there are few things in life i’m obsessed with.
shoes
bags
(i know, surprise, surprise)
kitchen equipment
coffee
(ok, this list is longer than i thought it’d be)
beauty products
i know you all are raising your eyebrows saying, “i can add a few more…” but i’ll stop the list here. these past few months, i’ve been secretly obsessing over shampoos. my HG (holy grail) shampoo has been aveda shampure since 1996.
but i swear, though aveda has denied it, that it has changed on me. the last couple of years it doesn’t smell or feel right. maybe it’s my hair that’s changing, but it doesn’t even lather like it used to! oh, and the price tag… i was happy to shell out $25 for the big bottle but that got harder to justify with bernard going through residency and fellowship and my new position as a stay at home mom.
so since 2005 i’ve been mixing. i’ve gone through costco sized bottles of the good ol’ standby, pantene. then when i wanted to feel special, i’d treat myself to the shampure. i’d get irrationally upset if i noticed that bernard “wasted” my shampure on his 2 minute showers. so for the past few months i’ve been dabbling with new shampoos, reading up on reviews and research. haha. yup, research.
i learned that sulfate is bad bad bad for your hair. specifically sodium lauryl sulfate. it’s harsh for your hair and it’s mainly there to give you that satisfying lather. it’s not really necessary, but most shampoos out there contain this ingredient. so i tried a few economically priced options out there.
trader joe’s nourish shampoo seemed very promising. i loved it, but only for a few weeks. after my sulfur-free nirvana died down, i realized that it left my hair feeling thirsty for something. my permed hair felt un”nourish”ed and though the conditioner is light and airy, my hair needed some more TLC.
but i do think this shampoo is worth a shot, especially given the low price tag ($2something/bottle). if you have normal or normal/oily hair, this would be a great everyday shampoo or at least something you use once a week. (everyone knows the golden rule of switching up shampoos at least once a week, right?)
my hunt continued. i tried tj’s tea tree shampoo. even though the tingly effect was enough to make me laugh out loud in the shower, it didn’t perform like i wanted it to in any other way. it was gimmicky… and with shampoos, that’s not what i’m looking for.
then one day, feeling impulsive like i do whenever i’m at costco, i picked up a surprisingly normal sized bottles of aveeno shampoo and conditioner. i’ve always loved anything from aveeno, minus their skin radiant moisturizer with spf – but totally my fault since my skin breaks out with anything containing chemical sunscreen. anyway, i picked it up and had some hope, but not a lot, that this would make my hair feel full and wonderful again. but no worries, b/c it’s from costco and… i got a husband who doesn’t mind, he could use a bar of golden dial soap on his head and not care!
in the pack is 2 bottles of the nourish shampoo and 1 bottle of the conditioner. PERFECT! i tried it and loved it. it made my curly hair detangle and feel super moisturized. the conditioner made it feel totally protected from all the dry air around here. i mainly air-dry my hair, so i can’t tell you how it would perform with high heat. but i can tell, this is going to be in my bathroom for a long time.
of course, this doesn’t mean that i won’t be tempted to try other shampoos, but i’m glad i finally found another shampoo to fall back on. and it’s something i don’t mind sharing with the husband.
what are some of your HG hair shampoos and products?
burt’s bees volumizing shampoo, pureology volume shampoo, ojon thickening shampoo. =) gee, do they all have something in common? haha. yeah, been using sulfate-free/paraben-free for a long time now and my scalp and hair thank me for it. by the way, i need the password to read your protected posts, please! =9
Comment by ann — December 10, 2009 @ 5:46 pm |
i was on a pureology kick for a bit but didn’t do it for me. though i did like the smell! i’ll have to look at burt’s bee and ojon. does it really help w/ volume?
Comment by oaksusu — December 11, 2009 @ 1:43 am |
awesome post! i’ve always wondered about what shampoos are out there but never wanted to shell out $$$ for just shampoo… my default would be the usual pantene, finese… i got bliss S&C from my MIL and that seems to be very nice. though if it sits on your shelf too long, it kinda seperates… keihl’s has a really nice shampoo. my pint size/travel sized one served well but the set didn’t come with conditioner so i’ll never know unless i want to shell out the $ for it and really give it a try… i will try the aveeno. maddy uses aveeno. i like it on her..
thanks for the tip!
Comment by elley — December 10, 2009 @ 6:07 pm |
wahoo! I do the same thing alternating between Aveda and cheap shampoos
Comment by Sarah — December 10, 2009 @ 6:08 pm |
great minds think alike skf.
Comment by oaksusu — December 10, 2009 @ 6:09 pm |
My HG high end shampoo is Bumble and bumble. LOVE everything about it except the price tag ($25 for a puny little bottle. X 2 if you want conditioner!). My favorite “affordable” one is Neutrogena Triple Moisture. I guess it was only affordable because I got a company discount on it ($2.25 for 8oz). It’s a little more in the stores – like $7 or $8 AND it can be hard to find. Glad to hear the Aveeno stuff is good! I guess I should support my old sister company now that I’m out of my NTG stash!
Oh, and I’ve got a good physical sunscreen for you – remind me to give you a sample next time you’re at my place!
Comment by Tina — December 10, 2009 @ 8:19 pm |
a post after my own heart. i tried the TJ and aveeno stuff but my hair is so dang dry neither worked for me for long. then i got hooked on the david babaii for wildaid stuff. it’s mid-range in terms of price (a little more than aveeno, a lot less than aveda) and you have to get over the cheesy kate hudson endorsement stuff, but it’s been working like a dream. it has none of the artificial, chemical stuff. see here: http://www.db4wildaid.com/hydrating_shampoo.aspx
Comment by Won — January 10, 2010 @ 1:37 pm |