Can Shampoo Save You Money?
“He who does not economize will have to agonize.” — Confucius
There’s a side of me that tries to be frugal. There’s another part that is just plain cheap. My shampoo buying habits hover in the cheap category. I’ve used Pantene (the drugstore brand of shampoo and conditioner) for close to 15 years. Why? I believe that salon brands are over priced and not any different from the under-ten-dollar-variety lining the shelves at CVS.
This all changed last week: I tried a new salon for my highlights and hair cut and the cute, young stylist seemed to just be making conversation when she asked what brand of shampoo I currently used. I sheepishly offered up my Pantene confession and she groaned in horror. All of a sudden I felt like I was back in junior high being ostracized by one of the popular girls. Only this time, I’m pushing forty and feeling very uncool next to the twenty-something, tinge of Goth, comfortably tattooed, club kid cutting my hair.
She had found a captive audience and I was all ears listening to her lesson on value. She asked why I would spend over $200 for salon services and then wash it all out prematurely by using drugstore shampoo and conditioner. I perked up further when asked what kind of return on investment I could expect from my hair-washing habits. Initially, I thought I was paying attention because money conversations typically make for good blog fodder.
But when I walked out the door with a new shampoo & conditioner and $35 less in my wallet, I quickly concluded that I was either successfully duped by the cute girl or just had the hair salon equivalent of an epiphany.
Of course, it’s only week two (of my new shampoo program) so the verdict is still out. To be honest, my hair doesn’t look or feel any different. The real test will be in about 45 days when I look in the mirror and start thinking about how and when I’m going to squeeze in the highlights appointment. If I still haven’t made the call by Day 60, then she was right. But if Day 45 hits and I’m mousy and feeling the urge for a few extra blond streaks, well, then I was snookered.
Here are what others have to say about the topic:
The Spa Diva at BlogHer questioned in her post, Salon brands vs. Drugstore brands: Are you really getting more bang for your buck? She tackles the subject from an ingredients point of view by writing, “Last summer, after receiving a hair cut at one of San Francisco’s high end salons, I reluctantly purchased a $30 Kerastase hair masque for my dry, brittle, broken ends. After using this masque every week, I did notice that it softened my hair, but it really wasn’t worth the high price. I noticed that Kerastase was, in fact, a L’Oreal product, so I headed to the nearest Walgreens to find a L’Oreal conditioner that was comparable. Sure enough I found that L’Oreal’s drugstore brand called Smooth Intense had a masque for $4.99 with the same ingredients!”
But it’s not just bloggers doing the hard hitting questioning. Even CBS News weighed in on the topic awhile back. Susan Koeppen reports, “Consumers spend billions of dollars every year on their hair. We want shine; we want bounce; we want, bottom line, nice hair. And getting it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.”
“Every woman knows the first step to gorgeous hair is the right shampoo. But with hundreds of brands to choose from, how do you know which is head and shoulders above the rest?”
“Begoun says you don’t need to go to the salon to get great products. You can find them right in the drug store at a fraction of the cost. In her book, ‘Don’t Go Shopping For Hair-Care Products Without Me,’ Begoun scrubs away the confusion about shampoo, and reveals which product claims you can believe, and which ones you can’t.”
This leads me back to my big question: “Can shampoo really prevent your color from fading?”
Give it 60 days and I’ll have the answer!
LOL! I have had the same journey. What I did find though is that the cheapo drugstore brands really did make me lose my color faster, left my hair dryer, more brittle, etc. I did the expensive salon products for a while, but now I am more of a hybrid person. I have gel I swear by that is more expensive (but honestly lasted me like 6 months ++) and I use a lot of the eco, animal, earth, and head friendly non-toxic natural products from the local health food store or Whole Foods. A decent value in the $4-7 range and better for me, my hair, and the environment. I’ve been much happier with it and several months later my highlights are still there despite my frequent haircuts to keep my short ‘do.
The longer my hair is, the more shampoo and conditioner I tend to use. I bought salon products once, and now I am hooked. The thing you don’t realise is that with the expensive stuff you don’t need to use so much. I can use about a teaspoon to wash my hair and another teaspoon of conditioner. This means my expensive stuff lasts me about 8 or 9 months, as opposed to the cheap stuff which I run through really quickly.
As part of growing my hair long, I joined a message board about growing long hair…and I actually wound up using *less* shampoo and conditioner. Their advice:
If you have long hair, only shampoo your scalp area. Don’t swirl lots of shampoo through the long ends.
Conversely, if you have long hair, do not condition your scalp – instead, apply some conditioner to the ends.
Thus, you’re cleaning the parts of your long hair that get greasy, and conditioning the parts that get beaten up. By not over-cleaning the ends, you keep them from breaking, so you have more long hair on your head.
I agree with Paula about natural/organic shampoos. I also find that super-gentle organic shampoos (ones that don’t contain petroleum-based sodium laurel sulfate – the same stuff in bubble bath and fabric softener!) keep color in my hair longer. Paula is right that these shampoos cost less than the salon shampoos. I like the ones by J.A.S.O.N.
And improving the “shine” for your hair is cheap, if your hair is straight or wavy: wash and rinse your hair in cold water, not hot water. Try it and see if it makes any difference for you. This is another way to extend the life of your hair color, by the way.
Of course, if you have long hair, you spend less by going to the hairdresser/barber less often…but I’m a femme, so I’m happy with that!
OK, I’ll chime in on this debate! I would say color-friendly shampoo (“sulfate-free” is the key according to what I’ve heard – it’s hard to find even when you’re willing to pay a lot) is important for when you’re going dark. I’ve done pretty plummy browns and found that it is a devil to keep my color, and expensive shampoo helps! If you use it very sparingly, one bottle can last a long time. Or use one of the cheaper lines that strips some color out but deposits some back (like the John Frieda stuff that’s like 5.99 a tube).
Since going blonde, I’ve found that special shampoo isn’t as important. Your hairdresser has already stripped the color out of your hair, and slight fading (some of those pretty golden tones that your hairdresser so lovingly deposited) isn’t a disaster. One tip I got from a magazine is to use less shampoo when you’re using the cheap stuff – the detergent effect will be much weaker that way.
That is my experience anyway! Maybe a real hairdresser can add some expertise to this issue? If so, I’d be curious to know his/her recommendations for gentle (but cheap) shampoos!
What a coincidence. Paula Begoun was on The View today. She mentioned Pantene specifically.
I think the key is that middle ground between the Suave and the Salon shampoos. I have curly hair and I got a sample from a friend of a fancy salon shampoo specifically for curly haired people – it totally changed my world by making my hair look better but more importantly much easier to deal with. After that I started buying Strictly Curls for $6 or $7 a bottle, which is a LOT to me, but its worth it I think. I recently tried the cheap-o version of the curly haired shampoo, I think its made by Herbal Essence and its like $3 a pop, and it definitely did not have the same effect. I’m switching back to the $6 a pop Marc Anthony Strictly Curls soon – heck, it’s often on sale anyway. I don’t wear makeup or nice clothes, s this is my one cosmetic luxury.
stop wasting your money. from an industry insider’s view, retail and salon shampoo are similar except for the fragrance used and the packaging. the promotional additives hardly do anything, as they’re in there at 0.1%.
nevertheless, try different products out, some may work better for your hair, as everyone’s texture is different. but definitely don’t spend $15 on shampoo when you can pay $5. also, change the brand of shampoo after every few months. it’s better for your hair to prevent build up.
although i’m at a p&g competitor, i have to say that pantene works very well.
I used to spend a LOT of money on shampoo, conditioner, and styling products. L’Oreal’s Vive line has made me a total convert. My hair has never looked better (and I’ve used Redken, Philip B, Sahag, Phytomer, you name it, and I’ve used it). I get a ton of compliments…and it’s a fraction of the price. As for lengthening the life of color, if you steer clear of harsh shampoos and use something for colored hair you’re fine. Dove has a nice line for colored hair…