Molton Brown Healthy Hair Revitalising Shampoo

Worth it as one of two shampoos to use each time shampooing. Hair turns out manageable, shiny, full and looking good for several days. The only bad point is that its quite expensive

For my lovely fella's birthday recently, I treated us to a couple of nights in the divine Maison Talbooth hotel in the beautiful Constable countryside of Essex; a place of unadulterated luxury and comfort. In the blissfully large bathroom I was delighted to find a delicious array of Molton Brown goodies. I had carefully packed a wide selection of pretty dresses, sandals and handbags, and in my excitement had managed to completely forget any shampoo or conditioner. Now, my hair is a not very natural blonde; let's face it, my poor tresses have been so abused over the years I'm awaiting a knock on the door from some department of the social services!

Luckily help was at hand in the form of a generously large bottle of Molton Brown's Healthy Hair Revitalising shampoo. I was very concerned that as there was no conditioner, and the bottle did not promise to soothe the ravages of chemicals, I would have to spend the evening with hair like candyfloss. I stood in the extremely large walk-in shower and nervously contemplated the plastic bottle of amber liquid and realised I'd just have to hope for the best and trust Molton Brown would deliver. Having spent the afternoon in the hot tub my hair was in desperate need of a good clean and condition, if only to rid it of the very mild chlorine smell. The bottle had a handy little pump, so it was easy to extract a couple of small squirts.

The scent, as I began to rub it into my hair, was wonderful; a very refreshing clean smell with a certain zinginess to it. The shampoo was of a lovely consistency; thick enough to feel very posh, but not so thick it didn't bubble up quickly. Now, at this point I got a bit worried that the end result may end up with me insisting on a room service dinner and hiding my abused hair under a towel all night, as I could feel a nasty edge of roughness in my hair as my fingers massaged the bubbles about. It wasn't helped when I began my usual second wash, nor when I rinsed it all away. I was interested to find that all the bubbles rinsed off very quickly and easily, although this was possibly helped by the fact that I was standing under the biggest shower I've ever seen.

On exiting the shower to survey the result in the mirror, I was still apprehensive, as my hair definitely looked significantly coarser than it usually does. So, hurriedly wrapping my head turban style on one of the fluffy white towels, I wandered out to have (another) glass of champagne to try to calm my fears. Eventually I plucked up courage to go and deal with this situation and face the ordeal of getting a comb through my bedraggled locks.

But wait! Imagine my surprise when my comb did not come to an abrupt halt in the middle of a knot of tangles. Admittedly it wasn't going through quite as smoothly as when I condition properly, but it was surprisingly easier than I had been dreading. And after a quick blow dry I was amazed to find my hair actually looked pretty good, nowhere near the straw-like result I had feared. All I needed was a quick spritz of my shiny gloss spray and I was on my way out for a swanky dinner, looking pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I used the shampoo a couple of times a day during our stay, mainly because of using the hot tub such a lot! And then on our last morning I used it one last time. What I did find interesting when I got home was how long my hair stayed feeling fresh and clean afterwards. Normally I have to wash my hair every other day, as, probably due to the conditioners, it begins to feel lank, but after three days my hair still looked, felt and smelled fresh. I did wash it then, but just because I felt I ought to.

Having checked on Molton Brown's website I have discovered that the shampoo has extracts of ziao jao, keratin proteins and chlorine neutralisers. Now I have no idea what ziao jao is, but I guess that is what makes it smell so good, the keratin probably what helps it look good, and the chlorine neutraliser was great for after the hot tub. Molton Brown have an excellent range of all things lovely for the body and hair, so I will try not to spend my entire wages on things to go with the shampoo! They are also nicely green, using recyclable packaging, and they do not test products on animals, which is nice for a hippychick like me, and it means I can look and smell good without guilt!

Come payday I am going straight to my nearest stockist and getting my mitts on a bottle of this heavenly shampoo. At around fourteen quid for 300 ml it isn't the cheapest hair care product, but it is going to be worth every penny, as I only need a small amount, the effects last a long time and I end up smelling like a fresh spring morning!