Here's what I'm talking about. Yup, that's me. You can see why I have major, major hair envy whenever I see girls with lots of nice, thick hair:
So, one of my bathroom essentials is a volumizing shampoo for fine hair. Over the years I've tried a bunch of them, and some of them are better than others. The good ones give volume while still keeping hair soft and moisturized, while the crappy ones don't give any volume, AND leave your hair dry, tangled and damaged. And the middling ones often do one or the other - they may volumize your hair, but leave it dry, or they may give your hair softness but weigh it down.
One of the ones I've tried lately is John Frieda's Luxurious Volume range. The range seems to get raves from other people, and so I was excited to try the Thickening Shampoo and Thickening Conditioner. They have a range of products under the Luxurious Volume line, and if you're interested, you can view them HERE.
The packaging itself is in large blue tubes with fliptop caps. The shampoo comes in a clear tube while the conditioner has opaque packaging:
What about the product? The shampoo is a clear gel, while the conditioner is a milky, white gel with a slightly heavier texture. I particularly liked the shampoo, it lathers very well, so if you're one of those shampoo users who get a sense of satisfaction out of a good lather (I know I do!), this is definitely one to check out. The conditioner doesn't lather, but I like how it feels creamy without being too heavy. Both products have a very nice, light pleasant smell that I really liked, although I know smell is a matter of personal preference. It kind of reminds me of cucumbers or something. Another thing I liked about both the shampoo and the conditioner is that they rinsed off well - I didn't get product residue on my hair after a shower, and I didn't have to struggle to wash them off.
Here's a photo of a bit of the products on the back of my hand. As you can see, although they're both gel textured products, the shampoo is a little bit more runny, while the conditioner is more creamy:
After about 3 weeks of usage, I felt ready to give a review. I used the products as I do normally - shampoo, conditioner (every couple of days), and I just let my hair air dry. As you can see from my photo, my hair is REALLY limp, so I was skeptical about the effects it would have on my hair. But even with the first few days of usage, one of the first things I noticed is how the products really left my hair very soft, without leaving any residue or stickiness behind. I don't know why, but the John Frieda Luxurious Volume range really worked for me on this front. Even on days when I didn't use the conditioner, just using the Thickening Shampoo alone seemed to leave my hair soft. I was able to comb through my shoulder-length hair after a shower with no problems, whereas some other shampoos tend to leave my hair tangled and impossible to comb out after a shower. I really liked the softening effect these products had on my hair, and I think girls with hair that tends to dry out or get tangled easily will like the John Frieda Luxurious Volume range.
I also liked how both John Frieda products didn't irritate or dry out my scalp. Sometimes some really harsh shampoos tend to make my scalp flake, itch, or just generally get really irritated, but with both these products, I didn't have any problems on the irritation front.
Volume-wise, I felt that these products were also generally good. They gave my hair some volume, but not a whole ton. Then again, I wasn't expecting anything more than that, since it's hard to add volume to your hair with just shampoo, conditioner, and air-drying, without any additional styling products (I really need to get around to trying those). So I'm going to say that these met my expectations. The good thing though, is that neither of the products weighed down my hair, which I was partially expecting to happen, because of how smooth they left my hair. The first couple of times I used it, when I stepped out of the shower and combed my hair, I was thinking, "Wow, my hair is so soft. I bet it's going to be really flat when I wake up tomorrow", but it wasn't. So I was quite happy with that.
To me, the major benefit of John Frieda's Luxurious Volume Shampoo and Conditioner is that the products really soften your hair, while ensuring that it doesn't lose it's volume. So if you're one of those girls with relatively fine hair that is dry or tangled, and you want something to soften and smoothen your hair without making it lose it's volume, this is definitely one to try. This one will also please girls who want a shampoo that lathers and rinses well, as both products are really lightweight, and don't leave much residue behind. You can find out more about John Frieda's Luxurious Volume range HERE.
