Sunday 22 March 2015

Head & Shoulders: Extra Thickening Treatment


My main source of hair-envy definitely stems from a lack of volume in my own hair. I always think that volume gives so much life to a hairstyle, making your hair look healthy, yet glamorous! As someone with permanently flat hair I've tried my fair share of methods to encourage my hair to stop clinging to my scalp, but never with any success. 'Head & Shoulders' recently brought out a leave-in treatment which claims to give visible improvements in volume, so obviously I had to give it a go! Read on to hear about my experience using this over the past few months...



The 'Extra Thickening Treatment' is said to have an advanced formula, infused with caffeine and vitamins. It's designed to be a daily treatment which can be used on wet or dry hair. You're advised to part your hair in different places and then spray the treatment on the scalp 3 times along each part line. In total,  you're supposed to apply 15 pumps of treatment to your scalp in total each time, massaging it in gently as you go. The theory behind the treatment is that it nourishes the scalp - providing a good environment for hair growth - whilst actively thickening each individual hair strand. As a medic, I was keen to see how they explained this 'thickening process'. According to the information leaflet, the treatment works both on the surface and the inside of hair fibres to increase the diameter of each hair strand - this would result in more volume, but also improved hair resilience. 


With so many claims, I couldn't help feeling a bit sceptical - but I was still really intrigued to try the product out. 
Application of the treatment is really easy and actually quite enjoyable! It's really refreshing applying a product directly to the scalp and the treatment smells slightly minty too which adds to the invigorating feel. The one thing I would dispute is the claim that the treatment dries instantly in your hair - I definitely didn't find this. The nozzle gives a very concentrated spray of the product as opposed to dissipating it over a wider area and, even after massaging, I can still feel areas of my scalp which are slightly damp a few minutes later. It's nothing major - you can still style your hair easily, but it's definitely not an instant dry. 

I must admit, I was a little uneasy about applying product to my roots as I have quite oily hair. I never apply conditioner to my roots in the shower with the aim of keeping oil down to a minimum, so using this treatment did seem to contradict my normal routines. When I applied the treatment to wet hair, my hair dried looking as fresh and non-greasy as it normally does after drying. However, when applying this on dry hair, I did feel that it might be speeding up the oil production. If you're going to use this on dry hair then my top tip would be to apply it at night and then touch up with dry shampoo in the morning if you feel it's necessary! 


In terms of whether the treatment is effective, then I would say that it definitely improved my scalp health. My scalp always tends to be on the drier side, but it felt so much healthier and hydrated after using this treatment for only two weeks. This is definitely a great product for improving scalp health - making great use of vitamins. In terms of volume, I do think that this treatment gave me more body at the roots - enough to make my hair look a little less dull! It's not going to have a massive effect if you use this on the short term, but enough for you to notice a difference. I used this for 3 weeks on a daily basis, but since then I just use it after washing my hair while my hair is wet for a pick-me-up. 

Overall, I do think this is a great product. It's ideal for anyone that is looking for a bit of extra volume, but it's a useful product for any haircare-lover even if just for the effect it'll have on your scalp-health! 

Have you tried any thickening treatments? 

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