John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Conditioner
(retail: around $6, 8.45 oz)
When it comes to shampoo, I've got tons of different brands that I love and can easily purchase at the drugstore. But when it comes to conditioner, well, I'm always on the lookout for the latest and greatest thing. Conditioner is one of those products that, I swear, it doesn't matter how many I have in my shower, there's always room for one more.
A few months ago, I was able to pick up this new John Frieda conditioner for a steal by using coupons combined with a sale. I think I only ended up paying about $1 for it at CVS when all was said and done, so how could I resist?
Part of the Full Repair line, this conditioner promises to "weightlessly repair" and "restore full style" to the hair, and it's geared toward those who have damage from frequent heat styling + coloring. Well even though I don't heat-style too often, and I haven't been coloring my hair with traditional hair color (I'm actually still using my John Frieda Sheer Blonde Controlled Lightening Spray), I still have damaged, dry ends that need help.
Apologies to those who already know this, but if you're a new reader, let me tell you a bit about my hair: I have long hair (it goes down to about my bra strap) which is fine in texture but I have lots of it. My roots get very oily while my ends are dry and damaged. My hair is naturally wavy and it's color-treated (but again, I've been using a controlled lightening spray over my traditional at-home hair color lately).
So now that you know about my hair, let me tell how how this conditioner worked for me!
First of all, I used this conditioner every single day until I finished the tube. I used it with a variety of different shampoos ranging from Suave to Aveeno to Beauty Without Cruelty (both SLS-free shampoos and those that contain SLS). I didn't find a shampoo that worked "perfectly" with this conditioner, so it might be in your best interest, if you decide you want to try this product, to also purchase the accompanying shampoo. Although I've never been a big believer in the fact that you must use the same shampoo and conditioner from the same line at all times, I'm thinking that using the accompanying shampoo might work better with this conditioner because I couldn't get it to work for me otherwise.
Let me explain: I agree with the description of this conditioner in the fact that it really is weightless. When I use this product, my hair truly has a weightless feel to it when it dries, and that would be great EXCEPT that I also have a lot of frizz and flyaways. I do have some frizz and flyaways naturally (because I have naturally wavy hair), but I'm used to using conditioners that help to tame my hair. Unfortunately, this conditioner does not do that for me.
Another thing it does not do is detangle. Granted, since I have fine hair that's long, my hair tangles like CRAZY. A light gust of wind can tangle my hair--no joke. So I need a conditioner that has a lot of slip to it, and if it doesn't instantly cut down on the tangles, I probably won't repurchase. Sadly, this conditioner does not have enough slip for my needs, and it did nothing to help detangle, even after leaving it in my hair for over five minutes while in the shower.
The fragrance of this product is nice--it's a clean fruity-floral that is not obnoxious or overbearing.
FINAL VERDICT: John Frieda Full Repair Full Body Conditioner isn't a love-match for me. It just doesn't have the slip or detangling properties that I've come to depend on in my conditioner, so I won't be repurchasing this product in the future. If you are looking for a conditioner that leaves your hair weightless, and detangling isn't high on your list of criteria, then this might be a nice fit for you. I didn't see any real "repair" after using this product (I used it up completely and my tube is now empty) and my ends seem no better or worse than they did before I started using it. The fragrance is nice though. I really wish it worked for me, but it just wasn't a good match for my haircare needs.
Have you tried anything from the John Frieda Full Repair line? If so, how did these products work for you?
Great review my hair is similar to yours now I will save my pennies and try something else
ReplyDeleteI'm sad this didn't work for you! I have long, fine hair that despite my oily scalp tends to get dry towards the ends and this shampoo and conditioner works wonderfully for me. It's definitely added moisture back into my hair without working against my fight for volume :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you G. I have been using the Shampoo/Conditioner along with the split ends repair spray and I am not excited about them either. Although I use the shampoo I don't really notice any improvement in my stressed out hair. It's still frizzy with fly aways and it doesn't 'feel' softer or anything like I would expect a repairing shampoo/conditioner would feel. In fact I think their Smoothing line of products is much better at keeping fly aways tamed and moisturizing hair, so I will definitely switch back to that. Not impressed with this line in the least and that's sad, cause I was really hoping to to be overwhelmed. NOT!
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I definitely look for slip in a conditioner as my hair can be so easily tangled and have so many flyaways-- we have a similar hair type so I definitely understand! I won't be picking this up I believe.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering, since my hair seems to be very similar to yours, what's your favorite conditioner and shampoo?
ReplyDeletebeauxs mom: Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteAlli: Oh wow, I'm SO happy for you, hun! It's fantastic to hear when a product that didn't work for me works super well for someone else. Haircare is so subjective, and I had a feeling this could be great for other people, so I'm grateful you took the time to let me know that!
Alyssa: Hi hun! Thank you for letting me know I'm alone--I'm so sorry this didn't work for either one of us. :(
Mandy: Thanks! Nice to hear from another member of the "easily tangles" hair club. LOL! I'm glad you understood what I was trying to convey in my review. :)
Michelle: To date, my favorite drugstore shampoo and conditioner are:
http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2011/03/review-new-finesse-clean-simple-shampoo.html
I just LOVE the way my hair looks and feels when I use these. :)
G, I was able to score this on clearance at Target with a bonus spray and the shampoo with the bonus mascara looking product for fly aways for a total of 2 bucks (thanks for the target coupon policy!)
ReplyDeleteI like it, but not crazy about it. When I used these two together it seemed my hair didn't have enough moisture and felt dry.
I think it might be the conditioner. I do like the shampoo, it rinses out easily and works well with whatever conditioner I grab in my shower.
But the duo works well when I also use the Miracle 7 Buriti Oil Styling serum followed with a few spritzs of the Miracle 7 Leave in conditioner.
have you tried the JF Root Awakening line?? I love the scent and how the conditioner makes my hair feel! The shampoo can sometimes be too heavy, but overall my scalp really likes it :)
ReplyDeletePhew! I thought I was the only one that wasn't impressed with this conditioner! I bought it with a $5 off of 2 John Frieda products so it was virtually free, but I thought it would work the deep conditioning that my hair needs every few days because I do alot of heat styling...I should have stuck with my Pantene conditioning mask!
ReplyDeleteHmm detangling is a must for me. I almost was tempted to buy it. Thanks for the review
ReplyDelete