Does John Frieda’s brilliant brunette make a difference?

Dalena dares to ask…I would like to know the scoop on John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette products. Do they really make a difference on brunettes?

The Right Brain responds:

Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette line consists of shampoos and conditioners, glazes and styling products, all aimed at different shades of brown hair. Do Brilliant Brunette products function any differently than “regular” products? Not really. Basically Frieda is just adding a little color to the products to make them more appealing to brunettes, there’s no special technology here. Read the labels carefully – they don’t even make any special claims! All they say is stuff like this:

Developed exclusively for brown hair, this collection exposes the unique richness of brunette.

Ultra-conditioning formula rehydrates and revitalizes dull, dry, brittle hair for renewed silkiness and exceptional shine

Restores the multi-dimensional richness of brown hair while invigorating highlights

Brings out the multi-dimensional richness of brunette…without adding or depositing color

With regular use, dry lackluster brown hair will develop incredible radiance and a silky texture

Low-pH formula features cocoa bean extract and crushed pearls

For natural, color-treated or highlighted brunettes

Other than telling you it will make your hair shiny, they’re really not saying all that much. The glazes are a little different than typical products but even they don’t do very much. You can read our earlier post on glazes if you’re interested.

For styling products the story is pretty much the same: the styling cream illuminates brown tones and creates silky perfection; whatever that means. Since brunette hair doesn’t really have different styling needs than other hair colors, it doesn’t even make technical sense to have separate products. That’s totally driven by marketing, not science.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

The Brilliant Brunette products are brilliant – from a marketing perspective. And they’re fine formulas. If you like ‘em, use ‘em. But they don’t do anything special for brown hair.