John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Ahead Shampoo

Created by legendary John Frieda, the frizz ease range has been specially formulated for frizzy, flyaway hair. There are two, new, different varieties to choose from - straight ahead or curl around, both of which are pretty much self explanatory in what hair type they are for. The one I am going to be reviewing is the 'straight ahead' shampoo.

*** The Claims ***

The straight ahead range is designed specifically, for ...
...***

Mention John Frieda and I automatically think 'High profiled hairdresser, high price products and a man who knows what he is doing.' Most people will have heard of him, yet they may not necessarily know anything about him. I have to admit… Neither did I.

Amazingly, John has been working in the business since he was just 16 years old. Starting off as an assistant, he was eager to learn the ticks of the trade and to ... more

Created by legendary John Frieda, the frizz ease range has been specially formulated for frizzy, flyaway hair. There are two, new, different varieties to choose from - straight ahead or curl around, both of which are pretty much self explanatory in what hair type they are for. The one I am going to be reviewing is the 'straight ahead' shampoo.

*** The Claims ***

The straight ahead range is designed specifically, for people who either have straight hair or who want straight hair.

Gentle enough for everyday use, this shampoo promises to tame dry, frizzy hair, and to make it easier to style after use. Containing a special nourishing feature, straight ahead leaves your hair shiny, soft and hydrated and promises salon styled results.

It is even safe for colour treated hair. So does it live up to all of its claims, or is it, like a lot of other top named brands, simply just over-priced rubbish?

*** The Trust Factor ***

Mention John Frieda and I automatically think 'High profiled hairdresser, high price products and a man who knows what he is doing.' Most people will have heard of him, yet they may not necessarily know anything about him. I have to admit… Neither did I.

Amazingly, John has been working in the business since he was just 16 years old. Starting off as an assistant, he was eager to learn the ticks of the trade and to show that he had the creative energy to succeed in a mainly 'woman dominated' world.

Recognising that everybody's hair was different, John aimed to create a variety of hair care products that would cater for every different hair type.

After opening his own salon, he was soon catering to the demands of Hollywood stars, and even members of royalty. Then in 1988 he launched his first product range 'Thickening Lotion', which proved to be a big hit and that led him to introduce another product range, this time called 'frizz ease'.

The rest as they say is history. He has won 'hairdresser of the year' awards, and he has quite a wide range of products available now.

So there is plenty of reason to trust John Frieda's products, and with the claims of this new straight ahead shampoo looking pretty good, I felt I was on to a winner.

*** All Important Performance ***

I found the shampoo on a 'buy 2 for £5' deal which I thought was really good considering the shampoo is usually £4.48 each (it is worth mentioning that the conditioner is involved in this deal too). It is almost a buy one get one free deal! After snapping it up, I took it home and couldn't wait to try it out. Maybe this time I'd found something that would really work?

On my first application I made the mistake of using far too much of the product. With my most recent shampoo's, they have all been slightly thin, and so I usually had to use quite a lot to get the right coverage for my hair. So I went ahead and squeezed out quite a big blob of the stuff and I was disappointed to find that I did not get the results I was expecting. Once again, I thought I'd bought something that was a load of rubbish and a complete waste of money. Then I realised, perhaps I should have put less on? My hair did feel bogged down and perhaps I didn't wash it all off properly or something? So I persevered and decided to try again, and boy am I glad that I did!

Second application and I learnt from my previous mistake, this time putting a small blob in the palm of my hand, roughly the size of a pound coin. I was a little sceptical at first because I didn't think it would cover all of my hair. However, it really does lather up well and I was completely surprised how very little of the product actually covered my whole hair. Now my hair is just past shoulder length so obviously if you have longer hair, you will need to use a little bit more than a pound coin size blob like I did. The same applies to people with shorter hair only obviously, you will use less instead of more.

Using less of the product can only be a good thing in my opinion. The most obvious advantage is that it lasts longer; therefore it is cheaper in the long run. So while £4.48 does seem like a lot of money for a shampoo, if it lasts a long time that in my opinion, evens things out.

So what about the results? I've already mentioned it worked for me, but I haven't yet stated exactly how it did that, or whether in fact, it actually lived up to its claims. Here is a rundown of its claims and my experience:

Claim number one, Tames dry, frizzy hair - After washing I did notice that my hair was less fly away and there was no sign of frizz to be found. However, I washed with the conditioner too and that may have had an impact. I did find though, that when I dried my hair with a hairdryer, when I went out shopping, my hair was actually quite flyaway and it really did annoy me at times. Now on the back of the shampoo it does recommend that you use the conditioner after use and then possibly the styling product in this range, and I have to admit to not using the styling product, therefore it is obvious to me that in order to have completely straight, controlled hair, you need all the products in this particular range.

Rating - 3/5

Claim number two, Makes hair easier to style after use - This claim I completely agree with. It did make my hair incredibly straight and that in itself made my hair easier to style. This is due to the fact that I have naturally wavy hair, and it is usually a nightmare to comb through. Because the style is already in place, it does make it easier to create the final, overall look.

Rating - 5/5

Claim number three, Leaves hair looking salon styled - The first couple of times I tried this shampoo out, I simply left my hair to dry naturally, and while that left my hair looking ok, it definitely didn't leave it looking salon styled. However, I was going out on one particular day, and so I decided to make a little more effort and blow dry my hair. Now, I did it properly by blow drying straight down instead of just blow-drying it any old way. As usual, my hair was quite straight anyway after washing my hair so by blow drying the hair straight down, it kept that already semi-styled look and dried perfectly straight. I was so surprised with the result I could hardly speak and I spent all the time I was out, trying to get a glimpse of my literally salon- styled hair.

The other claims say that the shampoo leaves your hair looking shiny, nourished and soft, and that is all 100% true and that all adds to the salon-style look. My hair was the straightest I'd seen it since the last time I went to the hairdressers. It looked really healthy and shiny, but not too shiny that it looked greasy (a problem I have had with past hair care brands). It was extremely soft to the touch and it felt really light and clean. I was so excited and happy, I just couldn't believe I'd found a shampoo that actually worked that well.

Rating - 6/5

Now I have to stress that although once blow dried, my hair looked like it was fresh out of a salon, if left to dry naturally, my hair did still have slight waves to it. I did find this easy to sort out with my straighteners but it is something to bear in mind before you rush out and buy it. You do have to be prepared to put that little bit of effort in. We'd all love a product where you could just wash and go and your hair would automatically fall into salon-fresh condition, but life simply isn't like that and you do get out of your hair, what you put into it. I personally don't feel that a little blow drying is too much effort and I'm sure plenty of others would agree.

*** My Overall Opinion ***

As I mentioned earlier, I do use this shampoo with the conditioner in the range and that does ultimately contribute to how effective the product is. I will also now be buying the styling product so that my hair will not be flyaway while I am out and about.

I am really pleased with how long this product is going to last me. I have been using this every day for around a week and a half and I have hardly used any of it. This should easily last me at least a month which I feel is quite good for a 250ml bottle.

The results I've seen have been the best results I have ever had from a shampoo before and one thing I haven't yet mentioned is how clean my hair feels after use. It really makes my scalp tingle and my hair feels clean from root to tip. The smell is also extremely pleasant. It has an almost fruity smell about it which I absolutely love and it is a very feminine fragrance. It is one of the best smelling shampoos I've ever used.

The shampoo is quite thick which is why you don't have to use a lot of the product.

I definitely would recommend this to anybody who wants salon-straight hair and it is something I will be using from now on.

You can find this shampoo at various high street shops such as boots and superdrug. I personally bought mine from Asda on promotion (which I think is still going on). As I said I bought mine on a '2 for £5' deal but usually it costs around £4.48 per bottle. Prices will vary depending on where you shop so it's always better to shop around.
 

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