Any shampoo scientists around?

[LuckyBea]

Or shampoo/hair care experts! My question is: are expensive shampoos worth it, or are they all the same?

I have long, fairly straight, slightly frizzy hair/not brilliant condition, been colouring it since I was a teenager (never bleached). I'm currently buying £££ shampoo and conditioner from the slightly posh hair salon that I go to. I don't mind paying the money if the shampoo really is better.... but obviously, I don't want to be made a mug of of it's not!

So if any of you lovely MNers actually know how expensive shampoos work, and whether they are worth shelling out for, I'd love if you could educate me!

P.s. I'm also in that lovely postpartum phase of hair falling out in clumps, if you have any practical advice for dealing with that...

Back in a former lifetime I used to work for Boots, in a support function, not the product teams. I remember a haircare category manager telling me in a meeting that John Frieda had all the technology, as opposed to a lot of other 'premium' haircare brands sold by Boots. This was years ago now though.

I'm not sure how it would compare to salon products or v top end shop products like Aveda or Kerastase. I would hope those had slightly better ingredients in but more effective? Not sure.

What I never understand is Pantene is made by Procter and Gamble and you would hope they had the best R&D spend, but it is a budget brand. So I suppose I'm telling you I don't really know, OP!

Fwiw I use the John Frieda frizz ease products but have also splashed out on WOW dreamcoat pre-dry spray link to look fantastic selling it here which is amazing at controlling frizz. I am peri menopausal though so different stage to you.

I started using the Champo products and I really do think it’s made a difference for me. My friend is a colourist at a really good salon and has been encouraging me to use better products for years because he thinks the cheaper ones are full of things that damage hair. I am no scientist so can only say my personal experience of using an expensive product! My hair feels stronger and I don’t have to wash it as frequently because it stays cleaner longer.

I always use premium shampoos now. Used to use cheap ones when I didn't have much spare cash and I can tell. I think the cheap ones I used felt concentrated and rich compared to what I use.

I always have 2 or 3 on the go at the same time and switch about. I think one mistake I always made was using too much shampoo. My bottles last years (and that's with DH using them too)

Yes there is a difference. I never believed it till I was training as a hairdresser and the difference when I swapped from using shop/chemist brands to using professional products was massive my hair wasn't as frizzy, it took quicker to dry, it lasted longer between washes, it was ij much better condition.
Also professional brands last longer as you less.
Semi di lino is a lovely reasonably priced professional brand.

I used to buy whatever was on offer but now I buy aveda litres and I reckon I spend half what I used to because they are so much better quality that not only do I use less, I don't need to wash my hair as often.

BBC Radio 4 - Sliced Bread, Shampoo

Try the milkshake brand. Honestly it's so good and you only need a little bit so reckon it costs the same per wash as all the cheaper smaller ones added up. I use this:

You need to find the lab muffin on YouTube, she's a cosmetic chemist and has done quite a few videos on debunking shampoos

Yes, she’s brilliant!

It does make a difference. I've been using Champo for a while now and my hair is the healthiest it's ever been. I'm really pleased. My hair is no longer dry and frizzy nor do I have bad hair days. It's strong, swishy, soft, shiny and holds its style all day. I'd definitely recommend this brand.

Thanks everyone! I will keep buying the good shampoo and cross my fingers that postpartum won't completely wreck my hair!!

I use Wella, it's in a big bottle you get at hairdressers. I finished it and bought some shampoo from the supermarket. Made my hair like straw, so gone back to wella.