An economy too far (Boots Sea Kelp and Water Mint Conditioner)

Member Name: rrrrachel

Product:	Boots Sea Kelp and Water Mint Conditioner
Date:	04/05/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells nice

Disadvantages: Not effective

I'm always trying new haircare products and can't resist a bargain so when I saw this in a 3-for-2 at Boots recently, I had to give it a try.

The normal price is £1.29 for a 300ml bottle, which is still cheap compared to most brands. It comes in a clear bottle which you can see the colour of the conditioner through, it's a greeny turqoise colour and looks quite thick and creamy. The label on the bottle has a photographic type picture of (presumably) the two natural extracts contained in it, sea kelp and water mint. Overall it's a nicely co-ordinated and attractive pack, which doesn't look too cheap and cheerful!

I chose this because it's described as being for normal to greasy hair, to "restore hair's natural balance and fullness". My hair is quite short but also fine and gets greasy very quickly. I need to wash it every day so need something that's quite gentle and isn't going to either strip it or weigh it down.

Anyway, on opening the bottle and squeezing out the conditioner, I was surprised that the consistency was quite runny, not thick and gloopy like most conditioners. I had to quickly whack it onto my hair and massage it through before it ran off my hands! The smell was lovely, very fresh and 'oceany' - you can certainly smell the natural extracts and it was a pleasant experience to breathe it in for a few minutes. The bottle doesn't advise you to leave this on your hair before rinsing, but I always do, just to give it a bit more time to do its stuff.

When I rinsed it, it was very easy to rinse out, with no stickiness or residue. However even while I was rinsing it, I could tell it hadn't given my hair that silky softness that I get with my usual conditioner - my hair didn't feel any different. Once I'd towel-dried it, it was a real effort to get the comb through it as it didn't seem to have had any detangling effect at all - this was disappointing as it's one of my main reasons for using conditioner.

My hair did smell nice, but I have to say once it was dry, it felt as if I hadn't used any conditioner at all. My hair was quite flyaway and felt quite dry. I had to use some smoothing cream while blow-drying to get all the split ends to lie down, which I never usually need. I think the conditioner is too thin and watery to be effective, and because it was so cheap, I've actually thrown it away. I'll stick with my usual conditioner, Herbal Essences or John Frieda.

Summary: Spend the extra couple of quid on something a bit more worth it!