There was a time when people wouldn't let on that they washed their hair with Head & Shoulders. For if they did, they were also revealing something about themselves that they'd rather keep private – they had dandruff.

 But those days are long gone and Head & Shoulders is now quite trendy and very acceptable to be seen on your bathroom shelf.

There are all sorts of varieties to suit most types of hair which is useful since dandruff doesn't just happen to one hair type. And as well as shampoos there are matching conditioners. Head & Shoulders ‘hydrating smooth and silky’ is one of the range and is designed to hydrate the scalp while adding a smooth shine for tired or frizzy hair. The key ingredient is something called HydraZinc which tackles dandruff from the first wash while relieving dryness and a tight scalp.

While I'm not prone to suffering from dandruff, from time to time I suffer from an intensely itchy scalp. The only products I'd found that could help deal with this were nasty smelling tar based shampoos. No matter what they promised on the bottle about them smelling ‘fresh’ or ‘clean’, they always smelled the same to me, coal tar. Yuck.

The last time I experienced one of these itchy scalp phases I thought there must be something else out there that didn't smell so foul. So I decided to check out some other brands of shampoo that promised to help scalp conditions. This led me to the Head & Shoulders range. Not having ever tried any of the Head & Shoulders products as their advertising always stresses its dandruff removing properties, I didn't think this was for me. However, since the wording on the bottle mentioned ‘itchy scalp’ I took it home to give it a whirl.

Flipping open the plastic lid, I squirted out a small amount of the thick, white lotion into my hand and rubbed it into my hair. You only need a tiny amount to produce a lovely, rich lather which smells fantastic and really refreshing.

The next day, I must admit, I was impressed. My scalp didn't itch at all. A real find. I thought I was onto a winner here. However, after a few weeks of using this shampoo I began to notice an annoying side effect. My hair was abnormally greasy. At first I assumed it was due to certain styling products I was using, but after eliminating all other products, the greasiness persisted.

Next, I tried a different shampoo, just to check it wasn’t just me imagining things. But no. My hair returned to its usual state of dryness. And whenever I returned to using Head & Shoulders, the greasiness resumed after two washes.

So, while Head & Shoulders eliminated my itchy scalp problem, I was presented with a new one, greasy hair. Even using a smaller amount didn't seem work. Eventually I found a suitable compromise whereby I wash my hair once a week with Head & Shoulders and alternate using another shampoo the rest of the time. And this works fine.

As a treatment for an itchy scalp and eliminating annoying dandruff flakes, Head & Shoulders hydrating smooth and silky does the job fantastically well. And if you experience greasy hair as a side effect, try alternating with your regular shampoo. So no more nasty smelling itchy scalp treatments as Head and Shoulders smells fantastic too.