Cost of shampoo

[BurntBroccoli]

I went to get some purple shampoo and conditioner in Superdrug yesterday and was shocked that it's now £6 bottle! All the other types seem to be about this price too.
I usually buy on special offer and store them so haven't had to purchase any for about a year!
Yes I know I can buy cheaper brands but they don't work as well.

I just buy the cheapest I can find - usually around £1 or £2 - that's not fruit smelling and is a colour that suits my bathroom! They're all basically the same, I think. You pay for posh branding, posh bottles, pretend science-y words...

But why would you not buy it when on offer? I don't think I've ever paid 'full price' for shampoo, or most other groceries that are always on sale somewhere?

(for the inevitable whataboutery, yes I know that its impossible if you have no money or a tiny house or no time but for the other 95% a couple of minutes googling every so often plus a little thought, can save 30-50% or more on a large portion of your grocery/toiletry shopping, which is well worth it unless you have so much money that saving tens of pounds a week on average doesn't matter to you).

A bottle of shampoo only lasts you ONE WEEK?! You must be using way too much of it and/or washing your hair far too often. That's not good for your hair or your scalp (or your purse).

I noticed similar with hair masks. They seemed to have gone up in price a lot

I'm always astonished about how fast MN gets through toiletries and cleaning products (someone once talked about using a bottle of shower gel per person per week and many thought this was normal).

That's an awful lot of shampoo that's likely being washed uselessly down the drain and as well as a waste of money, it's a waste of plastic, and the water, power and chemicals used in the factory that made it.

@BurntBroccoli

If you are on TopCashback occasionally they have great Superdrug cashback. I'm sure they did one about 40% times a few months ago.

By combining that with some 3for2/2for1 offers I got some amazing bargains. I stocked up on shampoo conditioner and shower gels.

Looking back at my orders It was about £97 original value, £60 after offers and I got £22.50 cashback so £37.50 net.

Well thank you for the hair washing lesson, anonymous internet user. Honestly, the arrogance of people on Mumsnet makes me laugh sometimes.

Crap shampoo that costs £1 can't be used as sparingly as better quality stuff. It's a much thinner, less effective formula. My expensive bottles last far longer. I wash my hair (2 X in the shower) daily because that's how often my hair needs washing. Yes I've tried "training my hair to go longer between washes" as you no doubt will believe is a magic cure for greasiness. No it doesn't work. Thanks for your unsolicited concern about my hair and my purse but both are fine 👍

Whilst the branding etc certainly does come into play, there is a difference between cheap and high end products. It's in the concentrations. The cheap stuff will clean just fine and if that's all required and it's giving you the results you want then that's fine. But if you need especially hydrating, non stripping, colour preserving, scalp sensitive etc then The cheap stuff which is more similar to detergent may not work for you.

My scalp reacts quickly and badly to many products. It gets inflamed and flakey. I haven't found a cheap product that works without doing this probably because the detergents are too harsh. Also my greying hair benefits from the extra hydration and smoothing benefits of the shampoos I use

@lily219 @Bjorkdidit

A bottle of shampoo only lasts you ONE WEEK?! You must be using way too much of it and/or washing your hair far too often. That's not good for your hair or your scalp (or your purse).
It's because the concentrations of ingredients are far lower in cheap products so it's mostly water with thickening agents and detergent.

I buy this...great value and good product. Lasts ages

And thank you for your rude and arrogant reply. I didn't give a hair washing lesson. I said you use too much, which you obviously do. It's wasteful and unnecessary.

So do people using the expensive products use far less of it? It wouldn't seem so going by the unpleasant reply I got from the person using a whole bottle a week. I agree the cheaper products probably are less concentrated - I find it's the same with washing up liquid so I use less when I buy the expensive stuff.

Have tried loads of the purple shampoos. The L’Oréal Elvive is by far the best. Very purple and not much needed. The others are only vaguely purple.
It’s £3.49 in Savers.

For general purpose shampoo and conditioner find the Kirkland giant bottles fantastic quality and value. My fussy daughters even use it.

I agree, shampoo and conditioner has rocketed in recent years. I have allergies so am limited to which I can buy which doesn’t help with costs!
My favourite was always £3 on offer, reduced from maybe £6, now it’s £9 full price and I stock up when it’s discounted at £6.
With purple shampoos, I use a regular cheaper shampoo for the first wash, then purple for the second, leaving it on for a minute to do it’s thing.
Thats helped cut the amount I need to use.

I'm in my 50s and remember the Body Shop too. All those lovely big jars of oils that were decanted into little bottles. And fruit shaped soaps.

Dewberry scent was my favourite and quite liked the White Musk.

Hair dye too has gone up massively!

I've found that too with the Elvive. I also use their conditioner have for years as I love the smell!

There's crap shampoo and there's cheap shampoo. They're not the same thing.
i buy own brand and a bottle lasts me months. I apply shampoo once. It's enough. @Fargo79 , you sound quite arrogant yourself.

That’s interesting. I keep looking at the Kirkland stuff and wondering what it’s like.

Soaps for little Suds brand of shampoo bar, and well all of their haircare is absolutely amazing and you only need a tiny bit which makes it extremely cost effective.
The lady that makes them is a small business and the stuff she makes is top quality and she knows alot about hair.
The shampoo bars are the most cost effective.

I don’t know if it’s still the case, but I was told that Kirkland shampoo and conditioner was made by Paul Mitchell.
Kirkland products for Costco are usually very good quality.

Kirkland shampoo and conditioner was made by Paul Mitchell. probably made by the same company.

Elvive purple shampoo and conditioner are currently on offer for £3.50 at Sainsbury’s, Nectar price.

I buy Dove shampoo, I usually manage to get it on offer for about £2.50 for 400ml

Oh great I have some vouchers for Sainsbury's- thank you! Will stock up!