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.

L'Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Extraordinary Oil Shampoo, Conditioner, and Lustrous Serum Review

Disclosure: Affiliate links. Products free from Influenster.
"Hey Lyn, how's that whole 'blog more often' plan going for you?" "Hahahahaha SHUT UP."

Anyway. I got this hair stuff from Influenster, and I like it a lot, so I thought I'd share it with you. (In case you're not aware, anyone can sign up to get free stuff to try from Influenster. You don't need a blog, though I think the more social media followers you have, the more things they send you.)

I was interested in trying these products, because I've had really good luck with some of the L'Oreal Advanced haircare in the past. For example, the Total Repair 5 Extreme line is excellent for getting dry, damaged hair under control. The conditioner feels (and smells) really similar to the magical stuff they include with home hair dye kits.

The Extraordinary Oil line is marketed for "daily care for dry, lifeless hair," and it claims to be, "lightweight" and "non-greasy." This sounds perfect for me, because the lengths of my hair tends to be very dry and the roots are oily, which means that sometimes products designed for dry hair don't clean the grease out well enough or leave my hair weighed down, while those meant for oily hair strip it too much. There are tricks I can do like coating the lengths in conditioner before shampooing and/or shampooing the roots twice, but I would prefer to cut down on the number of steps in my shower routine as much as possible.

My assessment of these three products (shampoo, conditioner, and serum) is that they definitely live up to the claims. They leave my hair very soft and shiny but not weighed down. Here are comparison photos. In the first one, I shampooed and conditioned with some mediocre products that I had in the shower and that I'd been using semi-regularly, and then let my hair air dry. In the second photo, on a different day, I used all three of the products pictured above (the serum on damp hair after washing and before detangling, with which it helps a lot) and again let my hair air dry. I think the difference in shine and smoothness is pretty clear--even though it turns out that it is very difficult to take a photo of the side of your own head.

All three of these products have a pretty strong fragrance that is a sort of warm, amber scent. I'm not great at identifying and describing fragrances, but it's the kind of thing you would expect from products that are supposed to be "exotic." If you're tried the Suave Moroccan Infusion line, it's similar. I know a lot of people love this kind of scent, but I don't usually like it. In this case, however, it's started to grow on me--and it doesn't make me sneeze like some others do. The first day I used the serum, I could smell it all day and it was a little overwhelming. But I have used it many times since then, and now it seems just mildly pleasant. So if you don't like this type of fragrance, it's something to consider, but you might end up enjoying it anyway, apparently. If you are a big perfume wearer, however, it may interfere with the scent you wear. I will usually avoid other perfume on days I use these.

I also tried each of the three products separately in case it was only one of them giving me these good results. That is, I shampooed with the Extraordinary Oil shampoo and used a different conditioner and serum/treatment product, and so forth, with each one. I saw some improvement with each product separately, but not as dramatic as when using them all together. I would say if you want to try just one, you should pick the conditioner if you don't want as strong a fragrance, and the serum if you are fine with the fragrance and want to get the most impressive results from a single product. (There's also a leave-in "transforming oil-in-cream" that I didn't get, but I am now curious about it. I wonder if it would be too heavy for my hair.)

In addition to other oils and silicones, the serum and conditioner both contain a lot of coconut oil, which has been shown to be particularly good for hair. One of the suggested uses on the serum bottle is to apply it to hair before washing to nourish and protect the hair, which is also a great way to use plain coconut oil. The silicones in this stuff add an extra boost of shine and smoothness, in my opinion. (Nothing wrong with 'cones in hair products.)

I like this stuff as much as or more than any of the much more expensive hair products I've tried. The L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil products are about $6 a bottle. If shine and softness are your main hair goals, definitely give one or more of these a shot. The only potential downside I can think of is the fragrance, but as I said, I actually enjoy it now in spite of myself.

What about you? Do you prefer mild scents in hair products or is the fragrance part of what makes you enjoy them? I prefer skincare products to be unscented, but I do want some fragrance in my hair products--I'm just picky about what exactly they smell like.

Are expensive dry shampoos better? Review of Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate and referral links.
Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a little grand considering I'm just going to discuss whether or not one particular example of an expensive dry shampoo is "better." But I've pointed out before that I'm a dry shampoo Goldilocks, and I still haven't found the one that's just right. (If you would like to spend your precious time looking at dozens of nearly identical photos of the top of my head - who wouldn't! - check out my dry shampoo tag.) So when I had some HauteLook credits and Oscar Blandi showed up, I decided I would give their dry shampoo a try. I'd heard about it from a few people who love it.

So fancy and Italian., it's like the Renaissance.

This stuff sells for $21 at Sephora (though you can find it for less on Amazon and it was $10.50 on HauteLook), so I sure as shit wouldn't have bought it at full price. Consider also that my $3 Suave dry shampoo contains 5 oz. and the Oscar Blandi only contains 2.5 oz. (though I'm not sure if the propellant etc. in the Suave can counts toward that weight?). But what if paying more is really the secret? What if, to find the perfect dry shampoo, I actually had to spend more than $5? Ugh. What a thought.

Maybe there are brilliant and expensive dry shampoos out there.  But my conclusion from trying this product, at least, is that you're not necessarily going to get a superior dry shampoo just by spending more. This stuff works, and it's fine, but it's not noticeably better than any of the cheap dry shampoos I've used in the past.

Is there any benefit to using sulfate-free shampoo?

Lots of people swear by sulfate-free shampoo for a variety of reasons: it's better for dry hair, it's better for curly hair, it's better for color-treated hair, it's "healthier", etc. According to The Beauty Brains, tests show that sulfate-free shampoos don't make a difference for hair, but if you have very sensitive skin, they might be irritating. (If you've been using regular shampoos all this time with no problems, though, your sensitive skin is probably fine with them). At that link, they also mention products that might actual help your hair color resist fading. Useful!

Yet Another Damned Dry Shampoo Review: Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo is an interesting one. It's not powdery. Like, at all. Hence the name, I guess. That quality has its pros and cons.

An obvious benefit is that you don't end up with grey powdery-looking roots, like this. That's going to be particularly good if you have dark hair.

The downside is that it doesn't seem to absorb oil as well as more powdery formulas. The weird thing is that after using this stuff, my hair looks cleaner and has more volume. But it still feels dirty. Some dry shampoos leave my roots feeling kind of stiff and rough, but that's not what I'm talking about. It feels pretty much exactly the same as before I added the shampoo, but with some more lift. Look:

Hair not washed for 24 hours.

Hair after using Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo.

So it does make your hair look cleaner, which is the main goal, right? To not look like a mess? I also really like the scent. It has a subtle mint fragrance. FINALLY. I'm so sick of dry shampoos that make me sneeze with their over-perfumed granny smells.

Overall, I like it, but I have such an oily scalp that it bothers me a little that I don't really feel any cleaner after I've used it. It's not refreshing, you know? The trade off is a lack of white residue in your hair. I think that if you have dark hair, this is definitely worth trying. I wish I could find something affordable that combined the light fragrance of this stuff with the results of one of the good Suave dry shampoos. As I've said before, I'm a bit of a dry shampoo Goldilocks.

Dry Shampoo Disappointment: Suave Moroccan Infusion Weightless Dry Shampoo Review

Originally I was going to put this one in my adequate product roundup, because it sort of does the job. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I really only had complaints, so it gets its own post. (Here's a link to the product since I didn't take a photo of the packaging.)

First off, let's address the product name. Moroccan Infusion? Why? Well, I know why - it's so Suave can cash in on the popularity of their Moroccan Infusion shampoos and conditioners. They've put out a whole line of products under this name now. But this dry shampoo has no argan oil in it, so there's nothing "Moroccan" about it. It also doesn't have the same fragrance as the shampoo and conditioner, which may be disappointing to people who are a fan of that scent. Personally, since I don't like that fragrance, it's not a problem for me. Unfortunately, I don't like the smell of this product either.

That's my first complaint: the fragrance is way too fucking strong. It's overwhelming. I'd been happy with the basic Suave dry shampoo for a while, but when I bought my last can I found the scent annoying. I doubt the product has changed, but my tolerance for its extreme perfuminess has definitely decreased. This new version is just as bad, though. It has a different scent - I think the same one as the original gold can of Suave dry shampoo. It's way too much for me. It gives me a headache and makes my skin itch. That second part might be somewhat psychosomatic, to be fair, because just writing about it is making me itch a little. The issue, though, is that the fragrance is so obnoxious that I can't ignore it. It's in my nose constantly after I use the product. It never fades.

As for performance, well it does absorb oil, and it does add volume. But there's a problem. See for yourself:

Before: gross greasy hair.

After: gross powdery hair.

The lighting in the second photo might be a bit brighter, but nevertheless you can clearly see the white powder near my roots along the part and at my forehead. This is the result I got after a lot of fussing with it. First I sprayed it on at the roots. Then I rubbed it through with my fingers. Then I let it sit for about 5 minutes. Finally I brushed it out. A lot. I brushed every direction and I bent over and flipped my hair over my head and tried to brush it out that way. No good. There's still visible residue. Plus I feel like it makes my sad roots that are in need of coloring more obvious for some reason. They're more grey.

I can go out in public like this without looking too weird, but my hair is pretty light. If you have darker hair, you're probably going to have trouble with this. You could maybe get it to work if you have very light hair and you use only a very, very small amount of product. In that case you might not get as much volume, though.

I'm going to keep playing around with it to see if I can find the ideal amount of product to use that will actually make my hair look clean without turning it grey. So far I haven't struck that balance. Even if I manage to, I'm not sure I'll keep using it, just because I found the perfume so excessive.

How does this one compare to the other two Suave dry shampoos I've reviewed? Compared to the silver can, it's just as strongly scented, but the fragrance is different. It works as well for absorbing oil and adding volume, but it leaves more white powder behind. Compared to the original Keratin Infusion version, it smells the same (from what I remember), absorbs oil as well, leaves hair feeling softer, but again leaves more powder behind. (Having references like this available is a nice thing about blogging. Though maybe I should check them more often, because I didn't remember that I apparently liked the gold can better than the silver one, overall. Hmmm.)

Does anyone know of an affordable dry shampoo that works and doesn't smell like an entire army of heavily perfumed grandmas has set up camp on my scalp? I can't stand baby powder fragrances, so I know that limits my options. I might just have to stick with plain old corn starch, though it isn't quite as effective as some dry shampoos, and it doesn't come in a handy dandy aerosol can.

(Very) Cheap Dupes for Wen (from The Beauty Brains)

If you want to try washing your hair with a mild conditioner, which is what Wen is, here are some more reasonably priced options.

Review: Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge, Part II (The Results)

Disclosure: I got this product free from BzzAgent. This post contains an affiliate link.

As I mentioned in Part I (on what to expect from hair care products like this, and the marketing claims from Garnier), I got three items to review from this line: the shampoo, conditioner, and treatment. I've tried them all now, so I'll tell you what I think. I guess the first piece of information that's useful is my hair type. I have medium-thickness, straight hair, that is oily at the roots and try at the ends. I guess I have combination hair, just like my skin. If I don't wash it every day, by the second day it's looking pretty gross and stringy, unless I use dry shampoo. So I want something that will hydrate without weighing my hair down, which is exactly what this stuff claims it will do.

How much can we really expect from hair care products?

I got some Garnier shampoo and conditioner free from BzzAgent to test and review. You might think I'd have been deterred by my last Garnier experiment, but oh no, not me. I do it for you. Besides, it's shampoo and conditioner. How badly can it really go wrong? Basically, I'll either like the way my hair looks and feels after I use it, or I won't. If I don't, I just wash it with something different the next time, and I'm good. 

This is the perfect opportunity for me to rant about people wasting money on shampoo and conditioner (this post is chock-full of informative links, so check those out, lest you think I'm talking out of my ass). This Garnier stuff is cheap, as it should be. There is nothing inherently better about "salon" shampoos and conditioners versus "drugstore" brands. Seriously, there are going to be some good and bad ones in both categories, and not necessarily more bad ones at the drugstore. The salon ones are just more expensive. 

A dry shampoo dupe? (got2be Rockin' It Dry Shampoo vs. Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo)

So in my quest for the perfect dry shampoo, I decided to give got2be Rockin' It Dry Shampoo a shot. I hate the company's stupid product names and packaging that looks like Ed Hardy barfed all over it, but if it works, I don't really care.

Badass Hair: Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo

I previously reviewed Suave's regular dry shampoo and liked it. I thought I'd give their new version, also $3-4, a try.

Clean Up: Cheap Shampoo

Here’s a quickie! You don’t have to spend your money on fancy shampoo (unless you have special hair/scalp needs). If you use products with silicones in them (which are good conditioners and make your hair shiny and smooth), then you’ll need a shampoo without silicone in it to remove the silicone at least once a week, or you’ll get build-up. But as long as you do this every once in a while, you’ll be set. It’s fine to use shampoo with sulphates in it to do that. There’s nothing inherently wrong with either sulfates or silicone. They both have their uses in hair products.

Suave is a good cheap shampoo option. Use your money to buy a really nice conditioner instead.

Badass Hair: Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray

Dry shampoo is awesome in general. But some brands are more awesome than others. One of the cheapest and awesomest is made by Suave and costs less than $4.

If you’re lazy and don’t feel like washing your hair, you can keep it going for another day or so with this stuff. You just shake it, spray it on your roots, and rub it in. It is pretty strongly scented, but I actually like the smell a lot. If you are not a fan of citrusy scents, though, this might not work for you. But it smells the best of any of the inexpensive dry shampoos I’ve tried, in my opinion.