I'm Picking Up Cheap Vibrations (Alberto Balsam Tea Tree Tingle Herbal Shampoo)

Member Name: charby

Product:	Alberto Balsam Tea Tree Tingle Herbal Shampoo
Date:	21/07/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very cheap, smells nice, works well enough

Disadvantages: Not as fantastic as more expensive brands

I am fully aware that to date I have reviewed and raved about many shampoos, and claimed that each of them was perfect and would be the only shampoo that I would ever use from then on. Despite fully believing that at the time, my desire to try new things and find great bargains has led me to using more and more different shampoos, which is why I now find myself in the position to review Alberto Balsam's Tea Tree Tingle. My friend has been using Alberto Balsam products for a while now, and so when we found them on a bargain offer of 4 for £3 at Asda last week, we couldn't resist buying a shampoo and conditioner each. After all, at only 75p per bottle, as long as they were half-way decent I would feel that I'd gotten my money's worth!

I chose the Tea Tree Tingle variety because I am a true believer in tea tree oil and it's amazing antiseptic properties, as it has helped me in getting rid of spots time and time again, and so hoped that this ingredient would be good for my hair as well as for my face. I was also attracted to this variety as it contains mint extracts, and I loved the cooling sensation that I found this ingredient gave my scalp when I used Aveda's Rosemary and Mint shampoo a few months ago. Since Alberto Balsam is a much cheaper range than Aveda, however, I doubted that it would have quite as good an effect, but I was still willing to give it a go just in case it impressed me.

You use Tea Tree Tingle as you would any other shampoo: lather a blob of it in your hands and rub it into wet hair, then rinse. The bottle's directions suggest using a 'good size dollop' of the shampoo, but I would recommend using however much you would normally use with any other shampoo, as the amount of shampoo required to clean your hair properly does depend on hair type and length. Anyway, I used an average amount of shampoo, lathered, rinsed and repeated, and have to say that I was pretty impressed with the results. My hair felt nice and clean, though I was disappointed not to feel much of a 'tingle' as was suggested by the name of this shampoo and by the mint content. Maybe I would have experienced this excitement on my scalp if I had used the recommended 'dollop' instead of my usual small amount, but I'd rather not use more than I feel that I need, in order to avoid wastage. Either way, I was happy with how well this shampoo cleaned my hair, so why would I want to use more?

The smell of this shampoo can best be described as fresh and light, and definitely feels like something that would help me wake up if I used it in my morning shower. Since I've only ever used it in the evening or during the day so far, though, I can't really comment on how well it would energise you if you used it, but I enjoy speculation. I have used this shampoo both in the shower and the bath, and have found that the smell is fairly strong and enticing when used in a hot shower, but in a bath can be almost unnoticeable. While this is probably the case for many shampoos, it was nevertheless fairly disappointing. I more feel that the scent of mint is stronger than the tea tree oil, but since tea tree oil can have an overpowering and sometimes unpleasant smell, that is definitely a good thing rather than anything to complain about.

So, in conclusion, Alberto Balsam's Tea Tree Tingle shampoo is one that I would heartily recommend, especially to people on a low shopping budget. I have been using this shampoo for just over a week now, and judging by how little seems to have disappeared from the bottle, I would reckon that it will last me at least another two months. What fantastic value for something that only cost me 75p! Even if bought at the standard price of £1 for the 400ml bottle, that's still pretty good going. Alberto Balsam does several other varieties of shampoo and conditioner, and can be bought from most supermarkets and other places where you would find shampoo. Tea Tree Tingle seems to be suitable for all hair types, and according to the bottle 'helps promote healthy hair and scalp.' Whereas this shampoo isn't quite as good as others that I've tried, such as the Aveda one that I mentioned earlier (and reviewed several months ago), it is certainly good enough for me, and the low price means that I would definitely be interested in trying others in the range.

Summary: Well, a tingle more than vibrations.