A lucky guess? Or intuition? Either way, it's a nice shampoo! (Head & Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo - Normal - 400ml)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Head & Shoulders Anti-Dandruff Shampoo - Normal - 400ml
Date:	01/10/08 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great shampoo

Disadvantages: Costs more than most

Now, then. I'm a man, right? So, for me, shampoo is shampoo, right? Of course it is. After all, all men do when they wash their hair is just use any old shampoo, and have done with it. There you go, hair's washed, therefore it's clean and it'll keep for a couple of days then I'll do it again. I'll carry on like this for the rest of my life and that's okay, right?

WRONG! Oh boy! How wrong was I? I've been rather lucky in that I've always managed to have someone else buy my shampoo for me. No, I don't have a butler or a personal shopper or even a stylist (hmmm, now there's a thought), I just always had my mum or my wife (who took me over like a baton in the relay of life from my mum) buying it for me. I've never even checked on my shampoo status. There's just always been some there.

Last week, we're out shopping, and Hannah (my darling, shampoo-educated wife) tells me I need some more shampoo. ALARM BELLS! Okay, I said, which shampoo is that? She was busy with our 4 year old, so said, oh, you you choose. Sure, I thought, I can do this. Could I? Not a chance. I couldn't even remember which shampoo I use! The only thing I could remember was that it was Head & Soulders. Mum had always bought it for me to combat my dandruff, so that much I was proud to remember.

On finding the shampoo shelves, I was amazed at the wide expanse of white in front of me as the entire Head & Shoulders range looked at me, each bottle begging to be chosen as my next shampoo. Not wishing to lose face, I chose the bottle that seemed more appropriate for me: the one that said 'normal'. Han didn't say anything when I got back to the trolley, and hasn't since, so I assume my choice was acceptable among the ranks of those who know.

The first shower I had, I got my trusty Head & Shoulders out and gave it a go. The feel of the light blue shampoo as it comes out was quite nice, and you have to bear in mind that I was concentrating a lot more on the shampoo and its effect than usual, because I was desperately trying to compare it to what I had had before. So, yeah, nice gel-like shampoo, light blue in colour, and it seemed quite rich and like it would do the job. I massaged it into my scalp, and it felt nice, once more. I know there are some shampoos out there which 'zing', such as the Original Source shampoos (see, I do know something!) but this just felt nice.

The smell was quite pleasant and reassuring, too, as I realised that it smelt and felt exactly the same as every other shower. The only difference was that I was actually noticing it for once as opposed to taking it for granted.

Emerging from the shower, having washed and rinsed everything I needed to, I dried my hair properly and felt to see how it was following the shower. It felt distinctly 'normal' which I guess is what it says on the bottle. There were options for greasy or dry hair, but I hadn't felt like this was me in any way, so normal it was.

The good thing about this shampoo was that the smell lingered for quite a while afterwards, and I liked the feel of my hair afterwards. My hair is slightly wavy/curly, and has a lot of volume to it and is quite thick, so each time I wash it I tend to get a natural bouffon (a source of constant amusement amongst my friends, and probably anyone else who sees me like it!). The Head & Shoulders left it feeling nice as it always does, and up in a bouffon as it normally does, but this time I appreciated the fact that it was clean.

Head & Shoulders uses intense marketing and advertising to explain how their brands of shampoo combat dandruff. I have always suffered from this, and I do get eczema and dry skin on occasion anyway, and as I don't use shampoo as often as I probably should due to the unwanted bouffoning, I can't really comment on this part. On occasion, I do wash my hair regularly, and the dandruff lessens, but I figured this was just because I was washing my hair more, and not necessarily anything to do with the brand of shampoo.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not 100% ignorant of shampoo, and there were times when I was at University when I ran out and bought some cheap shampoo for under a pound, and realised how good my regular shampoo actually was. However, the price for Head & Shoulders doesn't come in anywhere near the pound mark. A 400ml bottle will set you back near enough £4, so it's not a cheap option by any means. The majority of shampoos on the market do come close to Head & Shoulders in terms of price, and it has even been taken over in price and (apparently) quality by other brands which were previously only affordable by stylists and professionals with more money than sense, but for the layman who wants a good product with a respected name for getting the job done, you need look no further than good old Head & shoulders.

Head & Shoulders has a balanced pH formula, which I know from using things for my eczema on my skin means that it will be good for your hair and your skin alike, and that it is a safe option, and not full of chemicals that will damage your hair as opposed to protect it. I recommend this shampoo, but use it sparingly because it's not the cheapest out there. Ifr you're a struggling student and don't care, then sure, get a cheap rubbish own version shampoo and save the pennies for lunch (or a beer!). If you want a better product and want to play safe and get what you pay for, then Head & Shoulders is for you.

A couple of weeks after getting the shampoo, I casually dropped into a conversation with my wife that it was nice. She looked at me, agreed, and carried on. I probed a little more into the matter, which is when she said, 'Why shouldn't it be? It's the same one you always get. Why should it be different?' So, it turns out that my random choice was more intuitive than I had thought. Ofr, just a lucky guess. Still, what do I know? After all, I'm just a man!

Summary: Great shampoo that I've apparently been using for years!