Matrix hair products, for those who don’t know, are a specialist salon line that are part of the enormous L’Oreal family that may or may not be used by Keanu Reeves. Despite being a fancy pants salon line, they’re pretty pocket friendly and aren’t going to burn a hole in your wallet like L’Oreal’s other salon brands. (This is me giving a side eye to Redken which I love but couldn’t really afford if I were to buy my own beauty goodies.)

Anyway, the universe made up for the fact that I came out the womb determined to become a starving writer and saw me given a veritable sack Matrix goodies to try. (Thanks Cindy!) I’ve enjoyed having them all lined up in a shower; a veritable smorgasboard of hair goodies at my fingertips.

Out of all the shams and cons I got to play with I most liked Matrix Total Results Amplify Volume shampoo (R120) and conditioner (R140).

They promises to plump up your strands and lightly condition in a way that you’ll still get smooth, salon-swishy hair but it won’t feel heavy in the least and yep, it lives up to all its claims. I like that, unlike other volumising shampoos I’ve tried, it didn’t strip my hair or leave it feeling like I’d just washed it with dish soap in an attempt to volumise via clarifying. In fact, it, and all the other Matrix shampoos I’ve tried, are rather low foaming, so you know they’re not stripping the shizz out of your hair.

So, OBVIOUSLY, this is the set I’d leave at my friend Brigitte’s house after a drunken sleep over. Fok! I came pretty close to asking her to given them back but would feel a bit horrid considering I have more hair products in my bathroom than anyone else I know.

So, stripped of my volumising besties, I set out to find another Matrix duo to love and quickly made friends with the Colour Care line. This range consists of a sham (R120) and con (R140), moisturising hair mask (R130) and Miracle Treat lotion spray (R145).

Claim-wise, they all promise to protect your colour from fading, bump up the shine and hydrate thanks to antioxidant vitamin E and nourishing sunflower oil.

Of everything in the line I most liked the shampoo, conditioner and hair mask. Again, they did a good job of gently cleansing and conditioning and, afterwards, my hair was very easy to brush while wet. The hair mask was also nice and light in that I could use it all over my entire head and not have to worry about my hair turning into a grease ball later on in the day. Did it stop my colour from fading? I’m not sure. I’m a highlighted blonde and my hair still looks like the colour I paid for in the salon so I’m a happy chappie. Those who take their down a few shades – think faux rooikoppe and brunettes – might’ve been better candidates to test the colour fade aspect.

As for the Miracle Treat spray, it worked well as a leave-in conditioner to blitz the odd tangle but I  found it ever so slightly too heavy for my baby fine hair. However, I’ve found another product in the Matrix line that does much the same thing but is more of a fine mist than a spritz on crème and I love it to bits; Matrix Total Results Moisture Cure (R160).

Being called Moisture Cure, you’d kind of expect it to be heavier than the Colour Care treatment but lo and behold, it’s feather light and fabulous.

Anyway, I’ve still got a few other items in the line to get jiggy with and will be sure to let you know my thoughts in the next few weeks or so. If you want to try any Matrix goodies yourself, look out for them in selected salons nationwide or call the Matrix Consumer Advisory line on 0861 105 948 to find a stockist near you.

Love, love

Leigh