Anyone whose hair is weakened or damaged by colour, lightening, heat tools or rough handling and is starting to snap or split at the ends. It suits most hair types and textures and works as an everyday shampoo, so no salon experience is needed.

It is a cleansing shampoo with sulfates (sodium laureth sulfate), so people who specifically want a sulfate-free wash should look elsewhere in the Redken range.

Most damaged hair does not need more moisture so much as more strength. Extreme Shampoo starts that work at the cleansing step: its 3% Strength Complex puts protein, arginine and a ceramide into contact with the hair every time you wash, instead of leaving all the repair to a mask once a week. Redken's own testing of the full Extreme routine (shampoo, conditioner and Anti-Snap) reports up to 75% less breakage compared with a non-conditioning shampoo.

• Apply to damp hair and massage into a lather.
• Rinse thoroughly. In case of contact with eyes, rinse them immediately.
• Follow with Extreme Conditioner, then Extreme Anti-Snap on damp hair for the complete routine.

Pros:

• Protein and amino acids target the hair fibre where it is weakest, rather than just coating it
• Rich lather that feels like a normal shampoo, so it is easy to use every wash
• Designed as part of a tested system with the conditioner and Anti-Snap for measurable breakage reduction
• Available in a 1 litre size for regular users

Cons:

• Contains sulfates, which some people with very dry or freshly coloured hair prefer to avoid
• On its own it cleanses and strengthens but does not detangle; it really needs the matching conditioner
• People who react to fragrance allergens (limonene, linalool, benzyl benzoate) should check the list