Hello lovely smell, goodbye Hydration! (Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Clairol Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo
Date:	03/08/09 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells wonderful, looks lovely, lathers and rinses out easily

Disadvantages: Doesn't moisturise my hair, isn't nourishing in the slightest

My hair has been a little dry recently, so when I spotted the new range of Herbal Essences shampoos on special offer for just 86p I decided to give the 'Hello Hydration' variety a try.

I was mainly pulled in by the promise of orchid and coconut as this led me to believe that the shampoo would be a mixture of these two very delicious aromas, unfortunately it's not and while it smells very nice indeed it is rather more synthetic than I had hoped for.

The aroma is floral and very sweet, it's a lovely smell which lingers well on my hair and also acts as a pretty air freshener as I can detect the smell all around my bungalow for a good hour after washing my hair.

The shampoo lathers well and is attractive to look at in my opinion. It's an aqua-blue that matches the colour of the bottle perfectly, it actually reminds me of Head & Shoulders shampoo in appearance although the overall look is much more pearlescent and pretty. Once lathered I don't have the feeling of cleanliness as I often do with this brand of shampoo, and although it claims to be a moisturising shampoo it doesn't really do much while washing to nourish and moisturise my hair in my opinion.

I say this because genuinely moisturising shampoos will usually leave my hair feeling as though I have used a conditioner too, this one doesn't make my hair feel any more conditioned than if I'd used any other shampoo available.

The shampoo rinses out easily in the shower and doesn't leave any residue whatsoever in my hair or on my scalp. After towel drying my hair I was rather disappointed at having to use a brush rather than a comb as this shampoo had not conditioned my hair well enough to be able to drag the comb straight through, this immediately caused me to check and re-check my hair as it was drying to see if there were any signs of my barnet being more moisturised than it was before washing.

Once completely dry I quickly realised that the shampoo had had absolutely no effect on the condition of my hair. I haven't based this review on just one use, I've actually just finished the bottle of Hello Hydration today and there is still no difference at all. My hair still feels very dry and I doubt that this shampoo has nourished it in the slightest, certainly in no visible way and to be honest with you my hair isn't even THAT dry when compared to how some people suffer.

I mentioned to my daughter how poor the shampoo is and she commented that it would be no good on her hair as hers is extremely dry thanks to years of colouring and bleaching.

Another problem I have is with the actual bottle. It's a strange design, you have to push the side of the lid down and the other side will pop up revealing a small hole through which you need to squeeze the shampoo. There are other products on the market with a similar design, but this one is ridiculous. I have arthritis in my hands and really struggled to get the shampoo out sometimes, particularly when I got to the bottom of the bottle. Why can't shampoo manufacturers just stick to normal flip top lids anymore?

In all honesty I cannot recommend this shampoo. If it didn't help the minor problem I have with dryness then it's not going to be much good for anyone who really suffers from dry hair, which is a shame really as surely it's you lot that the shampoo is designed for!

Summary: A waste of money if you are looking for a dry hair solution.