- Price:
- £11.50
- Rating:
- 2
Reviewed by: Kath
Summary:
I received the Paul Mitchell Super Strong Daily Shampoo in my January 2013 Glossybox, and I was eager to try it out. I have been an avid Herbal Essences user for several years now, and I have been looking for a reason to convert to something a little different. So, will I be changing my years of haircare habits any time soon? Probably not, and here’s why.
Firstly, the bottle isn’t that appealing. It’s plain and dull, and probably doesn’t look out of place in a beauty salon. Except I don’t buy my haircare product from salons; I buy them from the high street where the bottle really does have to stand out. If I hadn’t received it in my Glossybox, I probably wouldn’t have actually chosen to buy it whilst out shopping. However, the Paul Mitchell Super Strong Daily Shampoo appealed to me because Paul Mitchell is such a popular and well-respected brand, and also more ‘high class’ than most other high street haircare brands. This sounds snobby, but with all the claims that some high street shampoos are just as good, if not better, than some of the more luxurious ones, I really wanted to try that idea out for myself. On this occasion I was left disappointed.
The back of the bottle says to use a ‘small amount’ of the shampoo. I don’t know what constitutes a ‘small amount’ so I thought something the size of a £2 coin would be sufficient to wash my medium-length hair. So I started rubbing it in and quickly found that I needed double the amount, even after just focussing on my scalp and roots. The shampoo didn’t lather up massively but I didn’t mind that. What I did mind was the smell of this product – it actually smells like mosquito or insect repellent. It’s not nice or fresh. I don’t think the shampoo cleaned my hair properly either because after vigorous scalp massaging, my hair smelt greasy and unwashed, and it looked dry and limp. Continued use showed little improvement to the overall condition of my hair.
I’ve since learnt that a ‘small amount’ actually means the size of a 10 pence piece, which is definitely not enough. Reasons for the horrid smell may be down to the hydrolyzed vegetable proteins which are meant to moisturise the hair from within and strengthen the cuticles. Panthenol also helps long lasting moisturising and adds a shine, which I really didn’t find when using this product. I did find that my hair felt a little stronger and marginally thicker, but that’s it.
Overall I’m disappointed with this product. It did strengthen a little, and probably would have helped even more if I used it daily, but I didn’t feel like it was cleaning my hair at all, or putting any life/bounce into it. I don’t think I could justify the £11.50 price tag for 300ml. Although that 300ml bottle would likely last a relatively long time, I’d feel too self-conscious about my smelly scalp to use this again.
