Sunday 29 June 2014

#BLONDEPROBLEMS BATTLE OF THE BRANDS




Hi beauts! I hope you're all very good! A little while ago, I started a new series on my blog called #BlondeProblems, a series of posts about caring for blonde hair - or just haircare, for you non blondies! You can see my first post here, which was all about going blonde at home vs the salon. So, if you're interested in my long and tough journey to being a fully fledged blondie.

In this post, I'm going to be comparing two very similar product duos. If you're a not so natural blonde, you'll know that haircare is incredibly important. So, after being told by my hairdresser that too much toning shampoo can mess up the colour of your hair (guilty!) I decided to switch from using my Touch of Silver Shampoo every day to using one specifically for highlighted hair, along with the matching conditioner of course! The products in question are the L'Oreal Elvive Nourish and Shimmer Highlights Shampoo and Conditioner, which retail for £3.99 for 400ml, (working out to around £1 per 100ml) and John Frieda Sheer Blonde Highlight Activating Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner, which retail for £5.59 for 250ml (£2.24 per 100ml). So, when you do the maths, the L'Oreal one works out less than half the price for the amount you get.

Both product duos have similar claims. Used as a duo, they are both supposed to put moisture back into blonde hair, bring out tones and highlights and give shine and softness to the hair. But the question is, do they work? And which is best? To be honest, I've always loved John Frieda products, so I was expecting these to shape up better than the cheaper alternative, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. With hair products in particular, I'd always assumed you got what you paid for, but maybe this isn't the case!

To properly compare, I used these products alternately for 1 week, then did a week with the John Frieda only and a week with L'Oreal only. At first, on the alternate week, I didn't notice too much of a difference between the two products. My hair felt soft and nourished and my highlights were definitely brightened after a few uses, but I had no way of knowing which product was doing the brightening. So then, in my week of John Frieda only, I noticed my highlights were still brightening up, but my hair wasn't quite as soft as it had been. While the products were fab, I found I had to use a lot of the conditioner to get a super soft feeling, making the product much less cost effective.

So on my week of L'Oreal, despite not being blown away by John Frieda's offerings, I still wasn't quite sure what to expect. However after the first wash, I instantly noticed that my hair felt softer and more manageable than it had done the previous week. My highlights were still bright and lovely and my hair had a shine that it hadn't had before. After the full week, I was seriously impressed by how soft and lovely my hair felt, particularly from such a cheap shampoo! (I got my two 200ml bottles on a 2 for £4 offer).

Overall, both of these products worked beautifully, they bought out the tones and highlights in my hair, but honestly? If you're going to go for one, I would say I actually preferred the L'Oreal. They both had a similar effect, but you don't need to use so much of the L'Oreal one and it smells of honey, which is lovely.

What do you think? Do you think you get what you pay for when it comes to hair, or do you love a cheap and cheerful product? Let me know some of your faves!

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2 comments:

  1. I've been a bit off with L'Oreal makeup for the past year or so (never found a staple product really) but I've tried their strengthening (black bottle with a pink lid) and their shiny (pink bottle) shampoo since and been MAJORLY impressed. They left my hair feeling so healthy! xx

    Beauty Soup || UK Beauty Blog

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  2. Now I really want to try out L'oreal's set!!

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