We tried Davines’s essential haircare on multiple hair types - here’s our review

Davines has long occupied a unique space in the haircare world, marrying salon-grade formulas with a strong commitment to sustainability.

This year, the Italian brand refreshed its cult essential haircare range - which boasts shampoos and conditioners, alongside a myriad of styling products - updating the packaging and further spotlighting the regenerative organic farming projects that sit at the heart of the collection.

Each shampoo, from minu to volu, is built around an ingredient grown by small-scale Italian producers, with the aim of supporting biodiversity while targeting specific hair concerns, such as colour fading, heat damage, flat roots and dehydration.

Of course, good intentions only get a brand so far. With price tags that sit somewhere between mid-range and aspirational, together with a devoted following, I wanted to find out whether the range could deliver on performance as well as credentials.

Photo used for illustrative purposes.

To put it through its paces, myself and IndyBest’s expert team of testers (spanning men and women with fine, thick, coloured, damaged, dry and oily hair types) spent weeks washing, styling and reviewing the shampoos in everyday life. From lather and cleansing power to hydration, shine and long-term results, this is how the Davines essential haircare formulas stacked up in real life.

Hard to lather upGentle cleanse doesn’t feel as clarifying I often struggle to find products that hydrate my dry hair without leaving it greasy and limp, so I was curious to see how Davines’s shampoo for dehydrated hair would fare. The brand says it delivers up to 11 times more hydrated hair, which I can't attest to, but my hair felt much softer and smoother from wash one.

The shampoo takes a bit of work to lather up and as a gentle cleanser for dry hair it didn’t give my scalp the squeaky clean feeling I normally look for in a shampoo, though this is probably doing my hair good. Still, personally, I can see myself using a clarifying shampoo every once in a while. But I love the fresh scent that lingers on the hair for days.

The Independent