Cristophe Professional Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner

Cristophe Professional sent me their Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner ($8.99 each) to try in advance of their rollout to new retailers. Now that I've use them entirely, I'm ready to tell you about them.

I can't get another drop out of the containers. Think I liked them? They are shown above in a photo of a value set, the Practical Suite: Hydrating Platform, however, you can purchase them separately.

When your skin is thirsty and dry, so is your hair. That would be all of the time in my case. As your skin cracks (my heels were a mess this winter), your hair cuticle becomes jagged, causing your hair to look poofed up and frizzy. Cristophe Professional's Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner are filled with moisturizing, anti-static, and anti-frizz ingredients to help battle any damage to hair - from heat to cold, color treatments to heredity. They lock in nourishing moisture to seal and hydrate the cuticle. The products offer salon-quality hair care for the smart and savvy drugstore shopper.

Cristophe Professional's products are always tested in the Cristophe Salons before launch. They are tested on Cristophe's clients - never on animals. That's confidence. The company wants real feedback on the products and their performance.

The line was carried exclusively at CVS and salons for last nine years, and now they are branching out into additional drug stores across the country. With the list of retailers growing, these products will be even easier to find.

Winter was a great time for me to test the shampoo and conditioner, although I would use them any time of year. These products feature ingredients that you'll find in the priciest products created to hydrate the hair. They include...

• Ultraviolet protectors to protect against sun damage and color fading;
• Creatine to provide strength and improve elasticity;
• Vitamin C for shine and vibrancy;
• Paraben-free.

The Hydrating Shampoo has a delightful, light, fruity scent that disappears after my shower (perfect!). It lathers well and cleans my hair without stripping. I think it's hydrating, as promised.

The Hydrating Conditioner has the same delightful scent. Its packaging gave me pause. It's a nice, thick conditioner that doesn't require an excessive amount to detangle and condition my hair quickly. My beef with conditioners is that I usually run out of them long before the matching shampoo. That was not the case with this beauty. However, I couldn't get it out of the slit in the flip-up cap. No amount of shaking, squeezing, or prodding could force the conditioner out of its plastic bottle. To use it, I had to remove the cap and shake it hard (the hard shake when it wasn't full anymore) to dispense the conditioner. Rich can have its disadvantages.

I must leave most conditioners on my hair for three minutes or so to detangle my hair after shampooing. This one works really quickly. I can remove it after working it thoroughly through my hair. In fact, if I leave it on too long, my hair is very soft, but loses volume. That's because my hair is so fine. Those who have thicker hair (blonde hair is generally very thin) will find that it does a remarkable job of conditioning.

I'd recommend you give this set a try. The price is right, and it's easy to find. Why pay a lot when a great drugstore product is right up the street? If you can't find it, you can order from Cristophe's Web site, where you will find hair care in all types, including glossing, volumizing, and color-extending.

Photo courtesy of Cristophe