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Cheap Shampoos, Shampoo Reviews

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Wet hair. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Shampooing your hair two or three times a week -- or even daily -- seems, at first glance, a simple hygienic act. But such frequency is all the more reason to reserve a spot in your shower caddy for one of the best cheap shampoos. Finding the best cheap shampoo that works for you, however, may be a chore. Witness the hundreds of brands and shampoo categories vying for your dollars. You'll find oily hair shampoos, dry hair shampoo, flat hair fixes, baby shampoo, shampoo for men, straight or curly hair products, color-treated or damaged hair shampoo, dandruff shampoos, and more. You'll also find cheap shampoo reviews and pricey ones in every one of these shampoo niches.

What's remarkable is how recently this explosion of hair care products came on the scene. In 1908 the New York Times explained the "rules" of shampoo: Women should aim for "soft and glossy" hair by singing split ends and applying and rinsing olive-oil Castile soap four times. In the opening years of the 20th century, specialists recommended shampooing once every two weeks, or up to every six weeks for hair in good condition. Then, in the 1930s, a Dr. John Breck introduced a shampoo that was marketed with portraits of "Breck girls" who became role models for many American women, right up until the 1970s when the iconic poster of golden-tressed Farrah Fawcett hit the walls of men's dorm rooms.

Today's cheap shampoos and upmarket shampoos are differentiated one from another by little more than their packaging, marketing, and more obscure ingredients, but all hair-wash products start with water and detergent. Fragrances, moisturizers, foamers, and what have you are the value added. The detergents are all FDA-approved and shouldn't irritate your scalp, although some do for some consumers. The detergents typically used in cheap shampoos and pricey shampoos include ammonium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, and sodium lauryl sulfate; some shampoos may also contain the gentler TEA or MEA.

Worried about chemicals altogether in a cheap shampoo? Saffronrouge.com provides a "black list" of ingredients commonly used in hair dyes but which occasionally turn up in shampoos. So-called organic shampoos without sulfates can be found on store shelves, but organic shampoos typically don't lather well. And some "natural" ingredients, such as menthol, peppermint, and eucalyptus, can irritate your skin. Note that organic shampoos generally carry rich price tags.

This is where Cheapism comes in. We looked for cheap shampoos that cost no more than about 40 cents an ounce, which for a 12-ounce bottle would be a maximum of $4.80. But shampoo containers come in all sizes, so we generally set our ceiling at $7 a bottle. Sometimes we had to look beyond these limits because of the specialized nature of the shampoo (e.g., clarifying shampoo) or because of the limited selection in a niche segment. We were also stymied by the relatively small number of consumer and expert shampoo reviews for individual cheap shampoos. This isn't too surprising, though, given the enormous variety of product offerings and the frequency with which manufacturers introduce slight variants on existing formulas. In addition, we found in shampoo reviews that the boundaries among the various shampoo niches to be quite fluid, such that any given shampoo marketed for a particular hair type might work well for consumers with another hair type. And, of course, not everyone responds the same way to personal care products, so what proves gentle and effective for one person, or even dozens, may be irritating or drying or oil-inducing for others.

But we soldiered on and identified good cheap shampoos formulated for a variety of hair types that are easy to find in the drugstore, supermarket, or online. We went with the dominant opinion in shampoo reviews when making our picks for best cheap shampoos but include comments from consumers with less satisfactory experiences so that you're fully informed. In the end, we whittled our list down to 10 categories of cheap shampoos: Everyday/normal, clarifying, moisturizing, color-treated/chemically-processed, volumizing, curly, baby, dandruff, and men.

During our research we noticed that many women are serial shampoo shoppers; that is, they find a cheap shampoo that they like and stick with it for a while and then go off in search of the next cheap shampoo that lathers well, makes their hair shine, doesn't dry it out or grease it up or irritate their scalp. Often the incentive to try something new is a coupon or sale that makes an already cheap shampoo even cheaper but worth trying, because, hey, it could be the shampoo you've been dying to meet but were too risk-averse to try and the incredibly low price means even if you hate it, you haven't wasted much money. We also noted that women often choose the cheap shampoo and write the review for the guys who use the product, so this guide should prove doubly informative to female readers.

by Maralyn Edid (Google+ Profile)

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Best Baby Shampoos: Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo Review
Best Dandruff Shampoo: Aveeno Nourish + Soothe Shampoo Review
Best Shampoo For Men: Suave for Men Review
Best Everyday Shampoo: Garnier Fructis Fortifying Daily Care Review
Best Clarifying Shampoo: Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo Review
Best Moisturizing Shampoo: Aussie Moist Shampoo Review
Best Color Shampoo: L'Oreal EverPure Moisture Shampoo Review
Best Volumizing Shampoo: Herbal Essence Body Envy Volumizing Review
Best Curly Hair Shampoos: John Frieda Frizz-Ease Care Review

 

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