Shampoo - worth paying more?

[poppyseedy]

I generally just buy whatever is on offer in the supermarket and the whole family use it (including bald husband, haha) - I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than £5 on a shampoo. Is it worth spending more? I’m considering treating myself to a bottle that only I use but I don’t want to waste my money. Generally I find all beauty products a bit ‘emperors new clothes’ but am I wrong? My hair is shoulder length, straight and not averagely thick/thin.

I use cheapo Alberto balsam which is £1 a bottle, and once a week do a hair mask for 30 mins or so. I use a cheap one from Superdrug think it’s about £4 a tub and lasts months. My hair is thick and shiny and gets loads of compliments, so for me, I wouldn’t spend loads.

I buy Aveda shampoo and really think it’s worth the cost yes. If I was struggling to afford that I’d at the very least look for an SLS free shampoo.

I posted here the other day, I used Vidal Sassoon Wash n Go on my long, fine, highlighted hair after swimming and my hair looks great! Then I couldn’t find it locally so splurged on an expensive brand but they’re for volume rather than coloured hair. To be brutally honest, there’s not much in it between them. I do use a good leave in conditioner afterwards though. I think the coloured brand shampoos and conditioners (I used expensive and cheap in past) were weighing my hair down.

You can email a whole bunch of the manufacturers and ask for samples to try, explaining you're thinking of upgrading. A large proportion will send them - far more than you'd expect.

I use L'Occitane almond shampoo and conditioner. You can get refills. I see someone has already mentioned L'Occitane so I may try that one now.
I think it definitely makes a difference to my hair. Cheap shampoo and conditioner makes my hair frizzy.

I have found certain expensive shampoos and conditioners prevent my hair from tangled knots better than cheaper ones but i have also had less success with the pricier ones too it just depends

I would say if you can't afford both the shampoo and conditioner, just get the conditioner. It melts into your hair and leaves it so soft.
I use faith in nature shampoo which is relatively cheaper and the Cornish conditioner.

I used to use supermarket shampoos/conditioners for my very thick and wavy hair, but had to use a whole handful of shampoo to get a good lather in my thick hair. I had to buy a new bottle every month to wash my hair 3X a week. I wanted to try Olaplex but was hesitant with the small bottle and the high price. However I only need to use such a small squirt to get a really good lather. A bottle of Olaplex shampoo honestly lasts me 6 months and so actually works out cheaper! I’m converted.

Also my styling products are expensive so I tend to go for cheaper shampoo!
I do use the bumble and bumble Sunday shampoo for clarifying every month

I tend to go up in the ranks. My scalp does better with sulphates so, today, for eg, I washed my hair using vosene and then schwarzkopf silver shampoo, conditioned with Shea Moisture power greens then finished with Kinky Curly knot today leave in conditioner followed by Treluxe hi definition curl enhancer gel.

I read recently that its not worth spending a lot of money on things that are going to go down the drain; spend it on things that are going to stay on your skin.

this makes logical sense but isn’t actually true.

I use kerastase which I think makes a significantly positive difference to warrant the cost. I have highlighted hair and find if I use hotel toiletries my hair is dreadful so work on basis if it can be that much worse it can be that much better

I use Olaplex and love it. I use 4 & 5 and 4P as I have bleached hair. Kerastase was nice for my hair but unfortunately brings me out in a rash. I used to like Pureology but think they got taken over and the formula changed.

Personally I do find my hair is in much better condition since switching to more expensive shampoo. I have oily roots and dry ends which are also bleached and I really like the milk_shake integrity range.

If you go to Sephora’s website, you can choose 5 pick and mix samples of shampoo sachets and you just have to pay the postage. Brands you can pick from at the moment include Redken, Percy and Reed, Philip Kingsley, Bumble and Bumble, and Paul Mitchell.

I use L'Oréal Vitamino now after years of trying different ones and I have found it makes a massive difference to the condition of my hair.

I'll occasionally use a cheaper one (recently herbal essences to use my sons up) and my hair always seems to be much drier.

I have fine, bleached hair and the L'Oréal Vitamo makes it soft and smooth.

I usually put what I want in my Amazon basket as it regularly drops to a cheaper price.

I used to buy cheap and now I get the massive bottles of Purology and it's made a huge difference. My hair is so much better.
Also, although a big initial expense as it's a big quantity, the shampoo and conditioner are much more concentrated so I don't need to use nearly as much. I reckon that means I don't end up spending more.

I have a lot of thick curly hair.

It would be a good reference to state what users consider to be 'cheap' etc.

I agree a £1 or 1€ one may be cheap, but how expensive should the OP be expected to consider. My hair is extremely curly, with black heritage, specialised products can go up to £200 per bottle for 300ml. I am not prepared to pay that, as neither my DH nor the DC will appreciate the price. However paying £5 / under 8€ is affordable . The products which are a pound or Euro are too stripping on my hair and leave it painfully coarse.

@OP , budget-wise, I would give a few different ones a try in Superdrug etc and see which ones work well for your hair. Then I would identify any main ingredients and consider that those ingredients help your hair. For example my hair loves olive oil based products, and so I am more inclined to purchase those ones. There is no real effect of aloe Vera on my hair despite what You Tube will tell me. Sadly I have already bought many Jason products which were about £10 / 500ml , and my hair is always left coarse and dry.

Soap bars leave my hair in a very very sad state, and I'm not prepared for that kind of hard work to get my hair into a state of normalcy.

The main thing that really works well for my 4c hair is hair masks; either the Philip Kingsley pre shampoo mask, or a post conditioning hair mask.

And that shows just how much hair varies, @HorribleHisTories15 as my 2c hair needs different products to your 4c hair and we both need very different products compared with posters who have bleached hair and/or want to use heated stylers or who have very fine hair that they want a bit more body in and so on.

Mine loves protein so Aldi volume conditioner works well but the shampoo doesn't
Affordable for me is £1-6 per bottle but I would spend more on shampoo as I use less
Styling products wise mine are around £16 for gel and £6 for mousse plus £22 for a volume spray

Philip Kingsley itchy head is the only shampoo I can use. A few days with any other brand and I get an itchy head.

My hairdresser says it’s not worth the price. Just try and find shampoos that don’t have any plastic in them, she said. There is one by Herbal Essence that does this. Other advice was to use children’s shampoo, as this doesn’t have a lot of the nasty stuff that dries our hair!

I’m no expert. And I’m a massive hypocrite as I’ve just used a birthday voucher to buy some of that Opalex stuff. My friend has been using it and her hair is amazing. As we have similar bonnets, I’ve gone for it! 🤷🏻‍♀️😊

I completely agree with HardcoreLadyType. As well as sodium laureth sulphate, some cheaper shampoos also contain parabens which some people think can damage the hair and scalp.

I like Kerastase but I think it's more about having a brand that controls my hair which can get quite frizzy. A bottle lasts a long time but I live on my own. I think I might need to hide it if I didn't!

I actually spend a fortune on hair care.

I oil my hair before every wash (wash 3x per week) I use Hair Syrup oils, the Rosemary one once a week and the Watermelon on the other washes.

I use Kerastase shampoo (always double shampoo) then their conditioner or I use their hair mask once a week.

Once a week I will use Ouai Detox shampoo for the first wash before using the Kerastase on the second wash. The Ouai gets rid of any build up on the scalp.

After every wash I use Moroccanoil leave in conditioner then Kerastase Ciment Thermique and Kerastase Elixir Ultime Oil.

My hair is super soft, shiny and smells fantastic. 😂 What I notice with expensive shampoos is that I need to use far less than I do with cheaper ones so a bottle lasts me ages. I also usually buy from Sephora or Look Fantastic because there's always a discount code knocking around and I quite often have £5 off vouchers to add to my order too.

I love Kiehls shampoo and conditioner- the amino acid range

I buy Aussie shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair. Cheap and my hair is the nicest it's ever been.

Kerestase is amazing and made a huge difference to my hair which is unfortunate because it's pricey!