With this long curly mop of hair of mine that not only has a mind of its own its probably got two or maybe even three, who knows how its going to look each morning?
Coupled with my illness (why when you aren't well, does it show first in your hair and skin? Like you really need to feel worse)
Along with having highlights twice a year(thats all I dare have)
The old mop gets very, very, very dry and tangled and as it has an aversion to brushes and combs, therefore I have a pretty mammoth task trying to keep it in some kind of order.

This is where Lavera Mango Milk Shampoo comes to my tresses rescue.
After using Lavera sun cream and aftersun (I have a previous review about the after sun) and finding them fabulous products, approx 2 years ago I decided to give the shampoo and conditioner(review to follow) a whirl.

I have already given you some information on Lavera as a company in my "aftersun" review, but basically they are a German company that have been trading since1987 and Lavera means "The Truth".

All their products are Natural ie-
No synthetic compounds
No petrochemicals
No GMO
No raw materials from dead animals
Natural doesn't eliminate irritation or allergic reaction but does reduce the likelihood of occurrence.

Each product has a long list of ingredients (unusual for natural products, but its simply because they state the full "scientific" name ie
Aloe Vera Extract is shown as Aloe Barbadensis Extract.

Some Lavera products feature - "Lavera Lavere Lip Expert" gets 8.38/10 in "The Green Beauty Bible" the Natural version of the original "Beauty Bible" you can purchase both books at most good book stores, I wouldn't be without mine.

Packaging~
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The shampoo comes in a dark brown plastic bottle (to protect the natural ingredients from the light)
With a long green label depicting part of a mango.
It states Lavera NATURKOSMETIK in silver, Hair in white, then Mango Milk Shampoo for coloured hair & colour protection.
ALS/SLS free and its Vegan all in white writing.
Its a 250ml bottle and sports a dark brown flip top lid, all in all quite plain but the label is bright so you do notice its presence.

The non fussy packaging usually means a cheaper price, so that suits me just fine.

Main Ingredients~
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Mango Extract~ wraps a protective film around each hair strand.

Cocoa and Shea Butters~ enrich the hair follicles and give a vivid shine.

Shea Butter~also offers natural UV sun protection.

Wheat Protein~ offers an instant tightening effect so replacing elasticity and tone.

Green Tea Extract~ with its antioxidants fights the "free radicals" that cause damage(as with our skin) and helps stop the colour fading from the hair.

Pro-Vitamin B5~ coats each hair strand to seal in moisture.

18 essential oils and vitamins~ to preserve the product and stop bacteria growing, hence giving the shampoo a shelf life of 2 to 3 years.

As well as cleaning the hair, it protects it enhances and protects the colour and strengthens the areas damaged by colouring. I couldn't ask for much more in my opinion.

How to use~
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Basically the same as all shampoos, wet hair, squeeze a 50p size dollop of shampoo onto your hand, rub your hands together and then massage the shampoo well into your hair. Rinse until the water runs clear and then repeat the proccess if need be.

When you use it the first time it doesn't always lather up as much as your average shampoo because Natural shampoos don't have "sodium laurel sulphate" in them which tends to give the rich, thick lather. This doesn't mean it isn't working aswell, it just contains a more gentle foaming agent and on the second wash it foams up much more(I know some people aren't happy if they haven't got lots of lather).

How does it smell and whats the texture like?
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In a word it smells divine, like a rich mango smoothie, by the smell you could almost eat/drink it(but obviously don't)
The mango is the overriding scent, I suppose because its such a strong scent anyway it will always drown out most other scents.
Its a very thick consistency and a pearly white colour, with a lovely sheen.

What I Love, even though the mango scent is very powerful, it doesn't tend to linger on your hair for long, otherwise it would clash with all the other fragrance we tend to have going on ie- hair products, perfume, body lotion- could end up smelling rather like an explosion in a perfume factory.

How have I found the shampoo~
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Fabulous in a word, it helps stop tangles, my hair shines and the colour has definitly been lifted and in my opinion the colour doesn't fade quite as fast, obviously nothing stops it fading totally, but I have seen a difference in mine.
Texture wise, it doesn't go quite as frizzy as it used to, but I still have an on going battle with"The Frizz" especially in all this rain.
I have used this shampoo for approx 2 years now, so I must be very happy with it.

Availability~ Health food shops and Organic Supermarkets- As Nature Intended. On line from various web sites ie-www.lavera.co.uk.
As usual prices vary so please shop around from £6.80 to £7.55.
A very good price I think for a Natural shampoo.

Other shampoos from Lavera~
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Mango Milk~Coloured Hair
Apple Milk~Normal Hair
Rose Milk~Dry Hair
Lemon Milk~Oily Hair
Almond Milk~ Sensitive Hair
Orange Milk~ Fine Hair
Cornflower~ Dandruff Control

Shampoo for just about everyone I think.
Lavera also offer~
Hair Styling Gel
Hair spray
Hair Mousse.
I haven't tried any of these hair styling products to date, so I can't comment on them.

Conclusion~
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A gorgeous rich shampoo that smells divine and does a mighty fine job of keeping my hair in tip top condition and my colour bright and shiny. I will continue to be faithful to my Mango shampoo for the long forseeable future.

Definitely a 5 star award.

Thankyou for reading my review.