I had the opportunity to test out the L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay Range, which includes the Clay mask, shampoo, conditioner and dry shampoo. Each individual product of this range stated distinctive outcomes by use.
First product used was the Clay Mask. I believe that this mask did as it said it would. It did an incredible job at thoroughly lifting the oil and dirt from my scalp (as i purposely did not wash my hair for almost a week so i can put this to the test). It smelt calming and fresh no doubt the 'Clay' was announced as soon as you open these products. The second was the shampoo in which i did not really enjoy as it left my hair feeling extremely stripped. My hair felt hard straight after rinsing it out and my head did not stay feeling fresh and clean for 72 hours. The conditioner was the savior of this range as it was smooth and allowed me to comb my hair with ease. It delivered what it said it would. On the second day after using the product, my scalp did not feel as the shampoo said it would, so i put the dry shampoo to the test. It felt soothing and i got that hit of freshness straight away once applied directly to the roots. I was disappointed that the fresh and clean feeling did not last the whole day. It did not stop me from re-applying the product throughout the day.
I was sent the range to review, and I was super excited to try the products - the description pretty accurately sums up my hair situation, but I was sceptical as I’ve never really had great luck at combating the problem long term.
I loved the idea of a clay mask for hair, however I wasn’t sure how to apply it so ended up putting it on my roots like I would if I was dyeing my hair (however usually a friend would do this so it felt weird to try doing it myself!). I’d like if it said how often to apply it, or even a rough guide of exactly how much I should be applying. It’s not really practical to use it every time. When I was washing it out, I never actually saw the product being washed out like the instructions said I would - it made me wonder if I was using enough, or getting rid of it all. It made my hair feel super soft after it was washed out, but then the shampoo left a too squeaky clean feeling which was kind of a bummer. Overall, I didn’t really notice it doing anything, or a difference in the days after using it before the other products, compared to going straight to the shampoo.
The shampoo leaves me with that too squeaky clean feeling. Other than that, it feels like any other run of the mill shampoo, as does the conditioner. You don’t need a lot of either product each time which is great, I found myself squeezing out too much conditioner the first couple of times I used it (I think because of the bottle design). I also found I was left with the same amount of time where my hair felt good enough not to rewash it - every day or every second day at most, which was quite disappointing.
I generally wash my hair at night, then blow dry it until it’s at least semi-dry. I’m not going to try the dry shampoo the morning after I wash it - that would defeat the purpose of even washing it. And I’m not going to start washing my hair in the morning either, I like sleep too much. So I only used the dry shampoo a couple of times, however I found I ended up washing my hair about as frequently as I was before - every second day usually. I really liked that the dry shampoo didn’t leave a residue, however I’m not sure if it actually worked as well as my usual dry shampoo go to anyway.
Overall, I wasn’t as impressed with the range as I hoped I would be. Love the scent of the shampoo and conditioner (it’s a bit overwhelming in the dry shampoo even though it is the same scent), and the sleek packaging of all 4 products. Each product worked okay on its own and together (and didn’t make my hair any worse), but it wasn’t a fix to my oily hair issues. I found they left it in basically the same condition as most other products do. I don’t think I’d buy the range again as there are cheaper alternatives. I was hoping for more - the best features were the scent and the novelty of the hair mask. I felt I could sub in a different shampoo/conditioner with the rest of the range and I’d get the same results.