For the past 10 years I've been a loud, proud BzzAgent. For those of you not in the know, BzzAgent is a website that promotes and sends free products to selected individuals (Agents) who then test, share and review the products to help the company learn about what real people are saying about their stuff. I've received all kinds of things from books, to Burt's Bees products, lots of coffee (they know me so well) and more. So while this is a product I got for free, I try not to let it influence my overall review, but it bears mentioning.
This month I received a free sample of Herbal Essences Naked Volume Shampoo, Conditioner and Souffle, and here's what I thought...
Packaging
I know it sounds silly, but I do like when brands make the shampoo and conditioner bottles of their lines look different I'm near sighted and can't even tell you the amount of times I've grabbed the wrong product in the shower. With this line, the shampoo pours from the top in a neat, clear bottle, and the conditioner from the bottom in a white bottle, which makes it easy for us blind-folk. That said, it's a very sleek, clean design.
Scent
The second thing I noticed about this product was the distinctive scent. When I opened my box in the mail I could smell the mint oil and white grapefruit before I opened up the sealed bag that the products were sitting inside. But while it's strong, it doesn't smell like strong perfume, instead it smelled much more natural and invigorating. The best part was that this scent lasted a whole day after washing, but not aggressively so.
Lather & Rinse
The shampoo doesn't give the MOST lather, so you need to use a little more of it than other paraben-free brands to suds up your head.
Both the shampoo and conditioner wash out of the hair quite nicely and seriously leaves my shower smelling like a spa. I quite like the scent payoff and it's rather easy to dry my hair after use because it's left quite manageable.
Results
The biggest takeaway from this brand is that Herbal Essences is finally committed to a new line of products that is low on the additives spectrum. The Naked line has no heavy residues, parabens, and dyes, and will attract a whole new group of customers to the brand. I, for one, still associated Herbal Essences with lots of residue and wouldn't have considered buying their brand again, until now.
So far I'm about two weeks in to this new line (I generally try to wait until about a month of use before I decide to stick with a brand or toss it) but so far, so good.
My hair has stayed manageable, I swear it has more shine than it did with my previous shampoo (I was alternating some samples to add to my empties pile!) but the one thing I'm concerned about is my bangs. I have a full front fringe and I feel like they get a little greasier a little faster with this brand.
The one caveat - the 'Souffle'
I'm not a huge fan of the Naked Souffle, I felt that it didn't really give my hair any more volume and left quite a bit of residue in my hair, odd for a line of products that aim to reduce residue.
I rarely use mousse, styling products or 'souffles' anyway, so I might just pass this along to my mom, but this was a miss for me.