Fighting the frizz (John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	John Frieda Frizz Ease Extra Strength Serum
Date:	22/10/08 (155 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: doesn't leave hair greasy, does control frizz

Disadvantages: can only be used on wet hair, left my hair feeling sticky

Now that my favourite Charles Worthington Serum has been discontinued, I am having to try alternatives. When I saw the John Frieda Extra Strength Serum on special offer in Boots a couple of months ago, I decided to give it a go.

My hair is quite frizz-prone, and difficult to manage, so I thought that the Extra Strength version of this serum might be just what I needed - especially as the front of the bottle declared that it 'corrects chronic, unruly frizz'.

The serum comes packaged in a plastic casing with a cardboard sleeve, which I find to be very unnecessary packaging, but never mind. The actual bottle itself is also made of plastic and is a deep purple colour, which distinguishes it from the other two Frizz-Ease serums available - the original which comes in a clear bottle, and the Thermal Protection one which comes in an orange bottle. It has a pump action dispenser, which can be twisted to lock into place, meaning you can carry this around with you, without the worry it may leak in your bag.

The product should be used on wet hair, something I didn't notice at first, despite it being written in bold capital letters on the instructions! You simply apply the clear serum to your hands, rub them together and smooth through the hair, which is pretty much standard for hair serum. As I hadn't realised this was meant for use on wet hair, at first I applied it to dry hair, and found it to be pretty much awful! It's a lot thicker than the serums I normally use, so on dry hair it was quite difficult to apply and left my hair looking and feeling greasy and weighed down.

When I realised my mistake, I started using it the proper way and applying it to wet hair. This way it glides through the hair easily, so is much easier to work with. It has a slight smell to it, its kind of floral I think, but its pleasant enough, and not too overpowering.

When my hair dried, although it did seem to have tamed the frizziness quite a lot, my hair felt strange - I wouldn't really say it felt weighed down, but it was a little bit sticky, and slightly hard too.

It was easily styled, and even when I used the straighteners on it, my hair seemed not to be its usually frizzy self. In fact, appearance wise it looked quite good - smooth and shiny, without looking greasy or limp.

I have used this several times now, and I find that it will leave my hair frizz free throughout most of the day, but after around five or six hours, the frizz starts to creep back, which is no good for me as I work eleven hour shifts most days and obviously as it needs to be applied on wet hair, I cannot be going off to shampoo and condition halfway through my shift - well I could, but I don't think my boss would be too pleased about it!

A 50ml bottle of Frizz-Ease Extra Strength Formula Hair Serum, will cost you £5.98 from Boots.

Overall, this was OK, but I wouldn't buy it again. I think its inconvenient that it can only be used on wet hair, and although it did seem to control my frizz without making my hair look greasy as others have done, I didn't like the way my hair felt - sticky and slightly stiff. OK, but not for me.

Summary: JF Frizz-Ease EXTRA strength