L'Oreal Paris ELVIVE Extraordinary Pre-shampoo Clay Mask Review

This is a totally new thing for me, I mean a Mask BEFORE shampooing??!! I applied to dry hair , it was actually quite hard to use , just getting into all my roots was the hardest part and I probably did miss some parts of my roots.

I do have really long hair and it tangled easy trying to get this mask worked in.

I found it instantly sucked all the moisture out and it did feel very drying while still on my hair. I also had to use a lot because I found it didn't spread easily so I feel like you would go through this product quickly. SMELLS AMAZING!!!!!!

However it rinsed well , you really do have to emulsify with water and really work it in. Then it rinses nicely. You then follow with the Extraordinary Clay Shampoo. It definitely sucked the oil from my roots and I made sure my hair was as greasy as it could be , to really put it to the test!!

Ok, so a bit of a story with this one. My hair is coloured and dry but my scalp is always oily. I wash my hair daily with shampoo and conditioner and at the end of the week, I like to have a bath as a treat. I have long hair, so I have a quick shower after the bath to wash my hair. I decided I would put the clay mask on my hair while in the bath then get in the shower, as usual, to wash it out. Little did I know, my children had used most of the hot water before I ran my bath leaving me with none for a shower and a clay head! I ended up leaning over the bath pouring lukewarm water over my head to try and rinse it out. I honestly thought I would never get this stuff out of my hair without a shower but to my surprise, it rinsed as easily as shampoo. I was so easy to remove I also shampooed and conditioned my hair this way. I found the instructions under the sticker on the lid. Simple and easy to follow although there is no recommendation on how often this should be used. I have used this twice in one week to trial it but I think in future It will be a once a week thing. It wasn't the easiest to apply when it was cold but as it warmed on my scalp it was easier to get full coverage. I would get 3-4 applications from one container. The smell, although not unpleasant, you can tell its clay. Overall, I would say, compared to the days where I only used shampoo and conditioner, there was a difference. Softer and shinier and more healthy feeling.

All of the hair masks I've used in the past were to add nourishment to the hair, so it was interesting to trial a detox mask. I wondered if it would smell like clay, but it smelt very refreshing. It looks like clay with a blue tinge, but it feels smoother and less thick than actual clay. It's a wet product and it spread easily through my hair without dripping.

I left it on my hair for about 10 minutes (even though the packaging said to leave it on for up to 5 minutes). When it came time to rinse it out, it washed out easily. After washing it out my hair already felt lighter and softer than it had been before. I also loved the refreshing smell!

The only downside I have is that while I have only used the mask twice, the container is already half empty. If you follow the instructions properly (and cover the entire scalp), you might only get four uses out of this product. However you might be able to get more uses out of it by using it sparingly or mixing it with water before applying it.

Combined with the other products in this range, I went five days before my hair was oily enough to need a wash again. So this range definitely works!

Overall I really enjoyed using this product. It worked wonders on my oily roots. At Countdown it retails at $11.19 full price, so I might repurchase it again if I see it's on special. Definitely give this a try if you have super oily hair!

First the appearance - the packaging is OK. I couldn't find the instructions at first, hidden under the sticker. I like the colour that has been used through the range. However, I'm not a big fan of scooping into containers to get a product, it feels like I am contaminating the rest of it. The scent of this one isn't as strong as the others, I like it more.

The instructions aren't that in depth so I just slapped some on to my hair and waited the five minutes. It's a little annoying trying to get it all through - so the second time I stuck to the top where it gets really oily. It washed out pretty well, I did use a double wash of shampoo after to get rid of the residual effect. It doesn't say how many times you should use it...every time would seem a bit over the top. But if you are really oily then maybe that's the idea. I have used it every second wash at this point.

It's hard to separate the effects of this particular part of the routine, but my hair has been a lot better than normal as far as oily roots so I think it's doing the job it is meant to.

There were things I loved and things I didn't love. I am going to start with the good!

I love the idea of a pre shampoo treatment, I had not heard of this before and I think the concept is great! The packaging is lovely, a minty green tub which is a good size. The formula is similar to a mud mask, it goes further than I thought it was going to and dries pretty quickly. I most certainly noticed a difference after the first use and my roots felt super clean and bouncy. I also found it easy to wash out, I thought this was going to be an issue but not at all.

Ok, the not so good... at first glance I found it really hard to find the instructions, you have to peel the label back. The instructions do not tell you how often you should use this so I've assumed each time you wash which seems quite cumbersome. I decided to wash once every three days for 9 days because the shampoo states 72 hours of fresh roots.

The application isn't the easiest, the formula is really thick and the instructions state to use your fingers to apply to roots section by section, this is totally doable but a bit of a pain. The second time I used I decided to apply like I was colouring my hair with a brush, this was much easier.

So the results.. day one my roots were beautifully clean and bouncy all day, day two and I woke up with hair the same as the day before! This is not usual for me so I was really happy! By the end of day two my hair was getting a bit flat and by day three (48 hours) I was ready to wash again.

My conclusion - I'd like more comprehensive instructions and it isn't the easiest to apply but it washes out well and certainly improved my oily roots! It would have been awesome to make 72 hours but 48 hours of clean roots is pretty good!

I love this product. The instructions aren't that great however so I just used it how I thought I should. I found it a bit messy although reasonably easy to put into my hair. Wasn't overly fussed on the smell but that isn't a biggy for me. I found it felt kind of oily but stiff in my hair while it drying. I actually thought it would leave my hair quite knotty going by the feel of it before rinsing. Left it in for around five minutes before rinsing out thoroughly. Hair felt clean and light. I found this did a brilliant job at removing the oils and combined with the shampoo and conditioner and occasional dry shampoo I could leave washing my hair for 3 days. This is a great result for me as I usually have to wash my hair every day. Will continue using this product as it is great for my hair.

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. It may have absorbed excess oil and impurities, but I couldn't see or feel any difference unfortunately.

Before trying this product I had never heard of a hair mask before, so I was a little skeptical. The product didn't feel as "clay-like" as I was expecting, so that was a pleasant surprise. It feels quite moussy to touch, and doesn't leave any residue on your fingers after application. I found the smell quite overpowering, and not something I particularly like, but that is just personal preference. I wasn't sure where to start with application, but I tried to just throw myself into it. It takes quite a long time to ensure the product is fully distributed into your roots, so its not something you can do if you're in a hurry. The first time I tried the mask, I don't think I rinsed properly, as I noticed quite a bit of residue in my hair once it was dry. The second time I used it I made sure to rinse more thoroughly, and the result was much better. My hair was left feeling very light and clean, so I think that the mask really helped to strip the roots of any oil buildup that was there.

I received this product as part of the BR Trial of L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay range. Hearing about this pre-shampoo treatment made me both excited and confused! It's nothing I've heard of before - applying a clay mask to your hair!?

The packaging is solid, a screw top lid and you get 150ml of product. The scent smells similar to the shampoo & conditioner but slightly stronger, it's not intense though, it smells refreshing & clean. The clay mask looks thick but it surprisingly feels really soft making it easy to apply to your hair.

I was confused that there were no directions on the tub, until I realised that they were on the lid on a peel back label. The mask is applied to the roots on dry hair, it says to apply to your whole scalp but I only applied to the top where I get oily, leave it on for 5minutes then rinse off. What I found is that the mask instantly absorbs the oil, my hair felt a bit matted but as soon as I started to rinse it felt soft but clean. It was really easy & quick to rinse out.

I thought this might be a bit time consuming adding mask into the hair wash routine but you can apply this before you get in the shower, it only took me a minute to apply. I also found that it's not necessary to use on every hair wash, I would recommend every second hair wash. The results lasted. Loved using this!