I was excited to receive the Head and Shoulders combo to review as I've struggled over the last few years with a breakout here and there of the dreaded white flakes! Given that I wear a black uniform five or six days a week it's always really noticeable when my scalp is flakey. I like the size of the shampoo and the fact that the shampoo lid faces up while the conditioner faces down makes them nice and easy to distinguish in the shower.
I managed to use the shampoo twice before my review was due and to be honest if I wasn't reviewing it I probably would have waited another day, maybe two before washing again. The shampoo itself startled me on first use, it's much thicker than a traditional shampoo, almost more like a conditioner texture. Having said that, it lathered nicely and was super easy to massage into my scalp. It's a pale blue sort of pearly texture and really does lather up. I was a little concerned that the amount of lather would take a whole to rinse out but it rinsed away quite nicely. I didn't really like the smell, it's subtle but definitely noticeable and I have much nicer smelling options I prefer over this smell! My hair felt slightly tangled after rinsing and I definitely wouldn't skip the conditioner stage. Although tangled my hair felt clean with no noticeable scalp tingling or anything weird to report!
Head and Shoulders Clean & Balanced Shampoo really does feel like it is cleansing your scalp and soothing it too. It's got quite a tacky consistency when you first squeeze it out but once you start rubbing it into your hair it lathers quickly which makes it easy to massage into your scalp. As it lathers well you don't need to use very much so a bottle would last quite a while which makes it pretty economical, especially since it's well priced as well. I quite like the fragrance although it's a little bit stronger than I think it needs to be. Once you rinse your hair though the fragrance that is left is a lot more subtle which is great.
I found that it cleared my flaky scalp after only about 3 washes. I did find that my scalp was a little bit itchy after the first use but I suspect that was because I used too much as I didn’t realise how much it would lather. Since the second wash I haven’t had any problems with my scalp being itchy.
The packaging is relatively plain but it uses the recognisable and traditional blues and white of Head and Shoulders so it makes it easy to find in the supermarket and the lid is easy to open and close.
I really like and would definitely recommend Head and Shoulders Clean & Balanced Shampoo to anyone who suffers from a dry, flaky and/or itchy scalp. You can just replace your usual shampoo with it so it won’t take you any extra time to look after your scalp.
Tips: It lathers well so don't use too much.