Andrew Collinge Complete Moisture Conditioner

~ Price ~

As of Feb 2008, a 300ml bottle is:

Boots - £3.99
Superdrug - £4.49
Sainsburys - £4.48

I bought this on special offer in Morrisons some months ago at the much cheaper price of £2.49. They obviously had surplus stock and wanted 'shot of it' so I was happy to oblige, never one to miss out on a bargain!

~ Packaging ~

This comes in a transparent cylindrical-like bottle. It has a large silver screw top lid with a large push down silver nozzle plunger at the top. This has a swivel option for open and closed with lettering on the top and arrows so you know which way to turn it in order to 'plunge'! I have to say that once in use I tend to keep it open.
When I first bought this it had a transparent 'collar' / anti-plunging type section on the neck of the plunger.

~ What does it promise? ~

- Contains a multi-conditioning and UV filter complex.
- Protects hair from heat styling and environmental damage.
- Suitable for dry, coloured hair.
- Designed to infuse hair with moisture to restore strength and softness.
- Leaves hair soft, supple and full of great shine.

~ The conditioner ~

- Appearance

The conditioner is a pale lilac colour. I was surprised by the lack of thickness of the conditioner, given that some of the other high moisture conditioners I have used are very thick. This just feels like a normal shampoo.

- Smell

I really like the smell of this. It's very fresh and the smell lingers on even after rinsing it off, keeping my hair smelling newly washed and clean!

- How to use it

As with all conditioners, apply it after shampooing your hair and in true marketing style, it is suggested that for best results you use the complete moisture shampoo in the same range.

I tend to keep this on for about 5 minutes before rinsing it off so that it can work it's magic! Leaving it on a little longer does make my wet hair feel a lot softer and less tangled, just make sure that you totally rinse all of the conditioner off.

- Does it do what it says on the bottle?

I have quite dry, frizzy, coloured hair and was looking forward to this really giving my hair a good boost of moisture.

It certainly makes my hair a lot smoother when wet but as soon as I dry it then there is no obvious difference to the levels of moisture in my hair - it's still dry and frizzy even after regular use and leaving it on for a little longer so that the moisture gets a good 'go' at my hair!

- My Verdict -Advantages:

• Great smelling conditioner
• A little goes a long way.
• Makes my wet hair less tangled and feeling smooth.

Disadvantages:

• Doesn't leave my hair, once dried full of 'great shine'.
• No noticeable difference in the dry nature of my hair - no moisture boost here!

I am disappointed that this didn't make my hair look sleek and chic but after many products and years of trying, I realise that my hair is in need of a miracle cure as opposed to specific shampoos and conditioners.However this isn't a 'bad' product - it just doesn't do all it says on the bottle for my dry coloured hair and given that I didn't pay full whack for this, I'm happy to continue using it until I get my mits on another conditioner to try out!

~ Andrew Collinge Conditioners ~

There is an ever extending array of conditioners, specifically designed for certain hair colours, e.g. brunette, hazelnut, champagne blonde etc in the Andrew Collinge range. Given that I am brunette and ever increasingly grey, I never know what colour selection to choose so I have listed some of the more bog-standard conditioners that are appropriate for any hair colour:
- Leave in conditioner
- Perfect endings
- Weightless volume