This is actually a bit of a gem!

I have tried quite a few of The L'Oreal shampoos with mixed results, but having had a very bad feeling towards the new Herbal Essence ranges being reborn again episode I decided to try and find an alternative to my Aussie friends. I always use Aussie but I like a change every now and then as I think the same make of shampoo every day sometimes makes hair less shiny.

In Superdrug I spotted this Elvive Caring Shampoo with Royal Jelly on the stand on promotion, buy one get one free, so I thought for 2 large 400ml bottles for less than £3.50 this was a bargain, and so I picked the matching conditioner as well.

The shampoo comes in a rather pretty bottle as it is mainly creamy white with a yellow flip top lid and it states it is for dry or dried out hair. I don't have really dry hair, but I do colour it and have weaved highlights as well, so it is quite processed, and on top of this it gets a daily dose of my GHDs to keep it straight and sleek. It is also long shoulder length and is easily prone to frizz especially after being out in the wind.

The shampoo itself is lovely, it is a creamy egg yolk yellow and it is soft and smells lovely, slightly floral and fresh and really spring-like. It lathers up beautifully and is creamy and makes lots and lots of foam so you really feel like you are being treated to a conditioning wash as well as a cleansing one.

The result is outstanding. My test is always does the detangling comb pass through the hair after towel drying with ease, encountering no knots, and it does. In fact it was free flowing and really soft. After drying and straightening it was probably the softest I have seen my hair in ages, beating my Aussie Moist. I must admit I was surprised to say the least as I am never too keen on straying to try new shampoos, as I have experimented with most of them and not always been pleased.

It is good value too at the moment and if you shop around you should be able to buy a large bottle at a cheap price.

Royal Jelly itself is a super food produced by worker bees to keep the queen bee in top shape, and contains a powerhouse of nutrients including nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), enzymes, vitamins (A, B, C, C and E), minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese)but of course you are not eating it. It does however make the hair soft and silky, which I certainly found was apparent after the first wash.

Are there any down sides? Well I am not too keen on the parabens contained in it, and am considering a few paraben free purchases soon in the shampoo line, and the list of ingredients is certainly a cocktail of who knows what. I am not as concerned about this as with products such as face creams containing parabens as these are absorbed. However it is as well to remember that they are banned in Sweden and Japan. The jury is out on their safety, but it is proposed that they may imitate oestrogen activity, and so may promote hormone dependant cancers, but more evidence is needed to be sure.

While I search out new Paraben free alternatives that are as good as products like these I will continue to buy this, but as soon as I find a good alternative I will post the results of my quest on Dooyoo.

In the meantime I am planning to stock up on this as it is one of the best shampoos I have tried in a long time, and is certainly a surprise find-a gem infact!