The coconut milk haircare combo that brought my parched hair back from the brink

When you've got hair as dehydrated, damaged and dull as mine (sorry if you're reading this, hair), hair wash day is where near miracles must be worked. And so I live in constant pursuit of shampoo and conditioner formulas that work to counteract my many concerns, and leave my locks looking more like actual healthy hair, and less like, well, literal straw.

So when I caught a glimpse (and later a whiff) of the Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Shampoo & Conditioner, I was extremely excited to give them both a go...

The products

Designed to bring hair back to life (while boasting formulas made with 90% ingredients of natural origin and 0% parabens or colourants), this shampoo and conditioner combo is serious about checking hair straight into hydration station.

Able to nourish, moisturise, and soften hair (thanks to their namesake coconut oil) while also providing a treat for the senses, these bargain buys (more on that status in a minute) are perfect for anyone hoping to revive and replenish dry, damaged hair (ahem, me).

Here's what I noticed while giving the Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Shampoo and Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Conditioner a go in my personal haircare routine...

Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Shampoo & Conditioner review

Let's kick off with the actual wash experience, shall we? A shampoo session is a highly relaxing ritual for me (despite the stress of hoping it retrieves my hair from struggle street), so I take the sensory experience seriously. Basically, scent and feel are both super important to me! Well, here's the great news: the Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Shampoo ($13.50 at Priceline) & Conditioner ($13.50 at Priceline) knocked both briefs out of the park.

The shampoo lathered well, and left my hair feeling fresh and clean (but not stripped or dry), and the conditioner felt like literal silk. As for the aroma, well, it's everything you'd hope for with a bottle that shouts out 'coconut milk'. It's a true 'close your eyes and you're on a tropical getaway' type of smell, that envelops your entire bathroom as you apply. I found that the scent's staying power was also stellar, as it lingered even after I'd later hit up the heat-stylers.

I did, however, first let my hair air-dry to see how it shaped up. While my texture was as wavy as ever post-wash, the tangles were significantly lessened. In fact, not to brag, but I could actually get a brush through on my first try! That's (somewhat embarrassingly) never, ever the case for me! As soon as my hair is dry, it heads into 'knotty' territory, and takes a long time (and a lot of leave-in conditioner) to be rescued from it. So I was absolutely thrilled to discover the Herbal Essences bio:renew Coconut Milk Hydrate Shampoo & Conditioner made such noticeable differences to the manageability. It's a big factor for me, but a difference that I can feel is actually rare! Giant win.

Another win? The chic packaging, which looked simply stunning on my shower shelf; a touch of metallic really does wonders for the 'luxe' feel of a product! Pretty damn impressive considering both the shampoo and conditioner retail for $13.50 each!

The verdict

Go on, file me under 'fan'. It was honestly the aroma that got these buys onto my shower shelf, but once I experienced the velvety in-shower feel, and the even smoother post-wash results, I was seriously sold. Add in the under $20 price tag per bottle, and you've got a repeat customer with far glossier hair than she started with. Coconut milk, I thank you.

Image credits: Supplied

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