One of the newspapers did a feature on expensive shampoo vs cheap shampoo. In most cases, the cheaper shampoo came out top. The general consensus was that a 75p shampoo is just as good as a £119 shampoo.
Personally, I would never, ever spend £119 on a shampoo! That’s a really steep amount for something to clean your hair, but over the years I’ve found one or two cheap shampoos that do the job but mostly, I find mid-priced shampoos perform better.
I checked with a formulator a while ago whether shampoo is all the same – he was absolutely firm that it is not (more ingredients, and better quality). I used to use Pantene and I don’t know if you remember there was a big outcry in the US mainly when Pantene went claggy in people’s hair. A residue built up. This never happened to me, and it continued to suit my hair just fine, but it did happen to my daughter! She ended up with an oily, waxy, stuck together patch and it took us nearly forever to work out what was causing it. I suggested she wasn’t rinsing properly, she spent hours in the shower as a consequence and eventually had to go to the hairdresser to get it properly removed.
So, the newspaper feature is all very well, but that build up took a long time to develop. I really don’t know why I didn’t get it but she did.
I change my shampoos and conditioners up quite a lot for review purposes but the ones I come back to left to my own devices are Aveda (Pure Plant Clove, more recently Pure Abundance), Ojon Detox and my newer discovery of Bumble & Bumble Sunday Shampoo. They’re completely reliable and no matter what any feature says, do make my hair feel fabulous – there’s a difference between hair feeling washed and feeling lush, clean and soft. I spent a long time using Kerastase which I can’t fault but it’s fallen by the wayside of late in favour of other brands.
So, although I’d suggest that if you’re spending £119 on a shampoo, my brows would rise a little (but it’s not my money so none of my business really!), I do have faith in ‘posher wash’ because they continually, in my experience, out-perform a £1 wonder. I never like to recommend products that are stupidly over the odds – I think, way back, I tried a £60 shampoo and loved it but found it too rich for every day use, and there are some great performers on the more budget scale but it’s not the same blanket reliability. In the end, you can only go on personal experience.
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27 comments
Very interesting article. I also although not for review purposes change shampoos quite frequently mainly as I’m always looking for “the one” that will do amazing things for my baby fine hair – ie make it feel, clean, more bouncy and just lusher (not to much to ask right!?)! I’ve looked at the Aveda Pure Abundance but never actually purchased so will now try that. Have you used any other products from the Abundance range that you rate?
Thanks
Fiona
I’m not using any other Abundence but find the shampoo gives such a good clean…but then, I find that with Clove, Bumble and Ojon!
Highly perfumed shampoos always made me itch which usually meant cheap. I liked Bumble and Bumble also Aveda(until Estee Lauder bought them out and discontinued my favourites), then started using WEN over 18 months ago. No my hair does not fall out, I don’t get built up, as I have a pixie crop a bottle lasts a long time. I have seen in SpaceNK Philip B which is over a £100, no way.
I too have tried all kinds of shampoos, but the combination I am loving lately is the banana shampoo and conditioner from the body shop 😉
I used the banana shampoo and conditioner from body shop many many years ago when it first came out – maybe close to 20 years? I really loved it then and it made my hair super glossy and shiny! I’m now using natural shampoo bars from Tasmania but am curious whether the banana conditioner will still work wonders on my hair!
I know you didn’t have a great experience with the HiF Conditioning washes, but I recommend trying the Grow Gorgeous High-Strength Density Shampoo Intense and the Hyaluronic Density Conditioner Intense. They don’t leave hair lank and I have noticed a distinct increase in body at the roots of my hair. I’ve just bought two of each so I will be sure to never run out.
I just can never justify spending a lot of money on shampoo. My hair is reliable, super thick, never breaks, and I can tie it up, straighten it to death and only wash it twice a week and still somehow it ends up being alright (apart from going grey at 25 :/) so I never see a real difference when I use different shampoos, I tend to go for what is on offer, and one that will not attempt to thicken it or give it any form of “bounce” – it has way too much volume already.
So I am yet to find “the one” for my hair, but I’m happy enough shopping the deals in the meantime! I have looked at bumble & bumble, but the thought of spending over £3 on a shampoo gives me the fear a little – and can it really make that much of a difference?
http://www.makeerinover.co.uk
I believe in going for mid-priced shampoos as,in my experience the very cheap ones are watery or full of SLS & strong artificial fragrances which irritate my scalp. Ridiculously expensive ones aren’t necessarily great; I had a sample size of cult Rahua & HATED everything about it! At the end of the day, shampoo is only on your scalp for a few minutes so why pay over the odds for it? Better to buy a quality conditioner instead.
I like to have 2 or 3 shampoos on the go at any one time, just because I like change really. At the mo I’m loving Green People’s Quinoa & Faith’s Coconut, I tend to prefer more natural skin & hair products whenever possible (but that’s just personal preference)
Just as well we’re all different! I keep trying shampoos and didn’t get on at all with HiF nor Grow Gorgeous. I keep returning to John Frieda’s Full Repair shampoo and conditioner (sometimes with a dollop of Osma’s violet conditioner — see later comment!) followed by a dab of Kerastase elixir ultime. Suits my coloured (purple-ish — you know, ‘When I am old I shall wear purple with a red hat’ sort of thing) shortish hair that so wants to be a very boring shade of grey streaked with mouse!!
A lot of the cheaper brands like Herbal Essences leave my hair feeling brittle and nasty, and with a massive build-up of static electricity after only a few hours. I switched to Charles Worthington, but the price was (relatively) steep. Now I’m happy with whatever big-bottle stuff I can get from TK Maxx for a tenner 😀
I adore Aveda Shampoos, I think they are the best but I just can’t afford to keep using them. I find Elvive HORRIBLE, Lush shampoos dry my hair out excessively but i’m currently using Pantene! My hair is so processed and dry I can’t cope without a tonne of silicones to just stop it being a big dreadlock!
When I finish this pantene though, I don’t know what I’ll switch to.
Interestingly, my dad was a biochemist in his career and always swore that shampoos were all equal, and in fact near identical to both shower gel and washing up liquid. In his defence though, this was a long time before the shampoos available now existed!
I think they used to be though Charlie.. I remember my mum using lemon scented washing up liquid and swearing it did the job!
I still think that even Bumble & Bumble products are too expensive. £20 for a shamppo bottle? In Sally’s I have bought some lovely shampoos for £14 and that’s about the most I can allow myself to go for. Over £15 for a shampoo looks too excessive for myself personally.
I’m actually using Tresemme, the 900ml bottle, because my bestfriend keep using mine (men…what can we do), but I find it too heavy and dense. I tried even a natural brand from Italy, really famous there, and was not washing my hair, nothing at all.
I will probably go back to Garnier ultimate blends coconut oil and coco butter range, I really love them, and doesn’t matter the price, so cheap, are brilliant.
I like to sit in the middle! I’ve tried some really cheap ones and they’ve felt horrible in my hair, and I had some samples of L’occitane shampoo and conditioner and absolutely hated it!
totally in love with Herbel Essences!
Katie | katieeemmabeauty.blogspot.co.uk
A good shampoo will make my hair fall into the right place and easier to blow dry. I’m currently using Redken’s Extreme shampoo, its a repurchase and a bottle lasts a long time so it must be doing something right. Did not like the Redken volume shampoo. Klorane’s shampoo with oat milk is a longstanding favourite. I think the water hardness affects how a shampoo performs. I live in a hard water area and when I go to a soft water area a shampoo that performs well at home can turn into a total dud.
You’re absolutely right.. when I go to my parents in Scotland (very soft water) and forget that I’m not in hard water London – it’s a massive foam-head situation!
My hair has just started growing back after chemo and I’m currently using the lush new bar. I actually quite like it and after years of trying out lots of expensive products, I’d be interested to see how it performs on more than just a bit of fluff!
I have tried a sample of the Philip B and did not like it. I think I have tried most shampoos ever launched! I agree with the idea of middle of the price range as I think the ingredients are kinder to hair than neat detergent I have also used.
I love the quest for the One and always have several,products on the go.
I remember having a horrible experience with Pantene too – it made my hair look so greasy and disgusting! Currently I’m using Redken Color Extend on my coloured hair, and use Aussie Miracle Moist when it hasn’t been coloured in a long time. TiGi shampoos are great too!
How I wish I was that lucky to use any shampoo! My hair is thick and oily, and most shampoos don’t do the job, I stick to Paul Mitchell most of the time. A friend of mine has thick straight hair and can wash with dishwasher soap, the results are the same!
I love Aveda, I use the Blue Malva Shampoo, Dry Remedy Conditioner and also the Dry Remedy oil which is amazing, as I am growing out bleached hair to my natural colour.
I recently tried a travel size of Oribe Shampoo for beautiful color (£60-something for 250ml) and Living Proof No-frizz conditionner (20£ for 200ml) and that was a winning combination. Already own the conditionner (have been using it for more than a year) but I know I will purchase that shampoo at some point and actually am saving for the 1liter bottle which costs upward of 100£. It’s crazy expensive but my hair was amazing everyday with that thing so….
I had a perfect combo for a while which was Lush’s Rehab shampoo and Retread conditioner, then Living Proof’s no frizz range for when I was making a bit more of an effort to style my hair. Unfortunately Lush seem to have changed the formula of their conditioners and Retread is now completely different – different smell, different texture, and most importantly, different result. Now it makes my hair horrendous – dull, sticky, matte and with a greasy look. Worse than using nothing at all. I’m still annoyed with Lush because they haven’t publicised the change at all, and when I reviewed the new version on their website they didn’t publish my review. It seems unfair that customers should buy something expecting a particular product and actually get something different. I tried 3 different tubs from different shops and they all had the same result.
Anyhow – rant over – the Living Proof range is great on my fluffy, curly, soft hair and the styling cream also really does protect it from the effects of the damp. It does coat the hair though (in a good way) and it feels a little weighed down after using it for several washes. It’s also a bit expensive for me so I like to mix it up. I still haven’t found a good alternative to my Lush combo.
My hair is like the antithesis of the person who said theirs was ‘reliable’ – it varies massively depending on the weather, the products, how it was dried, brushed, combed etc. So I can definitely see a difference between different products – massively so in fact!
I’ve tried all kinds of shampoo & conditioner and the cheap ones were all pure crap. The mid-priced ones were sometimes ok (René Furterer, for example), but all in all I wasn’t too happy with them either. Right now my favourites are two really expensive ones, Gold Lust from Oribe and Sublime Mèches from Leonor Greyl, both perform equally well. I have no idea how the cheap shampoos could end up as the winners of a comparison with more expensive ones. The manufacturers probably paid for that outcome.
It was only one expensive product so not a true test
Interesting…..I’ve always wondered. I just buy Patene at Target. I was thinking about using more expensive stuff.
Mel | http://www.thegossipdarling.com