What I actually had was Head Candy by Anovia, their revive and energise shampoo containing Argan Oil.
I’m usually a one kind of brand guy, shampoo is shampoo and nothing to get excited about. This wasn’t any different but it did have a few tricks up its sleeve that could lead me to take a look at it again in the future.
Personally I would never pick this off the shelf - the colouring of the product is far too feminine, the packaging doesn’t particularly jump out at me and I can hand on heart say that I’d never heard of the company or product before getting my hands on this.
Marketed as the perfect pick me up for all hair types, it gently cleanses without product build up. There is also an associated conditioner which I have used on and off, but I didn’t really see any additional benefits by doing so and stopped.
So, the marketing blurb aside, the product claims to leave your hair soft, smooth and frizz free. I don’t have hair that is prone to frizz, so the acid test for me was whether it left my hair feeling soft and smooth.
It’s hard to get even remotely excitable about a shampoo, but as soon as you remove the lid there is the sickliest sweet fragrance - it’s amazing. It reminds me of old school strawberry laces you could buy from the sweet shop.
Once I’d gotten over the childhood flashback and was back in the room I removed the tube from my nose and decided to try it out.
There isn’t a day that goes by that my hair doesn’t take some form of pounding from hair products - gel, wax and clay are part of the normal routine (not all at the same time). Using Head Candy strips any residue from my hair and the shampoo produces a mild yet rich lather than soaks into the shaft of the hair.
It rinses out easily and the smell lingers on hair for hours after washing.
As a smoker I like to feel confident that my hair is truly clean and smells clean. With Head Candy I never have any reason to doubt this to be the case.
After using this my hair does feel incredibly soft, it is smooth and it smells fantastic (if you like the strawberry aroma).
This is the good bit - you can buy a 200ml tube of the shampoo for just 99 pence online and that represents excellent value for money.
This shampoo has everything - it delivers the results that it claims to, it has a fantastic sweet smell and it’s cheaper than a small bottle of Coca Cola. It has a value price tag with results that are on a par with some of the more luxury brands on the market.
One final test is whether repeated use can lead to a dried out scalp and the dreaded dandruff. It doesn’t, I don’t get an itchy scalp that leaves me looking like I have head lice (always a bonus) and after applying styling products my hair is more pliable than normal.
I can overlook the feminine packaging and give this the thumbs up.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
