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 like the Miniml shampoo and conditioner. I buy 1L refill bags for about £8 each and then top up the bottles in my shower. It's free from various things, vegan, eco, curly girl friendly.

I use any old supermarket shampoo for a first wash and then wash and condition with the Cornish seaweed shampoo and conditioner and it is the July thing that takes my middle aged frizz.
It makes it soft and shiny and lively.
But I find I need the first wash with something basic first just to prime my hair and the. The Cornish seaweed shampoo after makes my hair feel really clean and soft.
And it smells lovely

'Only' not 'July'!

Agree @PickAChew . How I wish sometimes that those £1 / 3€ shampoos could work their wonder on my hair too just as slightly more pricey ones. And you are right, just as there are so many hair types and hair needs, there are hair products to care for them. The joys of life!

Oribe every time. Bloody expensive but worth it.

I use this https://www.soapnuts.co.uk/products/bergamot-ylang-soapnut-shampoo-200ml

Smells nice and not made with detergent. I tip a bit into a nozzle bottle and dilute then apply through hair a bit like hair dye - without sls it's a bit harder to lather so this helps, also makes it last longer! It's £22 but lasts me ages and ages.

I use the same L’Oréal professional one my hairdresser uses on my hair. It’s about £42 for a 1 litre shampoo and 500ml container in pump dispensers which lasts two of us about 12 months.

I bought a Philip Kingsley gift set in the sale last year and was really annoyed at how good it was as I can't usually afford it! I kept running my fingers through my hair.

Back to L'Oreal Elvive for me (the purple one, not as good at PK but still quite nice)

I’ll admit I buy only expensive hair products.

I’ve tried cheap; it’s crap. I have a mass of long curly hair; it deserves good stuff.

If I had short hair, I’d be less fussy.

What do you use?

I use wella the colours hair one smells nice and my hair is so much more manageable
Cheap shampoos irritate my scalp. Did find nice Elvive that didn’t & it was discontinued story of my life

I spend a lot on conditioner but shampoo use supermarket stuff.

I think that a good conditioner makes a difference, but not shampoo

My hair is soft. May be different for people with coarse hair.

I use Aveda Botanicals and I can tell the difference when I use that vs cheaper shampoo. It makes a huge difference to my hair. I got some in one of those beauty boxes and haven’t looked back.

I think it must depend on your hair. Every time I’ve ought expensive shampoo I’ve been disappointed but I have naturally thick, healthy hair so sticking with Tresemme!

I use Wella shampoo and conditioner. Made a huge difference to my hair colour. My hairdresser always comments that my hair is n such good condition. I wanted to save some money and purchased a "normal" shampoo and conditioner. It was horrendous!! My hair felt dry and brittle and dull. I quickly ordered another bottle of Wella 🤣

Why do you do all of this? Is your hair coarse?

My hair is naturally soft, and I find that the type of shampoo I use makes no difference whatsoever. I wonder whether it's people with certain hair types that benefit from these shampoos

I don't think so.

I spent my twenties and thirties buying high end products and my hair was so difficult to maintain ( very thick and curly.)

I quickly learned that baby shampoo was the very worst for my hair , it stripped my hair to crisps and yet I slathered this shite on my babies hair , because it's what you did.

I now use supermarket own or Alberto balsam.

When I go to a hairdresser, they use a very high end product and I don't get my hair dried.
Yet by the end of the day I want to scratch the product off my hair.

Just a simple soap solution is fine.

A PP mentioned Fairy Liquid .

My dad only used Fairy Liquid on his hair.
He died , aged 85, with the thickest and most lustrous head of hair that I've ever known.

Paul Mitchell, redken all worth it not just shampoo and conditioner but the products as well. I love the Olaplex treatment but not keen on the shampoo and conditioner. But I definitely think more expensive shampoos are worth it. I wouldn’t use anything from a supermarket after using better

Through the Liberty Beauty Drop I got hooked on Davines Nou Nou shampoo.
Gorgeous shampoo, but expensive.
So now I trawl Ebay for it and have been lucky so far, and have built up a stash for about a third of the price 😀

I was skeptical until I tried some L'Occitane shampoo and now I'm a convert. Same with their shower gel.

That's so interesting to me as I've tried some of their shampoos and conditioners and thought they were terrible! So watery and not nourishing at all, have to use loads of product and then left with very dry hair. I love their skincare products though.

In my case I do have very thick, coarse hair but, like a pp, some (not all) of the cheaper stronger shampoos prime it for the conditioner and stylers, clearing it of any occlusives. I've tried all sorts of sulphate free, gentle and nourishing shampoos and they leave it rough and frizzy and my scalp ends up scurfy, smelly and scabby. Tried the vosene after a bad attack and never looked back. I have a couple of small scalp cysts to remind me of my expensive experiments.

I've used Olaplex shampoo/conditioner in the past and wondered what all the fuss was about .
Couple of weeks ago I bought a kit with the 0+3 and the s/c (and got a free trial of the oil) . My hair feels so much thicker after 2 treatments and it has gone a week without needing washed

I use Aveda Shampure as my Go-To

I've got some Paul Mitchell The Conditioner but my hair was ok though my scalp was itchy , so I use as a rinse out not a leave-in.

I've tried all kinds of shampoos and I don't think price is the deciding factor. For me it's the water. I live in a hard water area so that sucks but whenever I go somewhere with soft water my hair looks totally different. There are shampoos that will suit your hair at different price points. There are shampoos without lots of chemicals at different price e points. A lot of it is just marketing .