Saturday 25 September 2010

Schwarzkopf Gliss Shea Cashmere Shampoo and Conditioner

RRP: £1.59/bottle
Retails at: Sainsbury's, Superdrug, Savers, Bodycare

--What does the promo say?--
"Hair Repair - Repairs Inside the Hair Cell
Dry or Lifeless Hair
Easy Combing & Cashmere Smooth Hair
Suitable for Daily Use
The nourishing formula with Shea Butter and Cashmere Protein provides the hair with intensive care and tangibly more suppleness."
--Packaging--
Like many other brands of its type, it reaches its target audience of women aged 20-30 with soft pastel colours, although the purple is a bit more zingy and adds a nice touch. The unusual combination of shea and cashmere immediately conjures images of softness and luxury, and high technology is also evoked in the illustrations on the bottle. With the shampoo bottle standing on its flip-top lid and the conditioner bottle having its lid at the top of the bottle, the slightly opposing yet harmonious design works well too.

--Application--
Massage the shampoo into wet hair as normal before rinsing out, and then add the conditioner, smoothing it down the full length of the hair, or just on the ends if this is where you have most difficulty with dryness, and then rinse out completely after a few minutes.

--Appearance--
The shampoo is a lovely pearlescent slightly beige/off-white coloured product, which continues to create the image of something truly luxurious in the shower. The conditioner is slightly yellower and more matte than pearlescent.

--Scent--
The shea butter is expectedly prominent; you are definitely given what you are promised. Always nice to have a slightly chocolatey start to the morning!

--Texture/consistency--
No problems here: it wasn't too sticky, too thick, too runny, or too anything. The  conditioner is creamier and less runny than the shampoo; both products are very manageable and easy to control and rinse out.

--Effects on the hair--
Truthfully, Schwarzkopf's claims on this shampoo and conditioner are very modest, so you cannot claim that they do not deliver. The main claims are "increased suppleness" and "cell repair", with the former being very subjective and the latter being presumably only something that could be tested by a scientist. However, I did thankfully experience increased softness in my hair, which I assume to be down to the various proven conditioning ingredients within, such as glyceryl cocoate (derived from coconut) and wheat protein, as well as the cashmere protein and shea butter mentioned in the brand's promotional materials. I was therefore fairly pleased with the products, in spite of the fact that they didn't quite deliver the high-shine result I was after (but hey - you can't have everything).

--Value for money--
Being a hair colour company primarily, I had always (perhaps stupidly) presumed that Schwarzkopf's products were expensive (since hair dye usually is) and was very pleasantly surprised to find this retailing at such an affordable price. It easily competes with others in its price bracket, such as Aussie and Trésemmé, as well as with others of a higher price range, such as John Frieda. Would buy again - they just need to bring out a hair mask now!

8 comments:

márciab. said...

You should try the pink line of this brand. It's to improve shine and softness and it works (i've tried it).

BiancaP said...

Hi Marcia

Thanks for stopping by!

I have not yet tried any other Schwarzkopf hair products but I will definitely bear your recommendation in mind :)

Bianca

Anonymous said...

I couldn't find the conditioner so what type should I use until I find it?

BiancaP said...

Hi gypsy

Thanks for your question :)

They recommend, I think, that you don't mix and match brands too much, so for your query I would match your Schwarzkopf Gliss Shea Cashmere Shampoo with any other Schwarzkopf Gliss conditioner, such as Colour Shine and Protect, Liquid Silk Express Repair, Oil Nutritive, Total Repair, Asia Straight, Liquid Silk Smooth, Liquid Silk Gloss, Colour Protect, or Satin Smooth.

All of these are easily available online, or you can check your local retailer. The type that's best will depend on your hair type.

Hope this helps a bit :)

Unknown said...

I have just got my hair rebonded... Which is best schwarzkopf gliss product to be used for the same... Gliss shea chashmere or ultimate repair or asia straight or total repair plzz help..

BiancaP said...

Hi Saniya

Rebonding sounds like a process that could put a lot of stress on your hair, so I probably wouldn't recommend the cashmere one so much for your particular situation. Any of the other ones you are thinking of trying sound like they would be a good fit. I haven't tried any of those ones, however, so can't recommend them personally. Hope you find a product that works well for you anyway :)

Bianca

Anonymous said...

Your review was excellent. I used some words for my blog post, but I put them in quotation marks. Is that ok?

BiancaP said...

Hi FashionWallFlower

No problem! Please link back to your post in the comments here though.

Thanks :)