Pantene Aqua Light shampoo: Does exactly what it says on the tin

Although I got on well with the conditioning mask and glosser in the John Frieda Sheer Blonde range, the shampoo left my scalp utterly miserable. Dry and flaky and itchy all over - just like the purple John Frieda one. Not nice.

So I ditched John's ass and took up with Cat Deeley's swiiiissssh! shampoo instead.

ALS, SLS, and supermarket shampoo haterz won't like Pantene Aqua Light, but I'm not in any of those camps. Nor am I currently trying to mind a colour job. I just want a shampoo that cleans my hair thoroughly without irritating my scalp, weighing down my hair, or adversely affecting my locks in any way, but that's seemed like a big ask in recent times. Particularly because the water here in Lahndahn, innit, is so hard that it reckons it could beat Chuck Norris into a cocked hat.

It's delusional as well as hard, apparently.

Anyway, I'm really, really liking the Aqua Light shampoo. My scalp normalised with the first use and I've had no problems with it since. The shampoo rinses out easily, thanks no doubt to what the Pantene peeps have dubbed Clean Rinse Technology: highly water-soluble ingredients that cleanse hair gently and then quickly wash out to leave behind no residue.

After washing, my hair feels light and clean, but not squeakily so; soft but not too slippery. I'm also getting an extra day out of a wash and, crucially, my fine hair definitely feels less weighed down than with other "lite" shampoos.

An enthusiastic - and slightly surprised, if I'm totally honest - thumbs up.