L’Oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Range

It’s absolutely genius of L’Oreal to take the same, effective methods that we rely on for giving greasy skin a thorough clean and putting the ingredients into haircare; I am, of course, referring to clay, which works fantastically well for a deep cleanse on the face, so why wouldn’t it do the same on the scalp.  As soon as I heard about the new Extraordinary Clay range I thought they’d have to ensure the conditioner was ultra hydrating, much like when you use a clay mask, you need to follow with something nourishing and/or soothing, but it’s all good, L’Oreal have got it sorted.

There are five products in the range; a shampoo, an anti-dandruff shampoo, a conditioner, a mask and a dry shampoo.  I’ve tried all but the anti-dandruff shampoo, however, I’m pleased they thought of it, as I think the clay in the products might exacerbate dandruff in sufferers, so it’s great that there’s a product to counteract this.  I cannot rave enough about the Re-Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner as it’s like they are made for my hair type – the shampoo is extremely cleansing and leaves hair feeling very,  very clean, albeit a little dry, but then the wonderfully hydrating conditioner steps in to do it’s job and my hair is, as the products promise, completely rebalanced.  After a year or so post-pregnancy of struggling with oily hair, I was lucky find a few products that suited my hair, but none were as purse-friendly as ‘The Turquoise Ones’ from L’Oreal Elvive, and I would even go out on a limb and say that these perform better at addressing oily hair without stripping it dry, than the much more expensive rivals.  The shampoo and conditioner are £2.89 each.  I mean really! £2.89!

Next on to the add-ons – the mask and dry shampoo.  People are going crazy for the Extraordinary Clay Dry Shampoo and I was so excited to try it, as the idea of a clay-based dry shampoo sounds incredibly sensible to me, but I’ve tried it twice now and both times it made me slightly greasy hair look a lot, lot worse! I don’t know if I’m using it wrong or if it’s just a match made in hell, but it isn’t for me.  I’m annoyed as I feel like it has potential, so as I’m writing this I’ve already decided to give it one last go, but I’m not holding out hope.  I seem to be very much in the minority with this experience though, and thankfully it’s only £3.99, so it won’t break the bank if you decide to give it a whirl. The final product is the Masque Pre-Shampoo Treatment, a product ideal for those who really struggle with serious oiliness.  You apply this to the roots of dry hair, leave it for 10 minutes, then wash it off.  I would recommend using gloves if you can as it’s blue and it does stain fingers, although nothing that won’t wash off with a bit of work – interestingly it washes off the scalp a lot more easily than it does the fingers! I would recommend using this as a monthly treatment to really deep-cleanse the scalp, especially around the time of the month when hair can get a lot greasier.  It’s £5.99 and you should get quite a few uses out it. The add-ons are great but not essential, whereas the shampoo and conditioner are fantastic – I look forward to using them, they smell lovely and most importantly, they really do work! Check out the full collection here – link – where you can also find a £10 bundle of the pre-shampoo masque, shampoo and conditioner.

*PR Samples