I will confess to being a bit of a tart when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, changing them frequently according to what is on offer or just happens to take my fancy. And that was exactly what happened with Dove Intense Care Therapy Dry & Damaged hair conditioner.

I have always liked Dove products in the past, although I am not particularly loyal to any brand, as my reviews will no doubt reflect! However I have never tried any of their hair products before so was a bit unsure what to expect in this case.

The product was on offer in Tesco at the time of purchase, just £1 a bottle as opposed to the normal price of around £2. My hair has been lightened for years and recently had a bit of a traumatic colouring experience which had to be corrected in a salon (essentially bleached out and recoloured - ouch!) so needs a bit of TLC at the best of times and more so at the moment than ever. I had just been for a haircut so my hair was feeling healthier than normal and I was keen to find something that would preserve that 'just cut' feeling.

The packaging for this is, as you can see, quite uninspiring; a rich blue colured bottle with white writing and the Dove logo in gold. Its ok and easy to spot on the supermarket shelf but not particularly attractive to my mind. The flip lid makes the product easy to dispense with wet hands and the bottle fits comfortably in the palm of your hand making it easy to hold. The product itself is creamy looking and thicker than I expected, more of a creme than a liquid. I only used a small blob on my shoulder length hair as I wasn't sure whether it would leave a residue or not. This amount - about a 10p sized blob - was more than sufficient. The product didn't really have a fragrance which was good for me as I rarely use matching shampoo and conditioner so wouldn't want a strong scent that would conflict with my shampoo. The product felt silky on my hair and very easy to distribute throughout the lower half of my hair. As always, I made sure it was massaged in right to the ends. I was impressed with how easy this product was to apply, a small amount gave good coverage and I didn't feel I had to work to hard to distribute it or that I needed any extra. It also rinsed out quickly and felt as though it was leaving my hair tangle free.

When I came to dry my hair, it was easy to brush and didn't tangle at all. Due to my hair being in poor condition I often found it would tangle and snag once it started to dry but with this conditioner, I found that did not happen at all. In fact, this is the first conditioner I have ever used (including more expensive salon products) that totally prevented this snagging. The only slight complaint is that I found it slightly harder to style my hair than normal; my hair is more or less straight with a slight wave which I can normally control with careful drying. I found after using this that my wave seemed a bit more stubborn. However, I usually run the straighteners through to finish anyway so all it means is that I have to spend a minute or two longer using them. I am happy to put up with this in light of how soft and healthy my hair feels. It has now been five weeks since my hair cut and my ends still feel fabulous, really healthy and soft. I wouldn't say that this product has given my hair any added bounce or shininess, and I suspect that once my hair has recovered a bit more, the conditioner might prove to be a little too heavy for my hair, which is quite fine. However for restoring damaged hair I would definitely recommend it, my hair looks and more importantly feels like it has never been coloured. I can't stop running my fingers through it even after 5 weeks of use and wil definitely continue using it until my hair is strong enough to stand on its own two feet again!