This 3 Minute Conditioning hair mask is one of many products in the Botanics range by Boots. The Boots Botanics range covers skin care, body care and hair care, and with such a range of products there is certainly something for all skin and hair types. The Botanics range contain plant extracts, which are authenticated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the range states that the 'power of plants' means the products really work on a more natural level. This being said, don't be fooled into thinking this is an 'organic' range, such ranges are becoming more hugely popular, but you will find parabens in these products. However the Botanics range also has a Botanics Organic range within it, which I have noticed more products being added to it. These products are truly organic, and free from those parabens which people fear cause cancer... however no studies can properly confirm this yet, and it seems everything can cause some form of cancer these days!

I'd bought this hair mask in Boots a while ago when it was on promotion, and it's been sat in my drawer ever since. I came across this a couple of weeks ago and decided it was time to start using it! I usually avoid all hair masks and anything that's 'conditioning' or 'moisturising' in hair products as my hair is awful, it becomes greasy every day, its fine and has tons of split ends! I have to wash it every day, and using anything that might moisturise it will only cause it to become greasy more quickly. However, as I mentioned, I have tons of split ends the ends of my hair do become quite dry, so I decided to use this products on the ends of my hair only, and avoid the scalp region at all costs.

The hair mask comes in a huge and heavy 450ml tube, with a screw lid. This can be a bit fiddly in the shower, especially as it's rather heavy, but it's something you have to put up with as it isn't available in any other packaging. The green label around the tub gives off the 'natural' image associated with plants, and the front of the tube even has a picture of a branch with leaves, just in case you don't get the idea already. The product itself doesn't look anything special, it looks and smells like your average hair care products, it has quite a 'shampoo' scent to it really.

Using this is very easy. You simply need to shampoo your hair, and then put this on your hair evenly from 'root to tip.' Now, if like me you also suffer from a greasy scalp, then don't use this from 'root to tip' but rather, just on the ends of your hair. I use quite a large amount of the stuff too, I grab a good handful out and glide it through my hair, it felt as if I was applying too much and worried my hair would need re-washing again afterwards... and I started to think this wasn't a good idea after all.

I left this to work in my hair and carried on with my shower whilst trying to avoid getting my hair in the shower. When I thought 3 minutes had passed I began to rinse it out. It came out of my hair easily, and my hair already felt amazingly smooth and soft. I was still worried I'd put too much on my hair, but it felt good for now. After my shower and a good blast of the hair dryer, I was surprised to notice my hair wasn't heavy, lanky or greasy but instead it was so wonderfully soft, smooth and it helped my split ends! My hair also had a nice shine to it, and my hair wasn't static or rough feeling. The soft, smooth feeling continued the next day and I was very pleased to see this didn't make my hair greasy more quickly, and simply improved the condition of my dry hair ends vastly.

I now use this stuff 2-3 times a week, and each time I have the same results. My hair looks better all day, and it's a much better result than what I get from using a normal bottled conditioner. You don't have to be scared with applying 'too much' of this on the ends of your hair, I always go overboard with it and it doesn't have a negative effect at all. I would however, be careful around the scalp region as it could probably make that more oily and greasy! The fact that this stuff only takes 3 minutes to work makes it a quick and easy 'pick me up' for your hair, giving you gorgeous good hair days for only a few minutes extra in your shower.

If you have damaged hair, from using those straighteners and dryers all too much, then it's time to invest in some of this stuff. Forget the designer brands, this stuff does the job it's made for and doesn't cost the earth. You get a huge tub of this, and it will last you ages if you're only using it 2-3 times a week like me. It costs £4.99 from Boots however the Botanics range is always running some sort of promotion or special offer, so if there isn't an offer running then hold off buying it because you can almost guarantee there will be one soon.