More of a 3 Minute Favour than a Miracle. (Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Colour Conditioner)

Member Name: louiseypees

Product:	Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Colour Conditioner
Date:	07/10/08 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonable price - does condition fairly well

Disadvantages: Not as good as it used to be or some other brands

Looking back over my reviewing history, I'm seeing evidence to suggest I'm growing obsessed with my hair. This obsession leads me to dye it blonde and straighten it to within an inch of its life. If I were my hair (and, indeed, my hair was conscious), I would probably not like me very much.

I'd like to claim that I tried this conditioner to be kind to my hair and make sure it was feeling ok. In fact, I made the purchase because my expensive conditioner was going down quicker than my shampoo, and I get them cheaper if I buy them as a set. Another prime example of hair abuse.

I figured there was no harm in getting a cheap intensive conditioner as a substitute for my not-so-cheap normal one so that I can manage my shampoo/conditioner consumption better. (Yes, these things to trouble me - it's quite sad really.) Remembering how good 3 Minute Miracle used to be before they made a few versions of it, I decided to invest my hard earned £4.99 in the Colour version - assuming that this one would be the most intensive of all, and, er, having coloured hair.

This stuff smells gorgeous. When you squeeze it out of the bottle, you're instantly hit with a smell of peaches. I was initially upset that the bubblegum smell of the old 3 Minute Miracle had disappeared, but now I've got used to this lovely creamy peach scent I don't miss it as much.

The conditioner is reassuringly thick. I say "reassuringly" as I always find it tough to believe that a thin and watery conditioner will sufficiently moisturise my parched hair. This conditioner comes out in a nice thick splodge that you can really work into your hair and leave to soak in.

So once you've worked your splodge of conditioner in (starting at the ends and working up, as I'm sure you know), leave it to work its magic for around, oooh, three minutes and then rinse thoroughly. When I rinse my hair after using this conditioner it feels silky and smooth under the running water - more so than with my usual conditioner - and it doesn't take much brushing when I get out of the shower.

Now on to the disappointing news - I'm not convinced that this stuff delivers the ultimate moisturisation that I'd hoped for. Yes, it feels nice straight after rinsing, and yes it is a slight improvement on my usual conditioner (which isn't an intensive, so that's easily explained away), but I've had better results in the past from other intensive conditioners - including 3 Minute Miracle before they started making four different products for different hair types.

This is only a pretty minor gripe in the scheme of things. For the price of £4.99, it is tough to find good intensive conditioners that won't leave hair feeling flat and greasy, or just the same as it would be with a normal conditioner. A lot of the reason this disappoints now is because Aussie had got it so right in the past and this isn't quite as good, not because it is a substandard product.

This will condition your hair better than an everyday conditioner could hope to. It won't leave your hair feeling heavy, lank or greasy. Your hair will smell lovely and probably won't frizz as much as usual (although it's definitely not banished forever by using this stuff). On the other hand, using this won't improve your hair's condition long term. It won't perform as well as the original 3 Minute Miracle used to. I think what I'm trying to say is that it won't, no matter what the name suggests, perform a miracle on your hair.

Summary: 3 Minute Miracle may be a promise too far.