My Cheap Favorites: the best bath, body, and hair products for $10 and under

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It's been over a year since I wrote my last cheap favorites master post! I still stand by my choices there, and I don't think I'd change any of them now if I had to do it over. I've had in mind to write this additional post all along, but since I'm admittedly not that picky about products in this category, it hasn't felt so pressing. Still, maybe there's something here for you to discover (or something you can suggest to me!).

Favorite Body Washes: I don't really take baths, so all I've got here are shower products. My criteria for a good body wash or shower gel are simple: gets me clean, doesn't dry out my skin, smells good. There are lots of affordable options that check all of those boxes. I love almond fragrance when it's done well, and Tree Hut Almond and Honey Body Wash does it well. It's also very moisturizing and has a lovely texture. Luxurious, even. I like this so much that I haven't tried any of the other scents, though I suppose I should. The Almond variety is a bit difficult to find in stores. I got this one at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $6.

Update: How that John Frieda volume treatment actually works (from The Beauty Brains)

I posted that I'd had good results with the John Frieda 7-Day Volume Treatment a while ago, but I wasn't sure what was in it that made it work. The cosmetic chemists at The Beauty Brains have explained it all for us. It's the polyimide-1 ingredient that does it, if that means anything to you. They spell it all out at the link, so I won't repeat it here. Their conclusions seem to be the same as what I came to empirically: it will create some volume, though not a huge amount, which will last for a few days, and it will probably work better on some hair types than others.

(Note: They say that you need to blow dry after the first application to get it to really work, but I had increased volume when I just air dried as well.)

Bigger Better Hair (Review of John Frieda 7-Day Volume In-Shower Treatment)

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I got a mini bottle of John Frieda 7-Day Volume In-Shower Treatment from Target. They have interesting samples every now and then on this page, so it's worth bookmarking and checking when you think of it.

John Frieda Luxurious Volume 7-Day Volume Treatment

I didn't have high hopes for this product. Here are the claims, from the description on Amazon:

• Texturally transforms fine hair, leaving it full even after multiple washes
• Semi-permanent treatment establishes a base for volumized styling, achieving a look that was previously viewed as unattainable
• Works by penetrating into each fiber and amplifying each hair strand for lift that lasts through multiple washes

 I expected one of two possible outcomes:

1. It would make my hair rough, frizzy, or dry (i.e. "texturally transform" it), or; 
2. Nothing.

I was really pleasantly surprised with the results. The way this works is that, after shampooing and conditioning, you apply it all over your hair and leave it for about 5 minutes and then rinse. It doesn't replace shampooing and conditioning - it's an extra step. Some of the reviews on Amazon seem to have missed that point. Far from leaving my hair drier or duller, it actually made it softer and a tiny bit shinier. It seemed to add some extra conditioning so that I could easily brush through it while it was still wet without adding extra product (using the Wet Brush, which is magic and is something I really should review here - but still, sometimes it's easier than others, depending on my hair's condition). 

The volume increase was subtle but definitely noticeable. It doesn't create big, dramatic, country-singer hair like a volumizing powder will, but it adds extra volume and body throughout the hair, not just at the roots. It just looks like you have more, thicker hair.

For some reason, I had a hard time capturing the change in photos. I don't know if it's the lighting or the angle or what. A professional photographer I am not. But I do know that I didn't imagine the difference, because I used it multiple times to make sure it was doing what I thought it was doing. Here are before and after photos, both taken after I let my hair air dry and didn't add any additional product. The style doesn't look very cute, but I didn't want any extra steps to affect my comparison. (And obviously I need a trim.)

I've updated the photos to show the change more clearly. I used the same products in each photo (with the exception of the In Shower Treatment, which I only used for the after photo, of course). I also styles my hair the same way: partially air dried and then blow dried with a round brush.

Before:

After:

I think it looks like I have about 30% more hair. You can also compare this photo on Instagram, which shows my usual, flat hair, with this one or this one, both taken after using the treatment.

I do not have thin hair, but I have fine hair, and quite a lot of it. I think this may make me the ideal candidate for getting good results with this product. If you have thin hair, I suspect you will notice some results but not as obvious ones, because the more hairs it can thicken, the better. 

I honestly have no idea how this product works. Like I said, the texture of my hair doesn't feel rougher or stiffer, and it doesn't feel coated with anything - it just looks thicker. My hair has a tendency to hang there limply, and this stuff gives it a little more oomph. Is that clear and descriptive? Ha.

Here are the ingredients, in case you have any insight to provide:

Water, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Pvp, Polyquaternium-37, Vp/Va Copolymer, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyimide-1, Benzyl Alcohol, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Fragrance, Silicone Quaternium-18, Trideceth-6, Malic Acid, Trideceth-12, Glycine, Steartrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol, Alcohol Denat., Amp-Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Green 3.

Most of the first several ingredients seem to be things like emulsifiers and film formers that you would find in regular shampoos and conditioners. Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose absorbs water and prevents evaporation, so maybe what is happening is that it's keeping extra water in the strands of hair and plumping it that way. Here is an article on other hair thickening products from L'Oreal that seem to work in a similar way, which may provide some clues.

[ETA: The Beauty Brains explained that it's actually the polyimide-1 that is the magic ingredient.]

I still have enough left in my little bottle for one more round with this stuff, and then I think I will buy myself a bottle. It gives my hair a little extra life without blowdrying it upside down, which is what I do when I am not feeling too lazy (i.e. very occasionally). I wouldn't say the effects last a full 7 days, but they do last 4-5 days before the volume starts to decrease significantly.

I would recommend this product if you have sad, limp hair like mine and want a change. Right now Amazon has it for $6, making it the cheapest anywhere I've found it. Of course Amazon prices jump around all the time, so do your homework.

Anyone else tried this stuff or something similar? What kind of results did you have?

Conditioner and serum that will probably make your hair better

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In my attempt to use up shit that I already had sitting around before buying anything new, I'd been using some mediocre conditioners for several months. My hair has been pretty sad looking for those corresponding months. I assumed it was from over-processing more than from the products I was using on it. After the crappy conditioners were empty, I moved on to using up sample packets of deep conditioners I'd accumulated (Fekkai, John Freida, L'Oreal, etc.). They made a little improvement, but not a lot, which confirmed my apathy about improving my hair without just cutting it all off. My hair was [insert list of marketing words describing not pretty hair here]. But really, it was the paradigmatic "dull, lifeless, dry, damaged, limp, frizzy, straw-like, rough" sad state.

I finally finished up the samples and allowed myself to buy a conditioner that had been on my shopping list for a long, long time: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask. I should have picked it up a long time ago, because it's fucking good. I could have been alternating this with the bad crap all along and looking much better. Even though I had been doing the occasional coconut oil treatment and using some ridiculously expensive Aveda deep conditioner that I got suckered into buying (this one, if you're curious - don't buy it) now and then, nothing worked as well as the Neutrogena stuff has done. My hair feels softer and smoother, it looks shinier and healthier, etc. I don't like sounding like a commercial, because I'm really not, but it looks and feels and performs better in the ways that people typical want their hair to do. The best part is that its effects last a few days, even after shampooing and conditioning with something less spectacular in the meantime. So your money will go a long way - and you can get this from about $6-10. Shop around.

The downside is that it's in a stupid jar with a screw-off lid. So you have to pick up the jar and screw off the lid, scoop some out with your fingers, and then try to screw the lid back on without getting the jar all full of shower water or dropping it or whatever. Fucking annoying. I guess the jar is, as usual, meant to convince us that this is totally more special than something in a much more practical bottle or tube. Ugh.

But if your hair has been making you sad lately, or if you are less melodramatic and it's just kind of blah, I suggest giving this a shot. I am impressed, personally.

I've also been using John Frieda Frizz Ease Expert Finish Polishing Serum. It does a nice job of adding some extra shine and smoothness. It can be a little heavy for my fairly fine, straight hair, though, and leaves it looking a bit stringy if I don't use the lightest possible touch. Just a drop is all I need. Maybe I should have tried the original version? But it's your basic silicone finishing serum. You don't really need to get into fancier oil serums and shit, since the ingredient that makes most of those works so well is the silicone anyway. This stuff is about $8 (and there's an extra $3 off coupon from Amazon at the moment) and it works well.

So that's how I went from being resigned to having unimpressive hair to petting my own head at regular intervals. Ooooh, soft. Thought you might like to know.

Follow-up to John Frieda Flyaway Tamer review: How (possibly) to get it for 1/16 the price!

Remember how much I liked this product, but that I wished I could figure out what to refill the tube with when I was finished? I recently asked The Beauty Brains what they thought. Their response is here.

If you have any luck finding the product they've identified, let me know! So far, I have only been able to track down the version with the same name but different ingredients. Boo.