Does combo hair need the Extraordinary Clay system?

I'm growing my hair out and the moment, and not getting it trimmed enough, so it looks pretty damn terrible. My hair veers toward the oily side (which is putting it nicely; bottle my face and hair oil and it could probably run a car) and my scalp can't handle a lot of shampoos. It can't handle pretty much any conditioner, so I've been going without. The result: an attractive combo of greasy scalp and straw ends that ends up in a non-messy bun on the top of my head.

Now, just guess what came my way the other day. A hair cleansing system that is supposed to tackle my very hair type. Obviously, I grabbed the box it came in and sat on it all day until it was time to go home lest someone else tried to get their nasty paws on it.

The L'Oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay set comes in four parts; the Re-Balancing Shampoo 400ml €5.99; the Re-Balancing Conditioner, 400ml €5.99; the Pre-shampoo Masque 150ml €6.49; and the Dry Shampoo 150ml €5.99.

Since I like to use things that match, this four-part collection pleases me. They're all supposed to work together, so even though my hair is used to clarifying shampers and a can full of Batiste each morning, I embarked on the whole shebang. 

The premise of the Extraordinary Clay collection is a curious one for a cosmetics company since it claims to reduce the need to wash hair. I'm totally with that; hair washing is a big, fat pain. Anyway, L'Oreal say by using this system, your hair will feel nice and clean for 72 hours! (So that's where the dry shampoo comes in. Clever.)

The point they make is a good one: hair gets greasy because of oil build-up from the scalp, but over-washing to compensate can strip the hair and leave it dry. The Extraordinary Clay quartet contain three 'refined clays' to target both the oil and straw problem.

But, does it work?

I've tried the three-part system twice (and used the spray too) to give it a good testing. The masque part means slathering your dry hair with the mint green mask goop. This part made me nervous because every 'treatment' I've used in the past two years has wreaked havoc with my tresses, but anything for you Beauts, right? Right. You leave the masque on for five to ten minutes and then wash it out with the shampoo. I know shampoo has worked for me if my hair squeaks and this one takes no time to give me that lovely creaky feeling. Oh, to rub ones fingers on hair that sings. The simple satisfaction.

The hair washing part would not be complete without a dollop of conditioner, and though I've been abstaining from it, I was quietly confident that all would be ok. And it was.

After drying, my hair was soft, looked relatively shiny and felt light and clean. Now it didn't magically turn my dry ends into sleek ones - the splits put a stop to that - but it certainly didn't make them look any worse. I'm going to keep on using the system, although I might not use the masque every time; three steps are a bit much for this one product gal.

As for the dry shampoo, well, it's not the best I've ever used in that it's more of a mist and doesn't really do much to the look of hair, but, it smells like shampoo, and it doesn't leave a sticky residue. Actually, it's the nicest smelling dry shampoo I've ever encountered (and I've encountered a lot), so it really does give the illusion of freshness.

Now for the downside, while my hair looks ok on Day 2, to me it feels like it needs a wash. That clean feeling only lasts for one day for me, unfortunately. I've sprayed it with the dry shampoo and put it back up in it's bun.

The system is available in Boots; have you tried it yet? Might you? What have you been using to combat oily / dry hair?