To think cheap shampoo is just as good?

[hummingbyrd]

Feedback and tips please. Got chatting with some girls at work, much younger. All have fab, straight, silky hair. Mines not so bad I thought, but one of them said you can tell I use a cheap shampoo (not in a nasty way - I said i used cheap shampoo and they said
It shows...)

I can't use Tresemme, it brings me out in horrible spots and my hair feels like it needs to be washed daily.

I quite like Herbal essences Daily detox clean which happens to be silicon free. It was reduced to £1 in wilko. The L'Oréal coconut butter shampoo in the brown bottle is also nice and not expensive.

Any other cheap shampoos just make my hair go frizzy.

I think head and shoulders is meant to be quite harsh on the hair, just a nice shampoo and a separate conditioner left on for a minute or two and alls good, no over drying with hair drier either

I use Aussie shampoo and conditioner. Haven't read the whole thread so hope this hasn't come up already but there was a Horizon on a few weeks ago which concluded that while cheap and expensive shampoos get your hair equally clean, expensive shampoos significantly reduce the amount of static in the hair meaning it doesn't get dirty again nearly as quickly

I love my Bed Head Elasticate. However I do tend to have that and 2 other products in the bathroom. Agree with some of the other posters that switching up tends to have better effects on my hair.

In the spirit of this thread, today I picked up some Dove and some of that Garnier honey stuff that's constantly being advertised.

Already got John frieda brilliant brunette and herbal essences.

This thread has turned me into a hair product hoarder! I hope you are happy guys!! How very dare you!

Does the OP who posted about Kerastase know that it has exactly the same ingredients as Elvive? Both made by the same company but the latter much cheaper.

Oooh, thank you for that!

A HUGE THANK-YOU to MrsLouisTomlinson on page 2 of this thread for mentioning the superb Superdrug offer for L'oreal Pure shampoo (less than half price, plus extra discount on hair care products).

Normally it's too expensive for me to,use everyday so I save it for 'best'. However, at that price, it makes,it affordable, so I've ordered,loads (partly to get free postage).

Thank-you

I think the key to great hair is to not wash it too often. I have very short hair, and only wash it when it feels greasy- every 5 days on average.

I buy professional (hairdressers) shampoo and conditioner at reduced prices from tk maxx. My hair is really thick and quite coarse but I find better quality shampoo and conditioner makes a huge difference. Though come to think of it, it's more the conditioner than the shampoo...

If you were to go with a cheaper shampoo/conditioner option, I'd recommend Alberto Balsam it does the job and leaves both my dd's and my hair looking clean, shiny and smelling great.

Hmm. I used to produce shampoo and conditioner, amongst other things when I had a small toiletries company... It is perfectly true that most shampoos are very similar in their base formulation, apart from those that are made solely from secondary surfactants (ie sulfate free. Please note this is not the same thing as SLS free - most shampoos that say they are SLS-free actually contain other sulfates. I am also not saying sulfates are a Bad Thing because I don't personally believe that they are, but I manufactured only sulfate-free products because there was a customer belief that they are better and gentler.) Where shampoos/conditioners differ tends to be in the residues that they leave on your hair and also in whether they contain ingredients that affect the hair cuticle (thickening, volumising etc).

Sulfate-free shampoos are a bit of a pig to formulate so that users' enjoy using them - they tend to be a bit runny and don't lather very well if at all. The cheapest I have seen recently is Waitrose's 'Pure' range which are £2 a bottle at the moment, and which have an ingredient list that a top-end product would die for. The Waitrose one is completely unscented, which is a bit of a dropped bollock IMO, because apart from the more radical type of customer, shampoo scent and the shampooing experience is usually REALLY important to most users. (And note that the shampooing experience also includes factors such as price and exclusivity. We are complicated creatures!) However if anyone wants to try what looks like an excellent product for very little money then I recommend this. I haven't tried it and I can guarantee it will barely lather, but it WILL clean your hair despite perhaps not feeling like it is at the time!
The Waitrose Pure conditioner is genuinely silicone free, and again has a rather astonishingly good ingredient list.

The one thing that I would recommend is to have 2 or 3 different shampoo and conditioner brands on the go at any time, and to rotate them every wash. That will stop any build-up issues.

Waitrose pure conditioner has a silicone lurking in it

Hmm this one has a silicone
http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=346360

Can't see it in this one
http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=540467

Yes, it is the Pure Dry & Damaged one. The other I haven't seen - it isn't the same range.

This one:
www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=540467

Annoying they both say pure!! I'll have a scout next time I'm there

I personally think shampoo doesn't stay on long enough to make any difference to your hair. But a good conditioner left in for a few minutes or a serum definitely do.

I use original source shower gel.. it's good for a day or two

I agree, when I did the shopping I would get a more expensive shampoo when on offer, but also used generally cheap shampoo, usually coconut, I believe it all does the same thing.

I should mention in times gone by, I've been the eejit at the hairdressers who has spent £10+ on miracle shampoo, I honestly couldn't tell you the difference.

Your colleagues were needlessly bitchy.

I have a really sensitive scalp and fine, dry hair, so shampoo and conditioner can be really tricky. I find lots of high street/supermarket brands do me no favours at all. I've tried lots of brands and price points and found that Philip Kingsley, no scent, no colour and his re-moisturising conditioner are best for me. My scalp doesn't react at all and my hair is left clean, bouncy and moisturised.

I buy the PK in big 1L pump bottles. They are expensive at around £45 for the shampoo and £55 for the conditioner, but they last for months and are good value per ml compared to buying the 'normal' 250ml bottles which are about £20 each.

I use quite expensive shampoo and conditioner but I have very fine hair and some shampoos/conditioners really weigh it down. Having said that, I think the really cheap shampoos/conditioners are better than some of the more expensive ones e.g. many claim to be "volumising" but actually do the opposite in my experience

My hair is blonde so i use cheap purple shampoo.
I buy whatever mid range conditioner is on offer in boots, strangely my hair gets 'used' to the conditioner i use so i change every time to get the best effect.
I also use elasticizer weekly & Vitapointe leave in conditioner

Ds & DH have dandruff btw and this is the best stuff we've found by far - from b&m bargains - so expensive doesn't always mean the best!

I don't think all Head and Shoulders shampoos will be 'harsh' on hair...part of the treatment for dandruff/scalp conditions is to try and moisturise the scalp. DD used to have psoriasis - DP still does - and had prescription shampoos. They seemed to tend to make hair greasy...not strip hair...
nom check out if you are sensitive to MI...it is in lots of things - its use has increased as it is a replacement for parabens. It has led to a surge of dermatological problems. Apparently irritation etc is common and your reaction to it tends to increase with exposure.
(I had itchy scalp problems - then my face started to burn after a shower - I thought it was my age/shower had been too hot...then I heard a report on Radio 4 - stopped using things with it in and realised it was that). They have taken it out of leave on things (like face creams) but it is still in shampoos, face scrubs etc. Worth trying to avoid it as much as possible.