Timotei

I’m a very brand loyal consumer and you won’t normally catch me changing from my usual products, until of course I move 180 miles south of Manchester and forget to take my shampoo!! It was close to midnight when I realised and I was starting my new job the following day *panic* so my lovely boyfriend went off to the 24hr petrol station to see what he could find, to my disappointment he returned not with my usual Fructis but with Timotei for Normal Hair/Frequent Use with extracts of Wild Herbs – better than nothing I suppose. It cost him £1.99 for 250ml but I’m confident in saying that it would be a lot cheaper in the supermarkets.

About 12 months ago, Timotei (made by Elida Faberge) had a complete revamp of their Shampoo Range. This involved new formulations with new extracts, new fragrances and new packaging. The Timotei shampoo for Normal Hair now comes in a shapely white plastic bottle with quite a nifty translucent green flip cap.

For me, Timotei has always had a back to nature feel, I think this is due to an advert I remember from when I was young where a woman with long blonde hair washes her hair in a waterfall. Today, Timotei still manages to convey this image by having the ‘extracts of wild herbs’ and also images of lush green leaves on the front of the bottle.

The bottle is absolutely loaded with claims to entice the consumer into buying:
On the front of the bottle we have the following:
- ‘NEW Long lasting Clean Feel’
- ‘Shine and Softness’
- ‘Daily Vitality’.
The first statement on the back of the packaging reflects what I mentioned earlier about the ‘back to nature’ image with the statement ‘Unlock The Power Of Nature’.
Being a very extract led product, we’re them bombarded with even more claims:
- ‘Timotei has selected and combined extracts of wild herbs, renowned for their caring and refreshing properties. Improved Herb Shampoo will leave normal hair feeling clean for longer, and shining with vitality.
- ‘Experience the power of Nature’
- ‘Discover the pleasure of its refreshing fragrance and enjoy the natural fresh feeling every day.

Well, how many claims and marketing ploys can a manufacturer fit on a shampoo bottle? I’m now definitely of the impression that this shampoo contains natural extracts that sound like they’ll be really good for my hair and will leave it squeaky clean, soft, shiny and full of vitality!! Well, lets see what I thought when I put it to the test.

The directions of use are pretty much the same as any shampoo, lather, rinse, repeat if desired and of course if you want to make Elida Faberge some more money then follow this with their Timotei Conditioner. If shampoo gets in eyes, don’t just stand there saying ouch! – rinse well with warm water! :o)

With a flip of the lid and a gentle squeeze, I easily dispensed a small amount of the shampoo into my palm. The shampoo itself is a crisp clear apple green in colour, not too thick, not too runny – just right! The fragrance is fresh watery green and herbaceous with a gently refreshing citrus top note, it smells really clean.
On using the shampoo, it lathered up rather a lot so just a little does actually go quite a long way. Rinsing out wasn’t completely quick with all the lather I had but that was just a lesson for me to use a little less the next time I used it.

I had no conditioner so slowly brushed through my hair after towel drying. It was a little more difficult than when I’ve used Fructis shampoo and conditioner but with no conditioner whatsoever, that was to be expected.

After drying, my hair smelt great, really fresh and clean, it felt quite soft and although not as shiny as it would normally be it did have some shine to it.

Being in the fragrance industry I’m very sceptical about the use of extracts unless used in high concentrations so I really don’t think that they had anything to do with the condition my hair was in after washing (ooooh should I be saying this?!?). The shampoo formulation did however seem to clean my hair and leave it in quite a good condition and with a great fresh fragrance it left me feeling like it was really clean.

Timotei have other shampoos in their range as well as conditioners for varying types of hair each containing various extracts. It’s a well-known respected brand and I think the product definitely lived up to its reputation. I’ve now gone back to Fructis which I love for its funky packaging and its fab fragrance but If I’m ever left without the Fructis in the future I won’t hesitate to ‘unlock the power of nature’ with Timotei.

If you have any questions or comments on Timotei you can phone their helpline on +44 800 591 720.