I’ve had a few products from Davines through the Beauty Drop from Liberty and have really enjoyed the styling products I have tried from them. But I had yet to try a shampoo and conditioner from them and had a hard time narrowing down which one I wanted to go for as quite often, one of the two was out of stock. Finally, in November I was browsing Liberty and finally snagged the Davines Minu Shampoo and Conditioner in this haul, and they went straight into my shower.
So, Who are Davines?
Davines are an independent family owned company based in Parma, Italy which began in 1983 – offering paraben, sulphate and cruelty free haircare. The products are designed, formulated and produced from their factory in Italy.
They’re a brand I am hearing the name of more and more, and only ever postitively about the products, however at least in the UK it’s still not a high-street brand that can easily picked up when out and about, needing the likes of Cult Beauty, Sephora online and Liberty.
The price point of Davines products is towards the premium end of haircare, with the shampoo and conditioner coming in at £20-25 for the vast majority of products. The packaging is a little on the basic looking side, but it also doesn’t feel cheap to hold and is nice and functional. I find sometimes in boujee haircare that sometimes they over design the packaging or make the plastic too thick meaning it’s difficult to squeeze product out.
It was a little difficult to decide which of the shampoo and conditioners sets to go for, as pretty much all of the ones I looked up were well rated – but in the end I decided to opt for Minu, which was the one for colour treated hair, as I’d freshly bleached and coloured my hair back into bright colours at the time. I’m not always a believer that colour treated products are always better for colour, as in my experience, it’s not always the case.
Also within the Minu line is a serum and a hair mask, the hair mask was out of stock and Liberty where I ordered from did not stock the serum (plus I am trying to clear out my collection of hair styling/post wash products as I have so many and they take so long to finish up!).
The core ingredient in both the Davines Minu Shampoo and Conditioner is the caper blossom extract, which I have no idea what this normally smells like – but the shampoo and conditioner has a very botanical almost herbal smell, I am. not sure if that is from the caper blossom itself, or whether it’s the smell of all the ingredients. I had zero idea what this ingredient was supposed to deliver and why, but a quick bit of research does suggest it’s heavily linked to this product and not many others; the extract is rich in an amino acid named quercetin which has a protective effect on hair structure, which is ideal for cleansing and adding shine. And, as a spoiler – I can’t say that surprises me at all.
Davines Minu Shampoo Review
A little goes a long way with this shampoo, I like doing 2 rounds of shampoo when I wash my hair as I find it lasts longer between washes, but I find a small 50p size amount each time is enough to clean through the hair.
Despite being suphate free, the Minu shampoo foams up nicely on the scalp and rinsed out easily. The formula texture wise reminded me of one of my favourites Aussie Miracle Moist, which a creamy feeling shampoo.
Whilst hair is colour treated, I can find it can be a little difficult to find a shampoo that cleans the scalp and removes product build up, without being too clarifying and removing colour. This seems to have the perfect ability to leave my hair feeling clean, but also soft and the colour in good condition.
Davines Minu Conditioner Review
My first impressions of this was that I didn’t enjoy the packaging in a tub as it’s a little more difficult to navigate in the shower – however this product would be way too thick to be in a tube or bottle. With almost a thick and balmy type texture, I find this spreads through the hair well, and I was surprised at just how little I needed as once it mixed with wet hair, it really did spread well. Despite the fact I double shampoo, I always run through conditioner much quicker – and I’d say I’m on track currently to roughly finish both at the same time.
The conditioner instructs to leave on for 5-10 minutes, which to be honest in most showers is too long for me to wait with conditioner on, unless I am doing a full scrub and shave routine, so most of the time has been on the 3-5 minute mark, and I’ve tried waiting the full 10 on a couple of occasions and I didn’t massively notice a difference in effect between the two. And, despite it’s thicker formula it feels easy to rinse out.
The conditioner makes hair very easy to manage post washing, my hair is really knotty and difficult to brush through and I normally will need a good dose of a detangler to get through my hair even after most conditioners that I like. However, a brush glided through my hair with good-ease without any detangler applied.
I am intrigued to try the mask as this is such a good conditioner and see if it delivers anything beyond what the Minu Conditioner does, as it is so mask like!
I am quite fussy when it comes to shampoo and conditioners, my roots are very oily and my hair needs washing frequently. My hair is colour treated which can lead to dry ends, but equally I have a lot of hair but it is fine so can be weighed down easily. Finding something that can deliver as well on the roots as it does the ends is a true feat, and I’ve only ever found maybe 4 sets of shampoos and conditioners that I think do a good all round job for me.
My hair after washing feels soft and easy to manage and blow dry, I am overdue a haircut, I think I am 8 months since my last one and have taken great care of my hair recently but there’s still the odd split end poking through and my hair looks silky and smooth root to tip. Whilst my hair has been freshly coloured, I’ve had a lot of comments about how healthy my hair has looked recently, including from people like my partner who would have no idea whether it does or doesn’t look healthy, but he commented after stroking my head that “wow, your hair is very soft”.
But the thing that really blew me away with the Minu Shampoo and Conditioner was just how much shine this gave my hair, I’ve genuinely never seen my hair look this shiny without a shine spray (which often causes a greasy feeling the next day). I’ve had bright purple hair which has been fading out to a grey purple as it has washed out, and that’s a colour which can have a tendency to look a little flat and lackluster, and with this shampoo and conditioner, it’s seen me through the transition period and I’ve not hated how my hair has looked thanks to the shine that this has given.
The effects of this duo have been tried by themselves pairing with another shampoo and conditioner, but they are also at it’s best effect when paired together.
So is the Davines Minu Shampoo and Conditioner worth it?
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes.
I can’t imagine my shower being without it now or being one of the ones that is on rotation regularly.
If you’ve been considering the Davines Minu Shampoo and Conditioner, I highly recommend it. And if you have coloured or even dry hair – I think this would be a range that would be worth trying out. It’s certainly left me ready to explore Davines’ line of shampoo and conditioner further.
Have you tried Davines haircare before?
