I do it BEFORE I go to bed. Clairol Herbal Essences Fruit Fusions Coconut Hawaiian Hibiscus (Herbal Essences Deep Nourishment & Shine Conditioner)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Herbal Essences Deep Nourishment & Shine Conditioner
Date:	25/10/08 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Leaves dry and damaged hair really smooth and soft

Disadvantages: Absolutely none

Initially I was drawn to the Clairol Herbal Essences range of hair conditioners through their seductive adverts preceding Desperate Housewives. Normally advertisements have little effect on my purchasing decisions. In fact, I usually press the mute button in defiance when adverts blatantly interrupt my TV programme. However, something about these adverts, with those women erupting into ecstatic convulsions while using Clairol Herbal Essences, had a positive influence over me.

I was further persuaded by the Clairol name. I thought Clairol might be a wise choice because I use the Clairol hair colours and have done for years. Included in the box along with the colouring lotion is a little tube of Clairol conditioner. This conditioner works better than anything else I've ever tried, so much so that one day, over 10 years ago, I decided to buy the conditioner it's own.
It was a fruitless search. I couldn't find the conditioner anywhere. I duly gave Clairol a ring and explained my predicament. The unhelpful reply was "Oh, we only supply that conditioner with the hair colour. We can't sell it separately because it's too strong!" Wonderful!

When I first purchased a conditioner in the Clairol Herbal Essences range, I was hoping it would in some way resemble the quality of the little tubes that accompany the hair colours. I wasn't disappointed. Since then I've been steadily working my way through the entire range of Herbal Essences Conditioners. This review is based on the bottle I'm currently using which is one of the Fruit Fusions range: Herbal Essences Fruit Fusions Coconut and Hawaiian Hibiscus.

~~~The Packaging~~~

This conditioner is specifically for dry and damaged hair and is labelled 'deep nourishment and shine'. It comes in an eye catching rectangular shaped blue bottle and the conditioner inside matches it. I love the way manufacturers are designing their bottles to match the colour of the contents inside. It has an easy flip up lid which can also be unscrewed completely. This is particularly useful when you're nearing the end of the bottle and want to use up the dregs in the bottom. By unscrewing the lid you can add some water, mix it up and hey presto, another whole application. OK, that may be a bit miserly, but we're in a recession here!

~~~The Contents~~~

As mentioned previously, the colour of this particular conditioner is blue, a slightly paler shade than the bottle though. The crème conditioner has a very thick consistency which will sit well in the palm of your hand without running off. Its smell is extremely fragrant and very pleasant. The coconut aroma is certainly the more subtle of smells in this concoction. The stronger smell is something else which I presume is the Hawaiian hibiscus. Not having the fortune to have made the acquaintance with the said flower, I can't confirm whether this is what I can smell. But it is very nice and it lingers on your locks long after it's rinsed out.

~~~The Application~~~

The instructions simply recommend you smooth it through wet hair and 'enjoy the renewing fragrance.' I pile loads of the stuff onto my hair so it's practically dripping off. I read somewhere once that smothering colour damaged and dry hair in conditioner is the best solution. The instructions are a bit vague regarding how long you should leave it on, instead telling you to rinse it off when you're ready. Generally I put the conditioner on and leave it while I do my other shower stuff. Since it's Herbal Essences I'm using, the intoxicating fragrance can send me into the throws of ecstasy and before I know it I'm crying 'yes, yes, oooh yes!'. Before too long my husband will be hammering on the door demanding to know what's going on in there without him!

~~~The Results~~~

I can't praise it enough. This conditioner is one of the best for dry or damaged hair. It works every bit as well as those little tubes that come with the hair colour so I'm delighted. To be honest, I can't really say that one variety of Herbal Essences conditioner works any better than any other, the only difference being the fragrance. They all leave my hair feeling smooth and silky and easy to comb out. My hair always smells fantastic and this is further confirmed by remarks made by the kids and hubby.

~~~Availability and Price~~~

Luckily for me this conditioner seems to be offered as a BOGOF very frequently in chemists and supermarkets, so I always stock up. BOGOF stands for 'buy one get one free' by the way. I'm not being patronising here, I'm sure you are familiar with the term. I only mention this because until yesterday I thought everyone knew what BOGOF stood for. However, when using this word yesterday in a conversation with my husband, I was greeted with a blank stare while he was trying to work out what sort of insult I'd just aimed his way.

The full price is generally around £2.98 for a 400ml bottle.

~~~The HUGE list of Ingredients~~~ (Probably not very green but the bottle is recyclable)

Aqua, Stearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glutamic Acid, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Parfum, Benzyl Alcohol, Citric Acid, EDTA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Sodium Chloride, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Propylene Glycol, Linalool, Limonene, Geraniol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citronellol, Magnesium Nitrate, Hibiscus Rosa Sinensis Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit, Cocos Nucifera Extract, CI 42090, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Methylisothiazolinone, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate.

Many thanks for reading if you made it this far.

Summary: A fantastic hair conditioner that really works