No, not THAT James Brown! (James Brown London Serum)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	James Brown London Serum
Date:	28/08/09 (67 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tames frizz, lightweight, not too expensive

Disadvantages: Can't see how much is left in the bottle

I use a lot of hair serum seeing as I have thick hair which gets very frizzy, especially when it's newly washed. I recently wrote about TIGI's control freak serum, where I said how it wasn't really strong enough to tame my frizz and I had to often use another brand instead. This is the one I was referring to.

I bought this product mainly for the reason that I had a voucher for £2 off the James Brown London range. I know what you're thinking, and no, not that James Brown! This James Brown is a hairdresser who (if you are to believe his website) 'defines British hairdressing'. Hmmm...I've never heard of him! Even so, I had seen these products in Boots and been attracted by the modern, sleek looking packaging, and this is the first product from the range that I tried.

As I said the bottle is sleek, being white with black writing in a modern looking font. It has a pump dispenser and is functional, however I don't like that I can't see how much is left. This is something that really bugs me with all products of this type, as I like to know when I'm running out of something, so I have an excuse to go shopping for more!!

The serum claims to add shine and protect hair from the elements. It contains red seaweed and provitamin B5. Apparently the use of the seaweed rather than silicone that these things normally contain, to give shine without the build up.

The product can be applied to either wet hair before styling or to dry hair just to give it a bit of shine and control frizz. I nearly always apply it to dry hair after straightening.

Most serums are clear, but this one has a slightly yellowish tint and a thick gel like consistency. It also has a quite pleasant, yet subtle smell. I'm not 100% sure what it smells like, however it reminds me of lavender a little bit, although a subtle, grown-up lavender smell, not the overpowering 'granny' type smell lavender products sometimes have!

Despite coming out of the bottle looking quite thick, I've found that when smoothing through the hair it doesn't feel too thick, and certainly isn't as gloopy or heavy as others I've used.

The serum immediately tames frizz, and gives a lovely healthy looking shine to my hair. With serum the golden rule is 'less is more' and so you do have to add a little at a time, as overdoing it can leave hair looking slightly greasy. As long as you don't apply too much though, it will leave hair looking smooth and frizz free. It feels quite light on the hair too and doesn't weigh it down in the way some serums can.

The effects of this product are really long lasting too, and I never have to re-apply. It even seems to resist humidity quite well too. Just last night I walked to work in that horribly drizzly rain you get, and had fully expected to have hair like a ball of frizz when I arrived, but no, every hair was in place and it still looked perfect.

A 50ml bottle of this costs £5.99. I've only ever seen it for sale in Boots. This price is actually about average for a Serum, and as only a small amount is needed it is fairly long lasting.

Overall I'm really pleased with this product and would buy it again. If you're looking for a lightweight serum that can cope with thick, frizzy hair, this is worth a try.

Summary: A fab hair serum