That might only be her opinion, but certainly it had a bad effect on me and I won't be using it again.

I've now reverted to Simple shampoo which is much kinder to my poor scalp. I can only review the Alberto Balsam shampoo on my own personal experience and sadly it really was far more bother than it was worth - it might smell nice, look nice and be a good price, but if it gives you a reaction then it's really not a good experience!

If you use other Alberto Balsam products you might be OK but if you have sensitive skin I'd give this one a swerve.