My hair has always had a life of its own. Starting off as tight ringlets as a toddler, it is now a cross between curly and wavy, and rarely without at least one massive knot hidden at the back. Throw in several colour changes over the years, and it's fair to say that it is never wholly in tiptop condition.
However, since introducing additional vitamins in to my diet, things seem to have improved slightly. I can now get away with washing my hair just once a week, and I've seen quite a lot of growth (even since my awful visit to the hairdressers in January, which I still can't talk about)! But the condition is still a touch questionable. Smooth and glossy one day to fried and frizzy the next - I just haven't been able to find the right balance.
I've been using the Garnier Ultimate Blends shampoo and conditioner range for quite a while, with rather good results (albeit for a day or two) so during our latest "big shop" I decided to pick up one of their hair masks to try in place of my normal conditioner from the line. With options limited, I went for the Garnier Ultimate Blends Marvellous Moisture Hair Balm. Won over by the pretty packaging, affordable price and promise of rescuing my hair, I didn't really have a lot to lose.
With a subtle, salon-inspired fragrance akin to all the Ultimate Blends products, and silky consistency that glided onto my hair with ease, I jumped right in to lathering the product on my hair after an initial shampoo. Sectioning my hair into two parts and ensuring every strand was covered, During application I was surprised to see how so little product went such a long way. After coating all my hair, it barely looked like I had used any of the balm at all. Instantly, the words "bang for your buck" rang through my head - I think we all know by now that I am a sucker for a good bargain! Ignoring the 1-5 minute recommendation, I instead decided to leave the balm in for a few hours. My hair is so coarse and thick that just a few minutes wouldn't have done very much, but if you have a finer texture, then I think leaving it on for this amount of time would have been perfect.
After a few hours of sitting with the balm on, hair slicked back into a bun, it was time for a final rinse. Unsure as to whether it would be as easy to remove as it was to apply, I was ready to reach for my conditioner as soon as I hopped into the shower. But this was a totally unnecessary move, as the balm rinsed out my hair with relative ease, instantly leaving my hair feeling smoother. Although wet hair is nothing to go on really, it still left me with a feeling of hope that the end result would be the one I had been seeking.
Fast forward to the next day, and a Jackie with dry locks, and my hair was definitely feeling happy. With a claim from Garnier on the packaging that the balm "....leaves hair feeling replenished with moisture and glowing with a gorgeous glossy shine." I was definitely impressed. Whereas normally a hairbrush would snag over knots, this morning it slipped over each strand without me wincing or hearing that dreaded sound as the brush caught a matted area.
Of course, it will take more than one test to see if the Garnier Ultimate Blends Marvellous Moisture Hair Balm solves my current hair woes, and even stands the test of time after I've popped (I've heard that your hair can go a bit crazy after you've had a baby - and that's without factoring in spit-ups and going days without having any motivation to even wash your hair)! But having said that, if first impressions are anything to go on, I have extremely high hopes for this being my treatment of choice when my hair needs some TLC. Affordable, with pretty packaging, and a result that met its promises, it's definitely going to be taking pride of place on my bathroom shelf, at the ready to rescue my hair in the lead up to heading to hospital. Cos if there's one thing I do know, it's that this mummy-to-be is going to pack in pamper time as much as she can!
