In the late 1970s and early 1980s beer became popular as a hair rinse as it was said to increase body and shine and also help to condition the hair. Personally I think this probably meant everyone who used it as a rinse ended up with stinky, sticky hair!
However, beer as an ingredient in shampoo is a much better idea. I gave a couple of beer shampoos a try in order to see what the fuss was about.
Lush Cynthia Sylvia Stout Beer Shampoo, Anelco Beer Shampoo and Conditioner
I had originally planned to give Linco beer shampoo a go as I remember trying once a long time ago in a sachet and it being all right. However, it turns out that the range has been discontinued and has been replaced with the Anelco Shampoo and Conditioner, which appears to be sold exclusively at Superdrug.I was a little wary about trying this as it has Sodium Laureth Sulphate in, which irritates my skin,but curiosity got the better of me and I gave it a go. I won't be using it regularly.
Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised by this product. It smells quite fruity, which was the first surprise - I had expected something a little more alcoholic. It's a white, creamy product and looks pearly, which I quite liked.
It's not the best quality shampoo I've ever used and I would still advise using a conditioner afterwards even though this is a shampoo and conditioner two in one product. It isn't very moisturising and I think it would dry my hair out pretty quickly if I didn't use a conditioner. Having said that, it left my hair feeling really clean and looking very shiny. Not a bad product considering it only costs £1.99.
The second beer shampoo I tried was Lush Cynthia Sylvia Stout Beer Shampoo, which my mom used to have and had said was quite good.
I really liked this shampoo.
It has a thick, syrupy consistency and is a dark brown-red color. It contains not only beer, but cognac and lemon and also some essential oils so it's quite moisturising, which is always a plus.
This also left my hair squeaky clean, bouncy and seriously shiny - a fantastic shampoo. If only they did a matching conditioner!
The only thing I didn't like about this product was the smell. It was quite strong and smelt more like a dark ale than I'd like a shampoo to smell. However, I can deal with the smell as it rinses out along with the product and this shampoo leaves my hair so shiny and soft. I definitely recommend trying this stuff out!
Grace
