The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Ask BB: Budget Hair Care

Dear Budget Babe,

I've often heard (and read) that hair care is the one thing we fabulous women shouldn't scrimp on; and, up until this point, I haven't. However, as a newlywed and recent college graduate who now has expenses in spades, I just can't bring myself to pay the usual $20+ a bottle for shampoo, conditioner, etc.

Do you have any product suggestions that will keep my hair shiny and healthy, and my wallet happy?


Dear Savvy Reader,

I think great hair is largely determined by 1) genetics, 2) diet and lifestyle (i.e. the foods you eat, whether or not you smoke, how stressed you are, if you're taking any medications, etc.) and finally, in last place, 3) the haircare products you use.

Don't get me wrong: I love experimenting with different shampoos and conditioners, I love the packaging, the fun botanical ingredients, the pretty fragrances and colors, but let's face it - they all use the same few basic ingredients. What I have found is that the differences in quality are very subtle, and that cheap shampoos and conditioners are just as good as expensive salon brands. I wish it weren't so - I wish I could find a pricey product that gives me the strong, lustrous hair you see in commercials, but it just ain't gonna happen.

So without further ado, my all-time favorite cheap shampoo and conditioner is Pantene Pro-V. The shampoo leaves hair clean without overdrying, and the conditioner is super rich and creamy. A small dab goes a long way. Neither has an obnoxious lingering fragrance.

I recently rediscovered another old classic after spotting it in my friend's shower (it was in plain sight, I swear): Suave Naturals. My friend has AMAZING hair, so when I learned she used Suave I was all over that. I bought a bottle of the Suave Naturals water lily and aloe conditioner and it's fantastic. Great texture, no residue, no nasty perfume smell.

Lately, I've also been trying to learn more about organic/natural/eco-friendly bath and beauty products that are still budget-friendly, so I've tried the store brands at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and I must say, they're solid products. I especially like the Whole Foods 365 brand mint shampoo and conditioner - tingles the scalp, smells great, works great. What's more, they're economical and supposedly better for you and the environment.

Beyond shampoo and conditioner, I'm a big fan of Sunsilk styling products. If you want to spend more on say, deep conditioning treatments or products that defrizz and define your tresses, I'd say invest in the products that work best for your hair - this is where I've found that products tend to vary more noticeably by brand and price.

What are some of your favorite hair care products? Does the price matter? Share in the comments...

Comments
The sunsilk shampoo and conditioner is great too! Leaves your hair like in the picture, no joke! My boyfriend uses it and CONSTANTLY gets comments on how great his hair is (go figure)- and its a steal too!
#1 Peaches on 2008-05-05 10:35 (Reply)
Cheap shampoo and conditioner is definitely the way to go - they're just as good, and often better. I love the Suave Naturals line (although I'm having a hard time finding it here in Toronto these days) - the coconut conditioner smells wonderful, and doesn't have any of the -cones that weigh down curly hair.
#2 Rachel on 2008-05-05 10:50 (Reply)
My opinion is that it is much easier to get away with using a cheap shampoo than it is a cheap conditioner, unless you have a scalp problem (like dandruff). There are only a couple of detergent ingredients that are in an effective shampoo. With conditioner the drier your hair the closest to the top a "-icone" (like silicone) ingredient should be. Cheaper conditioners tend to have "-icone" ingredients further down the list. From there, you should just look for a fragrance you like. I use Finesse Enhancing Shampoo with Back to Basics Vanilla Plum Fortifying Conditioner (I buy two at the Beauty Brands annual liter sale). Not only does the conditioner smell delicious it leaves my very dry & chemically damaged hair soft and shiny and I don't end up spending a lot of money.
#3 Nicolle on 2008-05-05 16:31 (Reply)
I disagree. I switched from cheap shamppo and conditioner to Matrix about a year ago and my hair has never been so soft and shiny. I switched back in a fit of frugality and absolutely can't wait till I'm done with this horrible cheap stuff. (Vive Pro, btw)

Plus, if you buy the giant bottles of Matrix shampoo and conditioner at the beauty supply shop they're only $15 each.
#4 Brianne on 2008-05-05 16:48 (Reply)
I'm no chemist but I watch the Discovery Channel A LOT so humor me for a moment: When I want to decode the label on a beauty product, I use the rule of thirds: The top third usually makes up 90 to 95 percent of the formula; the middle third, 5 to 8 percent; and the bottom third, 1 to 3 percent. Fancy, nice-sounding ingredients at the middle or end of the list are pretty much just for show.

So, I decided to compare the ingredients in Matrix Shampoo vs. L'Oreal Vive Pro, and I found they share 4 out of 5 top ingredients (Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate and Dimethicone).

My question to any scientists out there would be, if these two products are so similar, what accounts for Brianne's better experience with the pricier shampoo?

Thanks for sharing, Brianne!! :-)
#4.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-05-05 18:11 (Reply)
My stylist told me to stay clear of Pantene due to the harsh detergents and amount of wax in their conditioner. I don't know how valid the sentiment is when I ran out of my reg conditioner last week and used some old Pantene I had laying around, I could definitely feel the difference. My hair was coarse and dry. For frugal hair product I use Dove for damaged hair and for when I feel like splurging I use Redken.
#5 Rachelle on 2008-05-05 17:46 (Reply)
I'll let the ladies over at The Beauty Brains blog handle this one:

http://thebeautybrains.com/2006/07/04/is-pantene-good-or-bad-for-my-hair/

What they say: "The truth is, Pantene’s shampoo and conditioner formulas are believed to be among the best in the industry by those of us in the cosmetic science side of the business..."

Thanks for sharing, Rachelle. In the end, I do think you should find and use the product you like best. :-)
#5.1 The Budget Babe on 2008-05-05 18:20 (Reply)
I really like the Organix line (can be found at Walgreens/Target, etc). They have no sulfates and awesome scents . My favorite is the coconut milk shampoo and conditioner. Smells great and makes my hair silky smooth without weighing it down. A bottle is around $6.99.
#6 taylor (Homepage) on 2008-05-06 09:54 (Reply)
I also use Suave Naturals. I never used to, until I started grad school, and then it was because it was the cheapest (and yet still non-sketchy) stuff at the drugstore. And my containers (for conditioner and shampoo) are huge. Definitely getting my bang for the buck with these.

For styling, I used to use a conditioner called S-Factor by Tigi. It was pretty expensive but worked wonders. I probably would have invested in another bottle when I ran out, except they don't sell it anywhere here, where I go to school. I've been using Frizz Ease by John Frieda (medium price at the drugstore) instead and my hair is still soft and shiny, but it lacks the moisture and straightness that S-Factor gave it.
#7 Sarah on 2008-05-07 03:11 (Reply)
i also use the suave naturals and have done for ages (since i had better things to spend money on than shampoos!). saw a report on 20/20 a few years back and they said the more expensive shampoos are not any better for your hair than the cheap ones and all the ones that advertise vitamins for your hair are rubbish bcuz your hair does not need vitamins. they said get the one that works best on your hair, no matter what the price is. another thing, the lather is purely to make it feel better when you're washing your hair, lathering has nothing to do with getting your hair clean.
who knew, right?
:-)
#8 maggie z on 2008-05-11 13:50 (Reply)
I've used Pantene conditioner for years and this is what works best for me. And a funny story about expensive shampoos -- a hairdresser convinced me to use this expensive Abba botanical stuff that's vegan, sulfate-free, etc. etc. Within a couple of weeks I noticed that I had a lot of zits all over my scalp. Eeew! I thought this was because I'd been eating more greasy foods than usual at the time, but when I changed my diet, my scalp was no better. I finally switched back to good ol' Herbal Essences -- problem solved :-)
#9 cathy (Homepage) on 2008-05-13 11:37 (Reply)
I definitely don't think all salon products are superiour to all drugstore products. I think it takes a lot of experimenting with different products to find the ones your hair likes best. But I will say, the most expensive product I have ever tried (Frederic Fekkai) is hands down the best, for my hair. I can't afford to use it all the time and use Sally Hershberger (a drugstore brand) daily, but for dpecial occasions I love the FF.
#10 MEP on 2009-09-21 07:58 (Reply)
My friends swear by Herbal Essences but I haven't tried it yet. I really hope it comes through :-) I got Aussie first since it was half the price, cheapie I am. Got one more use of my Tea Tree shampoo before I try Aussie and see if I really need to add volume to my hair or if I just got pulled in by all those volume hair comercials lol.
#11 L on 2010-10-18 02:45 (Reply)
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