Over the years the wife has now and then gone on a head and shoulders kick, claiming my snow globe head is the reason. She buys the smooth and silky variety as it suits the whole family. My hair is sparse on top but disproportionately thick around the edges. I keep it cut short so as not to fall into comb over territory so any shampoo I use will be based on whether it cleans my hair and keeps it feeling fresh until the next wash. In this case the the snow reducing capabilities are the main issue.

There are several potential causes of dandruff, from a reaction to a yeast that normally lives on the skin with no problems (malassezia) or other fungi, to an allergic reaction, hormones to stress. More information about this can be found at www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Dandruff/Pages/Causes.aspx . Zinc Pyrithione is the active ingredient in Head and Shoulders and this has an action on any fungal issues present on the scalp and is also antibacterial.

The shampoo is nice and thick, with a pearly white colour, and nice sweet smell. With my hair being so short I don't need much to get quite a lather worked up. About the size of a 2p piece. I lather it up for about a minute to allow the ingredients to get to work, the lather feels much more luxurious than our usual budget buys.

Though the shampoo is thick and creamy it rinses away very easily and leaves what little hair I have feeling healthy and clean. However I do find it becomes greasy a little more quickly than with other shampoos. Another thing I've noticed while using this and I'm not sure what causes it, but when my hair is due for a cut and has grown out a bit, it can look quite messy after sleeping on it, in a way that it doesn't when I use most other shampoos. This is easily remedied though with comb through with perhaps a little cold water on the comb.

Did it get rid of the snow storm though? Well I'm happy to say while not being 100% flake free the reduction is fairly dramatic. From the first wash I notice a difference, and by the time I've washed my hair a few times I'd say the reduction is about 90% and remains at that level throughout use. I don't suffer from an itchy head when I have dandruff so I'm afraid I can't vouch for any effect on that. Any other issues I may have about greasiness etc is completely outweighed by the efficacy of the anti-dandruff properties.

While we are using the head and shoulders my wife and daughters are very pleased with how it works with their long hair. None of us have suffered any sensitivity to the shampoo. They use conditioner afterwards, but never on the roots, and their hair continues to shine from root (where there is no conditioner) to tip. Though this version of Head and Shoulders is called 'Hydrating Smooth and Silky' we all agree that it is not the most effective in this respect, and that the original non fancy old fashioned bluey green Head and shoulders left the hair in smoother condition. While the shampoo may not be the best for smoothing, it's certainly not the worst either and while in use the condition of the longer hair in the family remains good and not too 'pouffy' (as in not puffed up like a birds nest) as the youngest puts it. There are matching conditioners sold but as none of us use conditioner on our scalp we just carry on with the usual.

I have a friend who suffers with a little bit of dermatitis on his face, and he uses this on a cotton wool bud in his eyebrows where he gets flaky dry skin that's difficult to fix, and it actually works!

The smell does linger a little in the hair but not so strongly as to be instantly noticeable.

Once the bottle is finished we tend not to replace it for a while as it's a bit pricy. Sadly if you lay off using completely the dandruff inevitably comes back. I have used Tegrin previously which I found excellent, but Head and Shoulders is a more economical and is an effective enough alternative. At the time of writing this is available at Tesco for £2.44 for 250mls, and £4.50 for 500mls, it can sometimes be found on offer, at the moment it's part of Tesco's 3 for 2 but this ends on the 25th October.

If you suffer from psoriasis or similar skin conditions, or dandruff that has no connection to a fungal issue this may not work for you.

A good anti-dandruff shampoo but we find that once dandruff is under control it's best to use it just once a week or so to maintain it, as other shampoos work better at keeping the hair shiny and sleek.