I got a pleasant surprise in the mail last week (just one day before my birthday). It turns out that I was one of 200 women in Canada who had been selected to receive an exclusive Herbal Essences Hyralicious Kit, courtesy of Matchstick Inc.! Okay it wasn’t that much of a surprise, since I remember signing up a while ago to participate in the research/marketing survey, but I was glad I was chosen to get the full pack. :)

What did I get? One full size (300ml) bottle each of Hydralicious Featherweight, Reconditioning and Self-Targeting shampoo and conditioner. That’s 6 bottles (looks like I don’t have to go out and buy shampoo anytime soon)! But wait… there’s more! Matchstick also supplied me with 20 full value coupons for Herbal Essences Hydralicious shampoo or conditioner for me to share with family and friends (and even faithful blog readers like yourself).

So onto my experience with the shampoo. I didn’t get a chance to wash my giant head of hair since I received the package until last night, because I didn’t take out my weave until then (boy, did my hair ever grow). Now we all should know that different types and styles of hair require different hair care techniques–Black hair in particular. Because Black “African American” hair tends to be very dry (because of it’s thickness and the inability of sebum to get to the entire surface at the end of the hair), it’s important not to shampoo too often otherwise it will dry out and break off. And keep in mind that not all Black hair is the same… it’s important to find what works best for you and your hair. A shampoo once a week seems to work best for Black hair, as well as maybe rinsing with plain water on a daily basis (check out the informative Treasured Locks website for more Black hair care tips).

So taking in these Black hair care tips, I decided to go with Herbal Essences Reconditioning shampoo and conditioner, since it’s formulated for dry/damaged hair (it’s the one in the pretty purple bottle). Let me tell you, that if I didn’t just eat dinner I probably would’ve tasted that concoction: these shampoos and conditioners smell great! The Reconditioning pair smells so fruity, and is “fused with extracts of shea, moisturizers & Hawaiian sea silk”.

Pouring the shampoo out of the bottle I noticed the pretty swirls of the mixture itself (it wasn’t just on the outside design of the bottle)! Turns out that I didn’t need to squeeze so much shampoo into my hand to lather up my hair: When I shampooed my hair a second time after rinsing completely, I noticed that all I needed was a quarter-sized dab of shampoo and it lathered up my entire head (and I have a lot of hair). So after washing twice, I used the conditioner . It felt so smooth on my hair. Usually I have to put a lot of conditioner in, but with Hydralicious I actually noticed that it covered my strands. I left it in for a couple minutes rinsed and towel-blotted my hair to dry. I didn’t experience any burning-eye or funny-taste-in-mouth sensations with either the shampoo or conditioner which is always a plus.

Now it’s hard for me to remember the difference in my hair texture after each and every shampoo since I usually have extensions/weaves/braids in so often, but my super curly (and happily nappy) hair did feel quite soft and was easy to manage when my sister went to cornrow it minutes later (it didn’t feel like steel wool at all :P). Of course I did also add a bit of Shea “All Naturals” Shea Butter Super Grown Herbal Formula to the roots.

So what did I think of the new Herbal Essences Hydralicious? If my review wasn’t clear enough I really liked it and think the Reconditioning set worked well with my hair. I’ll most likely try the Self-Targeting shampoo & conditioner set in the near future, and maybe even the Featherweight set (for hair that needs body… even though my afro probably doesn’t).

Aside from the actual product itself, I thought the curvy design of the bottles fit well in your hand while your in the shower. The little “trivia” questions that are at the back of each shampoo/conditioner duo. On the Reconditioning shampoo for example, the “?” is: What is the average number of bridesmaids at a wedding? In order to find out the answer you have to take a look at the back of the conditioner bottle (4 is the answer by the way), and vise-a-versa. A nice little way to pass the time while you’re waiting for your conditioner to penetrate your tresses. I’m in love with the swirls that are visible in each of the shampoos, as well as their vibrant colours. The latch system is well designed and makes the bottles easy to open (I remember scraping my thumb a few times on other shampoo/conditioner bottles in the past because the cap needed so much effort). And of course the smells are intoxicating! The Self-Targeting shampoo takes the cake in that department, boasting “extracts of red vanilla & whipped aloe”. The Featherweight shampoo has “extracts of water lily nectar and passion fruit”. Yummy!

So I have a stack full of free Herbal Essences Hydralicious coupons to give away. Stay tuned to my blog for details on how you can win yourself a pair, so that you can try out this licious shampoo and conditioner yourself!