alternative herbal

For All You People Who Think Shampoos Are Different?

Shampoo Full Story
Best Shampoos
We saw several recommendations for one particular salon brand; Kerastase is a high-profile salon line (owned by L’Oreal) that banks its reputation on use by professional hair stylists and salon owners. As a result, it’s pricey, but reviewers say that most of the shampoos have gentle, effective formulas that live up to the marketing claims. Two of the sources we found say that Kerastase Bain Satin Nutritive 1 Shampoo (*Est. $32 for 8 ounces) works well for normal-to-slightly-dry hair. It gently cleanses and nourishes the hair with glucose, protein and lipids. However, in the test reports we read, much less expensive shampoos like Clairol Herbal Essences (*Est. $4 for 12 ounces) and Dove (*Est. $4 for 12 ounces) are just as effective. Some consumers may prefer the smell, feel or cache of salon formulas — issues that are tangential to cleaning ability.
Paula Begoun, in her comprehensive book “Don’t Go Shopping For Hair-Care Products Without Me,” evaluates over 130 brands of hair-care products, with in-depth analysis of ingredients. She notes that many brands, including the top-selling Redken and Dove brands, have nearly identical formulas across their shampoo product lines, except for some differences in fragrance and plant extracts (which do nothing for hair, but may irritate the scalp). Begoun and other reviewers agree that an anti-residue shampoo, like Neutrogena Anti-Residue (*Est. $6 for 6 ounces) , should be used at least once a week to remove buildup, especially if you use a volumizing shampoo or styling aids like gels, waxes and mousses; these products coat each hair with a film to get the desired effect of fullness, curls, waves or spikes.
Sponsored Links
Free Shampoo
Hair Shampoos
Shampoo SamplesRedken shampoos (*Est. $10 for 10 ounces) receive the most reviews of any brand in our report. This is a salon shampoo, but it is much cheaper than Kerastase. Redken offers shampoos in eleven formulas for almost every hair type — moisturizing, volumizing, anti-dandruff and specialty formulas like clarifying and combating UV damage.
The one Redken shampoo that gets the most raves is Redken All Soft, which is formulated for very dry and brittle hair. At Allure magazine, All Soft wins the Best of Beauty Award for dry hair. Consumers at iVilllage.com and Epinions rave about this shampoo. At iVillage.com, almost 30 owners give it an overall rating of 4.5 stars out of five. Most critics say that this shampoo leaves their dry hair soft; one even complained that her hair was too soft. There are those who also say the shampoo has a wonderful smell and it detangles hair better than other products they have used. While a few comment that the shampoo is expensive, they also said it was worth the price because you don’t need as much to clean your hair. The owners at Epinions give All Soft a perfect score with 23 users writing comments similar to those at iVillage.com. But users here are decidedly mixed about the smell. Some love the scent, others don’t, but no one gives All Soft a poor rating because of it.
Reviewers pick Dove (*Est. $4 for 12 ounces) most often among lower-priced drugstore shampoos. Originally known for its bar soap, Dove has branched out into all areas of the beauty market. Dove offers several shampoo formulas for light and dark colored hair, moisturizing, volumizing and intense therapy. In tests at Choice magazine, Dove Revitalising Shampoo is a top choice, but this particular shampoo is not available in the U.S. The formula that gets the most reviews at Epinions and Amazon.com, Intense Moisturizing Shampoo, is no longer available. But all the various Dove shampoos that do get reviews are rated highly. Many feel that these shampoos clean well, and people like the smell.
Reviewers also like Clairol Herbal Essences (*Est. $4 for 12 ounces) as a lower-priced drugstore shampoo. It comes in a variety of formulas, including moisturizing, clarifying/residue removal, replenishing for dry/damaged hair, volumizing and anti-dandruff. Contributors posting to Epinions say that they’re generally pleased with the moisturizing and clarifying formulas, but that the volumizing and replenishing formulas don’t work as well as they had expected. Experts say the anti-dandruff formula contains salicylic acid to exfoliate the scalp, but the pH of the shampoo is too high for it to be very effective for those struggling with dandruff.
Experts say Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo (*Est. $6 for 6 ounces) is a simple shampoo that won’t cause buildup and is good for all hair types. This formula has stood the test of time since 1980. Experts recommend using an anti-residue shampoo once a week, especially if you regularly use a thickening shampoo, which deposits a film on each hair to make it appear thicker. Unless these film-forming agents are periodically removed, they build up and cause hair to look flat and feel heavy.
Head & Shoulders (*Est. $5 for 14 ounces) is among