I have blonde hair which I get highlighted every 2 months, and each time I go to the hairdressers I hate washing my hair for the first time after getting my highlights done. My hair always looks a lovely colour of blonde when I first get it done, and I feel like every time I wash my hair, the colour dulls down a little.

I saw this Ignite My Colour shampoo from Herbal Essences and decided to buy it in the hope that it would maintain my current shade a little longer than normal.

PACKAGING
There are 2 sizes available for this product - 250ml and 400ml. I opted for the 250ml bottle due to the lower price, and I didn't want to get the larger bottle in case I didn't like this.

The bottle itself is tall and curvy with a flip-top lid. Both the bottle and lid are made of a clear dark pink plastic. On the front is the round Herbal Essences logo, and underneath it says that this contains acai berry and silk extracts in order to 're-light your fire for coloured hair.' I have to say, I like the packaging of the Herbal Essences range as it looks contemporary.

USAGE
The shampoo is a pale pinkish colour and not too runny, so you don't lose loads when you first squeeze some out of the bottle. I use a blob just larger than a 50p piece, and I find that this creates enough lather to cover my entire hair. No matter what shampoo I use, I always shampoo my hair twice as I use serum and like to make sure my hair is perfectly clean of grease and product.

The shampoo smells fruity, which I really liked as it wasn't too sweet or over-powering. Immediately after washing, my hair felt completely clean right up to the roots, and before I dried my hair, I found that my hair was very easy to comb through after towel-drying - it hadn't been left tatty or tangled.

AFTER DRYING
Meh! I personally didn't detect any difference in the colour whatsoever. I really do not feel this has an effect on the colour or its longevity. My hair was clean, yes, but if anything all this seemed to do was make my ends feel a tad on the dry side. My hair also felt a bit weird, like it was coated in something.

PRICE
This costs £2.39 for the 250ml bottle, or £3.39 for the 400ml bottle. I feel this is fairly normal for a well known brand name shampoo these days so I can't complain about the price.

WOULD I BUY THIS AGAIN?
Nope, definitely not, unless it was on sale for a ridiculously cheap price. I was very underwhelmed. I don't think the current Herbal Essences range is as good as they were when they were still in the old packaging. They have an array of different shampoos and conditioners which are all meant to do different things or transform your hair in some miraculous way, but I have yet to find one that actually does what it claims to. Maybe I am just being grumpy tonight but bleh to this shampoo. Bleh!