I generally use Alberto Balsam apple conditioner on my hair as I really like it. However, a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a couple of 250ml tubes of John Freida brilliant brunette shine release moisturising conditioner so I have been using that recently instead. It costs £4.89 in Boots for each of these which is a lot more expensive than the pound I pay for the 400 ml bottle of Alberto Balsam that I get from Sainsburys. Therefore I was really interested to see if I would notice a difference and think that the more expensive conditioner was worth it.

The conditioner comes in quite an attractive golden coloured tube. However, the gold writing on the back is quite tricky to read against the gold background. The cap is easy to open and you just need to give a slight squeeze in order to dispense the conditioner. It tells you on the tube that it is designed to infuse dry hair with rich moisture and that it perfects each strand for multi-dimensional brunette shine. Now I'm not sure that I really understand what that last bit means but I guess I could be persuaded that that is what my hair needs! The conditioner is suitable for all shades of hair from hazelnut to chestnut and is suitable for either natural or colour treated hair. (Mine is the latter).

So what is the conditioner actually like you might ask. It is creamy white in colour and a thickish consistency. I only need to squeeze a little out of the tube to get good coverage for my shoulder length hair. It goes through my hair quite easily and helps to work through any tangles very well. It has a pleasant smell which reminds me of coconut. It felt quite thick on my wet hair and I wondered if I would have difficulty rinsing it out but it actually washes out very well.

Once my hair is dry I can see that it looks quite silky and that it feels soft and shiny. It feels in good condition and looks good too. However, I feel the same after using my Alberto Balsam apple conditioner too. Having now used the John Freida conditioner quite a few times, I can't really say that it is that much better than my usual conditioner to warrant paying so much extra money. I have realised that I get roughly about six times the amount of my usual conditioner for the price of one of these 250 ml tubes and that's a huge difference! Therefore, although I do like this conditioner and there is nothing wrong with it I doubt that I will actually start buying it on a regular basis. However, I still have a long way to go to use up my two prize conditioners so I will enjoy using this conditioner in the meantime.

It is worth mentioning that at the moment Boots has a two for £7.50 on John Freida hair care products but it is still quite expensive! (November 2010).