A glossy brunette finally? (John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Simply Sleek Straightening Balm)

Member Name: xxfoxyredxx

Product:	John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Simply Sleek Straightening Balm
Date:	07/03/09 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely smell, simple to use, gives shine

Disadvantages: You have to work quite hard to get results with it

The one thing I do most days of my life is straighten my hair. I have obnoxious and damn well misbehaved hair and although I'm sure I could style my wavy hair curly I've never really managed to make it look good enough to leave the house with so I do tend to straighten it as it's the easiest thing for me to do and even my hair can't defy my ghd's!

I do of course own a whole heap of styling products to help in this area and do own ghd's (as I have said) so the whole experience isn't traumatic. I saw this on sale in Poundland (oddly enough priced at a pound!) though usually it is about £5.49 in places like Boots.

The Packaging....

Bronze, plastic sturdy pump action cylinder tube. The push button dispenser is white plastic, large and has a small hole the balm dispenses from. The label is black, bronze and brown and has white and light yellow writing on it. The writing tells me it is John Frieda Collection, London, Paris, New York, Brilliant Brunette 'With Heat Shield' Simply Sleek Straightening Balm that 'Smooths And Straightens' and 'Illuminates Natural, Colour-Treated Or Highlighted Brunette Hair'. On the back of the tube I'm told a bit about the product, directions for use are given, ingredients are listed, size is stated (100ml), contact details for Kao Brands (the manufacturer) are given and finally the bar-code is on there. Over-all it's a nice sturdy design and simple to use, and looks expensive. However I don't like not being able to see the balm through the packaging because I have no idea when it needs replacing (if I wanted to replace it!).

A Bit About The Product According To The Back Of The Tube....

From meek to sleek in just minutes. Created with our salon expertise.

Lightweight, non-greasy formula straightens and polishes.
Soothes and illuminates brunette for luminous, multi-dimensional shine.
Provides a heat shield against thermal damage.

Directions For Use....

Apply to damp hair. Dispense about 1-2 pumps of balm into hands. use more or less product, depending on length and thickness of hair. Work balm through hair and cob to distribute evenly. Blow-dry hair, section by section, using a large, flat brush to pull sections flat. Can also be used the same way on dried hair for next day touch-ups.

My Experience Using The Product....

Well if you look at my photographs on my profile you will notice that my hair is jet black. Well it sort of is but naturally I'm brunette and at the moment I'm two toned hair coloured as I'm growing out the black and going back to natural so my thinking is this would be fine as really it is a straightening balm for dark hair to help shine, and it does.

The balm is white and quite creamy though it comes out of the pump easily. Smell wise it has a creamy smell to it with a hint of coconut and a natural sweetness but it isn't rich in fragrance though it is lovely remains classy and not in your face or anything and quite professional.

Basically I distribute 2 pumps full onto my hands and then I run it gently through towel dried and combed hair and then comb it through once again to make sure my hair is evenly coated. The lotion disappears immediately and creates a gentle softness to the hair and tames it down without making hair feel oily or greasy or anything.

Then I gently blow dry my hair on a cool setting and as suggested I use a large brush to gently encourage straight hair. This really does that and doesn't make hair feel limp or lifeless but once I've dried my hair, hair does look considerably straighter although (for me) not straight enough to go out with as I find that although yes it works in that department it doesn't completely combat my frizz, particularly to my mid section and my broken hairs near my roots really do pop up giving it an unwearable look but yes hair is somewhat straightened.

However of course this contains a heat shield and so I then only using this product that's already in my hair and straighten with my straighteners. It isn't all that straightforward as I can detect the product in my hair and I find that my straighteners do drag a little with this stuff in my hair so I do, do it by sections and using clips.

However although a little more tricky due to a slight sticky feeling initially when using straighteners the results then are great. This does straighten hair. It does almost completely diminish frizz. You do lose that sticky, tacky feeling when hair is completely dry and although hair smells gently fragrant and soft and fresh, it does look natural although you can feel you have control. Hair keeps it's control into the style you have created and humidity doesn't get to the hair over time at all.

This is by no means the best product of it's type I have used but it is good and where it excels is the lovely natural glossy, healthy look it gives to hair. It doesn't bling up the hair in a fake way but it does look shiny and as I said earlier you lose the sticky feeling when hair is styled and hair feels wonderfully soft though not fluffy in any way shape or form.

For me this is worth a pound up to about £3 but over a fiver in money? I'm not convinced it's worth that price tag but if you see it going cheap... snap one up and see for yourself by all means!

Summary: Gives nice results with perseverance!