Hello Split-Ends (Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner)

Member Name: Meggysmum

Product:	Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Conditioner
Date:	25/08/09 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice bottle and yummy smell

Disadvantages: You have to put it on your hair!

When I was in need of a new shampoo and conditioner I was delighted to find the new Herbal Essences range on BOGOF in Boots. I had used the previous range in the past and was more than happy to buy a big bottle of the shampoo and the conditioner for about £3 and collected my Advantage card points as well.

I selected the Hello Hydration products as I have highlighted hair that I do subject to heated appliances on a regular basis. I always select products designed for damaged or dry hair and so luckily I have been keeping my hair in reasonable condition.

The product is presented in a lovely looking blue bottle with promises of orchid and coconut extracts. The conditioner bottle sits in an upside down position, to use you have to press the lid underneath which opens a slot for the conditioner to escape from. This is useful as the conditioner is quite thick and would be difficult to extract from the bottle if it was the right way up. The shape makes it very easy to handle even with wet hands although I find the lid a little stiff. The only thing I don't like about the bottle is unlike the shampoo it is made of an opaque plastic so you can't see how much you have left.

I washed my hair as usual (using the matching shampoo) and then started with the conditioner. The instructions told me to massage it in and then let it soak in as long as I like. The conditioner is a pale blue colour and smells lovely. I really like the tropical coconut aroma and was happy to leave it in my hair for a few minutes whilst I finished in the shower. The product felt a little runny when I put it on my hair but it didn't seem to run off around my face so I presumed it was "soaking-in". Upon trying to rinse the product out I felt that it was quite hard work, my hair didn't feel terribly clean and sort of felt heavy (difficult to describe I am afraid!).

I felt it was not easy to get a wide-toothed comb through my hair afterwards. I do have thick hair but after conditioning I usually find the comb glides through the wet hair but not on this occassion. I dried my hair as usual and it seemed alright. However later that day I felt as if the ends of my hair were dry and the top a bit lank. I thought that perhaps I hadn't left it on long enough and then maybe not rinsed it out fully. I wash my hair every other day so have had plenty of chance to analyse the product further. I then decided to only use it on the ends of my hair as it was hard to rinse out fully, this worked better but left my highlights a bit dull.

I have been working my way through the 400ml bottle now for a while and I think that my hair is definately paying the price. I have noticed in the last two weeks that I am starting to develop serious split-ends, I have my hair cut every 6 weeks and haven't had this problem since I back-combed my hair regularly as a teenager! I have even been using far less heat styling to try and help the condition. It has only dawned on me in the last few days that the problem has coincided with my use of the Hello Hydration products. This maybe a coincidence but it does seem strange, I have now read several reviews about the shampoo on here (should have done that before spending money!) and several people are also unimpressed with the range.

As soon as possible I shall be going out to buy something else as even though I have a lot of this left I am not risking my hair anymore. I cannot believe that a new formulation can be so useless. This is a lovely looking range of products I just wished their effectiveness was as good as their looks.

Summary: Poor quality conditioner that seems to do nothing.