I have about as much interest in what shampoo I wash my hair with as I have hair to shampoo - my regular brand is whatever Mrs P strategically sites just out of arm's reach of the shower. Of course she's not any more loyal than me, she changes her hair-care products more often than I change my mind...wait, I'll rephrase that...oh, never mind.
Recently, we've been enjoying a soap from down under - no, not Neighbours - Aussie real Volume Shampoo. Now I haven't got a clue why anyone would want a shampoo that's really loud, but there you go. Perhaps the 'volume' refers to bulk and not audio, perhaps not.
Actually, looking at the very ordinary, off-white plastic bottle (very scientific-looking, I'd say, although why they'd have an image of a giant rodent on it is anyone's guess), it states that it "adds volume and body". So that clears that up then.
Apparently, it also contains Australian hops...HOPS? Maybe it's a beer shampoo, or are the Australian hops they refer to the result of a marsupial motion?
In fact, I had a little look at their website and here's what they say:
"Our revolutionary weightless formula, with AUSTRALIAN HOPS, leaves hair with body and fullness from roots to tips. For fine / limp hair. Leaves hair with volume and body. Also tames annoying fly-aways."
http://www.aussiehair.com
Hmm. "Weightless formula"? Now what the heck does that mean?
"For fine / limp hair"? I can categorically state that there's nothing... I said NOTHING, limp about me, thank you very much. And why would anyone want to tame flies?
But never mind the technical hooha, what we really want to know is whether it gets your hair clean and does it add volume.
Well, since it's essentially soap, I guess the cleanliness issue is a foregone conclusion. As for adding volume and/or body to your hair, far be it for me to debunk the scientific claims of a highly respectable company like Proctor&Gamble, but I wouldn't bet on it (d'ya see what I did there?). Flip's sake people, it's a shampoo. It's soap for washing yer napper, not some miracle cure for thinning locks.
Speaking of flips, the bottle has a nifty little flip-top which ensures that you don't overdo it while dispensing the stuff onto your nut. Very useful for conserving supplies - absolutely hopeless for an in-depth reviewer to thoroughly examine his/her product. Fortunately, the top also unscrews so you can get a really good whiff of the stuff, which I'm about to do.
Wowser! subtle it's not.
The aroma is like a cross between a hairdresser's and a sweetie shop - clean hair and cups of tea intermingled with bubble-gum (hair and bubble-gum? there's a couple of things that don't go well together). It's quite pleasant, but not very shampooey and a little too sweet.
On pouring a little of the thick and gloopy contents onto my hand, the first thing I notice is that it's clear and colourless...no, not exactly colourless, it has a faint, rosy pink tinge which is quite attractive, like rose-tinted glasses.
As I said, it's thick and gloopy and I expect a little goes a long way. In my follically-embarrassed position, a yoctolitre goes for miles (whaddya mean, what's a yoctolitre? look it up!).
For the purposes of this review, I shan't be actually washing my hair - no point in overdoing the personal grooming, is there? Instead, I'll just pour a small amount on my hand, lather it up and have a good sniff etc., and rely on memory to describe the effects of washing my hair (it was only yesterday, so it shouldn't be too hard).
It lathers up really well (I probably used far too much though - more like a picolitre) and produces acres of thick, lush foam. A vigorous massage quickly ensues, followed by a refreshing rinse.
It lathers up really well (I probably used far too much though - more like a picolitre) and produces acres of thick, lush foam. A vigorous massage quickly ensues, followed by a refreshing rinse. (It says to repeat if desired...I desired)
Well, it left my hair feeling luxuriously clean and smelling like an escapee from the Willy Wonka factory, so that can't be bad. As for adding volume, the jury's out on that one. Aussie produce a shampoo/conditioner called Miracle Moist - it's not miracle shampoo I need to add some volume to my hair... Miracle-Gro fertilizer might be a better bet (that doesn't work either...so I've been, ahem, told).
They recommend that after shampooing, you use Aussie RV conditioner - they would, wouldn't they? Well, I did, didn't I, but that's another review.
In conclusion, it seems a decent enough shampoo, but I can't say that I noticed an awful lot of difference between this and any other over-priced product (actually, at around 3 quid for the 300ml bottle, it's not all that expensive compared to many other 'premium' hair products).
Also, such a sweet aroma emanating from your skull might be considered a drawback by some people, especially those allergic to bee and wasp stings, those who don't particularly relish the thought of being trailed by packs of drooling canines or having obese, sweet-toothed kiddies waddling along behind them. As I don't fall into any of the aforementioned categories, it's not a problem for me and in truth, I quite liked the smell.
Final words?
It lathers well, it gets your hair clean like any self-respecting shampoo should, and it smells like bubble-gum. It's OK.