First Impressions: 'Beautiful Ends' Hair Mask by Herbal Essences

Hi!  Now I don't know about you, but one problem I've always had with my hair, is split ends. So when a product comes along promising to make them "beautiful", then I have to try it!  

The product in question is Herbal Essences' 'Beautiful Ends', a five-minute "intensive mask" which promises to "leave your hair strong against damage to carry on...and on...and on".  Almost sounds too good to be true, and I even snapped it up half price in Boots this week (it normally retails at around £4.79, which is bargainous enough anyway, but I nabbed it for a thrifty £2.39!).  To be perfectly honest, I have been meaning to pick it up for quite a while, its not Herbal Essences' newest product by any means, but for some reason I can never justify spending on hair products (however much makeup I buy!), so the cut-price deal was the perfect excuse!

So, first impressions: Packaging is pretty, and I always like something which looks good and does good!  Its in a tub with a screw-on lid as opposed to one which snaps on, which prevents leakage if you have the product in a bag or something, and even though bottles tend to be less messy and easier to use in the shower (less slippery!), I prefer it when hair product comes in tubs, because - unlike squeezy tubes or pump-tops - you can make sure that you scrape out every last scrap of product!

As with most Herbal Essences products, it smells divine: very fresh and fruity, as its meant to be raspberry, but also a little perfumey which I like, as it gives the smell a little more of a salon feel.  The product itself is a creamy conditioner consistency, nothing much to be said there, although perhaps it is a little thicker than regular conditioner, as you can see from the picture of my hand.

When I actually smoothed it on in the shower (after shampooing my hair), the mask felt really velvety and soft, although I wasn't sure how much of it to use at first, but now I'd say just a little more than your usual conditioner.  The instruction recommend to put on the mask "from root to tip" with extra concentration on the tips - personally, I wouldn't put too much of it near the roots as this can weigh your hair down, but the mask is actually surprisingly light, and afterwards I didn't feel that it had weighed my hair down at all.

I left my hair to dry naturally, and it dried into nice curls without any frizz, which doesn't happen often!  Even when I combed my hair out, it stayed in soft waves, and the ends didn't look frazzled and my hair wasn't frizzy at all - result!  However, even though my hair is still lovely and soft, and doesn't have any frizz, if you are looking for a product to give you very smooth,perfect hair this might not be for you - it is rather lightweight for a hair mask,so it may not be for you if you have very thick hair (although it could work as a conditioner).  But for wavy-haired girls prone to a bit of frizz like me, its fab, as it eliminates frizz whilst still allowing your hair to bounce into its natural waves without weighing you down.  

As for helping out with my split ends, maybe it will, maybe it won't.  After my first use they look pretty good, but I'll have to use it a little longer before I give you a solid opinion on it.  But since it smells great, and only costs a few quid, I'd say to give it a go!

Have a fantabulous day!

  xxx