The Body Shop Rainforest Volumising Shampoo & Conditioner

As part of Operation Rapunzel, I have tested a lot of products the past 6 months to help my hair grow, to improve the quality and overall I am very happy with the results and along the journey I have discovered products that now have an honorable place among my staple items e.g. the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment. So what's next in Operation Rapunzel? Well, while I may have a lot of hair, I would have also like to have that amazing lift and body that lasts all day long, so let the search for the perfect volume creating products begin! The first volumising products I've tried are from one of my favorites stores - The Body Shop. I've been a big fan of The Body Shop for as long as I can remember, and what initially attracted me to the brand many moons ago was their campaign Against Animal Testing, which is one of their core values that I deeply admire. Since then I've learned more about the other values: Support Community Fair Trade, Activate Self Esteem, Defend Human Rights and Protect The Planet, which all underpin the ethos Beauty With Heart: "Beauty is much more than a pretty face. It's about feeling good and doing good too". It's a wonderful mission statement which I completely agree with, and also think it's important to be reminded of, especially in the world of beauty blogs.

Let's look at the products, starting with the The Body Shop Rainforest Volumising Shampoo (£4.50) which is specially developed for fine hair, and the shampoo is supposed to boost the volume, making the hair looking shiny with lots of body. Neither the shampoo nor the conditioner contain any silicones, sulphates, parabens or colourants and it has a gorgeous fruity strawberry smell. However, I thought it was quite difficult to work up a good lather, which I quite like when I wash my hair which is also why I ended up using perhaps a bit more shampoo than I would normally use, and if like me you like a good bit of foam another way of doing it of course it to double wash. The shampoo gave a really good deep cleanse, but I felt that it was a bit harsh on my hair and it did feel just a tiny bit stripped of moisture afterwards so I loaded up on the The Body Shop Rainforest Volumising Conditioner (£4.50) and left it in for quite a while before rinsing. The conditioner is of quite a light consistency but it still has creaminess to it, but since I'm used to quite rich and heavy conditioners again I used a lot more of the conditioner than I usually would have done. This scent is also nice, although it's sharper than the shampoo and more on the herbal side. The conditioner did make my hair feel quite soft, although not nearly as restored and nourished as I would have liked, so I will only use these two products together every now and then, and I will probably replace the conditioner with a very hydrating masque. I usually let my hair towel dry before I style to minimise the strain on it, but after I'd used my BaByliss Pro Perfect Curl my hair felt light, volumised and with a nice light bounce to it, and I imagine that had I also used a blow dryer, the effect might have been even more noticeable.  

All in all, I've got mixed feelings about the Rainforest Volume range; the shampoo gives a superb cleanse and adds volume, although it doesn't lather enough and worse - it a bit harsh on my hair, and unfortunately the conditioner isn't rich or nourishing enough for me to be a great match with the shampoo. It seems like the hunt for a great volumising shampoo and conditioner continues, so which products would you recommend that I try to get lots of volume?

Beauty with Heart http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/content/beauty-with-heart-infographic.aspx