L'Oreal Professional's Absolut Repair Cleansing Balm. This is a relatively new product and I believe was released only recently within the last few months. It's a really unique product as it's a 'balm', not a typical shampoo, but I'll come to that in a bit. Let's talk about what it does...
The key ingredient in the Absolut Repair range is lactic acid, and the blurb on the back says 'lactic aid is able to create saline bonds between the keratin chains exposed in the cortex of damaged fibres. As if transformed, hair is left soft, supple with a natural-looking shine'.
Now for the technical part... a split end (or trichoptilosis, as it is officially called) is when the hair shaft splits due to damage - heat, sun, chemical treatments, colouring, even excessive brushing, all cause split ends (I'm sure you all know this). A split end under a microscope looks something like this...
As you can see, the shaft of the hair at the end is completely frayed. The Cleansing Balm creates a bond between each fray in order to smooth the shaft down, thus in return ease dryness and frizziness, and overall leave the hair in much better looking condition. Make sense? I hope so! Let's now talk about how unique it is...
This is possibly the most strange shampoo product I have ever used; It is classed as a balm, not a shampoo. It feels like a balm, almost like a conditioner, and doesn't have that runny texture to it like a regular shampoo does - it's almost like you could use it as a body moisturiser! But the strange part is when you use it on the hair. To use, apply it to the roots generously (it doesn't lather up particularly well - the ingredients list as far as I can see contains no sulfates, but as the product does not state sulfate free I don't want to say that it is) and then you work it down the hair and leave it for a few moments... which is where it gets a bit odd. You may not notice it when you use it on yourself, but having used it other peoples hair, when you work it down the lengths of the hair, it starts to expand. Yep, expand. I can't quite explain it, but you rub it in, then it starts to almost 'come back' as you think you have rubbed it in. Quite bizarre! I'm really not sure why it does this... my guess is that it is the product working to seize the bonds, but I'm really not sure.
Along with the finished result, the other great thing about this product is that first of all, you only need to use it once a week, thus saving pennies. L'Oreal say rotate with your regular serie expert shampoo, but they would, wouldn't they? During the training I had with L'Oreal Professional we were told to ignore the rotation recommended on the blurb, and only use once a week. Not quite sure why this was advised, but hey! And the best thing about this product is that you don't need to use conditioner. Yep, no conditioner! I'm not gonna lie... my hair is in a rough old state, it's been more abused than a high class whore, and if I don't use conditioner I can barely get a comb through it. However, with the cleansing balm it is silky smooth and knot free from the moment it's rinsed off. I can't say the same for everybodys hair, but the blurb on the back does not recommend conditioner, so I'm guessing it is the same for everyone!
And finally.. the finished result. My hair is left shiny but not 'omg silicone shiny', and there is a distinct lack of split ends sitting on my shoulders when I've finished styling my hair. Even 4 days later (yeah I only wash my hair once a week - and what?) my hair is only just starting to feel on the dry side. Marvelous!
L'Oreal's Absolut Repair Cleansing Balm retails at £13.90 and is available from all L'Oreal Professional salons. And if you can't find it, Kerastase do a similar product too.
Caroline.x
1 comments:
Awesome review, Caroline. Juat picked a tube up for the bargain price of £11.12 from lookfantasic! Can't wait to give it a try!x
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