If you have naturally curly or just frizzy hair, at some point in your life you’ve probably been advised to try John Frieda’s Frizz Ease range. The range is famously known as a wonder-maker and a must-buy for when you’re on holiday – so this writer wanted to see if it lived up to the hype.
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Flawlessly Straight Shampoo, £5. 99, Boots
REVIEWER: Carolina, Junior Social Editor
BEAUTY BIO:Naturally, my hair is somewhere between curly and wavy. I blow dry it every time I get out of the shower, then straighten it the next morning AND add some movement with a tong; Lord, praise the heat protection spray!
WHAT I USUALLY LOOK FOR IN A SHAMPOO:
I’m a big fan of the Kérastase Discipline range or any other shampoo that promises to reduce the time I spend in front of the mirror drying and straightening my hair. I have very thin strands, which account for pesky baby hairs and frizz + volume in humid weather.
JOHN FRIEDA FRIZZ-EASE FLAWLESSLY STRAIGHT SHAMPOO REVIEW:
Believe me, if I could sport bouncy curls I would, but my mum has been straightening my hair since I was little and my coil curls are long gone. My hair is now somewhere between curly and wavy, but no one would ever know that – I blow dry my hair every time I get of the shower and became quite good at it, but still, this process takes time. I spent 40 minutes (timed on the clock) between washing, drying, straightening and tonguing my hair – it’s not ideal.
To reduce those 40 minutes spent in the bathroom and you know, go live my life, not annoy my boyfriend every time we go out and not be late to work most mornings, I’m constantly on the watch out to find the next big straightening thing, may that be an at-home keratin treatment or a hero buy from Boots.
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The John Frieda Frizz-Ease range has been sitting on that list of things I need to try for quite some time now, so when I came across their Flawlessly Straight shampoo when doing my groceries I decided to give it a go. I chose the Flawlessly Straight shampoo, because as mentioned before I always straighten my hair, but if you want to care for your curls or just get smooth shiny waves, the Frizz-Ease range has also the Dream Curls and Smooth Start shampoos – which I heard great things about.
The Flawlessly Straight shampoo though, caught my eye. Not because of its vibrant packaging, but because it has conditioning ingredients on the shampoo – including hydrolyzed keratin. The formula was developed for those with medium-thick and curly hair to make it easier (and somewhat possible) to achieve straight strands. And if you think of sleek, shiny straight hair, conditioning is a big part of the process.
I did a first wash to cleanse and washed off the shampoo straightway, then a second one actually massaging the scalp and length to get the product in there. The smell is very salon-like which I love and the texture silky, it creates foam but not a crazy amount of it.
I washed it off after a couple minutes and it felt very smooth already, but I decided to apply the conditioner on the ends, to get the full effect of the range.
In all honesty, drying my hair took a little less than the usual time it does, the brush was gliding easily through my now, much smoother strands, but nothing groundbreaking so far. The real effect was when I was drying the crown of my head and my baby hairs – the frizz was gone and my hair looked super shiny.
After drying it, there was little need for straightening it – this was the best surprise! So I just skipped the straightener and used the tong on the ends. My hair was so smooth that it was hard to get the waves to hold – with my hair that smooth I should have applied some hairspray.
I finished with some oil for some extra shine, and am now eager to try the brand’s Polishing Serum – oh, and the 3-day straightening spray (apparently, that’s a thing).
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I’m sold. I’d ditch my expensive shampoos for the Flawlessly Straight anytime. It leaves the hair feeling super straight and smooth – so my only tip is that if you’re intending to style your hair into a pony or a bun (or any intricate ‘do) skip the conditioner and maybe go for just one wash instead of two.
