Beauty Q: What shampoo, conditioner, mascara do you use?

[spanannie]

And what do you love about them?

I currently use Kerastase Bain Satin 1 shampoo and Lait Vital Conditioner, and it has to stop. It is too expensive, and I have to order it online. I have too much hair to spend this. I'm buying it on Ebay, and it's costing me around $40/mo for both, which is ridiculous. I've tried others, but I'm just so in love with this stuff...hopefully you all can turn me on to something new! I have blonde highlighted hair, it's thick, and pretty normal. I don't want heavy moisture, but do need some. I have no problem with recommendations for salon brands, it's that this stuff is just too much $ for a small bottle!

Also, mascara...as long as I can remember, I've worn Lancome Definicils. I don't know if they are putting less in the tube, but it's not lasting as long either. It's way too expensive to buy once/month, too. I love it so much, though, that it's going to be hard to find a replacement!

I look forward to hearing what everyone suggests!
Thanks!

[mudder17]

Okay, I'm probably going to have the most unusual response and I can't answer your question about mascara. But I did used to use more expensive shampoos and conditioners and finally gave up on it. Since I've made the following switch, my hair has been cleaner, less flyaway (or greasy on top), less itchy, and just healthier.

I basically went "no poo" so for shampoo, I use baking soda paste (basically put baking soda in the palm of my hand and wet it, then massage it into my scalp), rinse it out, then I spray with a "conditioner" of distilled water, ACV, rosemary oil, and a drop of peppermint oil. It took me a while to work out the specifics for my hair (there are several variations of the whole "no poo" thing), but once I figured it out, it has been wonderful. I used to have to wash my hair every day or it would get greasy on top, possibly flyaway on the bottom, and itchy. You can imagine how expensive that gets! So I needed some moisturizing, but I also had problems with grease on top and it was just getting a bit ridiculous. I don't think I ever spent $40/month, but still, it was probably fairly expensive. Now, if for some reason (and this has happened quite a few times since pregnancy) I don't wash my hair for 4 days, it just starts to get icky. That's pretty amazing in my book! It's now successful enough that DH and Kaya also use the same system and for the most part, I've given up on shampoos and conditioners. I still have some leftovers, but the only time I'll probably use the shampoo is if I do an oil treatment (BS just doesn't remove an oil treatment efficiently enough) or if guests come over. Otherwise, I feel so free of the shampoos and conditioners. :)

This is probably not what you had in mind, but maybe it'll help someone who's contemplating "no poo". ;)
Eileen

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[DebbieJ]

Clairol Herbal Essences and Maybelline Great Lash work for me!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
2 year check up: 25 lbs with clothes on and 35 inches!
BFARed for 20 months and 6 days
(Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org)

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[rockchick15]

Kiwi color shampoo and conditioner (about $20 each for a liter at Ulta). My stylist used it on me the first time I went to her a year ago and I love this stuff!!! I follow with Herbal Essenses new Frizz control cream and then Kiwi Blow Silk. As for mascara, I use any Clinique mascara I can get as a free gift during gift time at Macy's, Dillards, etc... Been using Clinique for at least 20 yrs now.

[BaileyBea]

Hey Annie,

Mascara - I go between Great Lash Maybelline, Clinique, and the Sephora brand. I think I am going back to Great Lash. For the price it just can't be beat.

Shampoo - I use Aveda stuff but I buy at Wildflower Salon in Austin so I get a frequent purchase card that I fill up a few times per year for $10 off the next purchase. I also only buy from Wildflower during the specials like Buy 3 get one FREE or I use those discount coupons that we get in the mail w/those postcards that are sent to our neighborhood. You know which ones I am talking about they arrive in plastic wrapping but are several postcards of coupons. This tends to save me some $$$.

I think the Aveda Cherry Almond Bark Conditioner is the BEST! DH loves the Rosemary Mint Shampoo (and you know him - he's not into hair products but says this stuff is great).

[happy2bamom]

I have used Aveda shampoo and conditioner for years and I love it. My hair is fine, but I have a lot of it. The Rosemary Mint line cleans and conditions my hair without weighing it down.


Recently I've been trying Suave, the professionals line, to reduce cost on my hair products. I'm not in love with it, but it does save me about $10 a bottle.

Mascara I like Maybelline great lash.

HTH

[pb&j]

I use Origins shampoo - I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's the mint stuff that's green (they also have one that is clear).

For conditioner I use Nexxus Ensure. I've used it since high school, and the few times I've ventured into something else, I've been very sorry.

For mascara, don't hate me, but I don't use it. I have very long, thick, dark lashes and look somewhere between a streetwalker and a clown when I wear mascara. I just curl 'em and go.


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, 01/05/06

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[bostonsmama]

Like Eileen, I've also switched to baking soda and vinegar, especially since I'm trying to keep my little embies safe from chemical exposure. It's really easy and has given me great results. It exfoliates the scalp, leaving the root of hair clean and healthy. You'd be amazed. I also condition w/ white vinegar...I couldn't believe how well it worked!

Before that, I used (and still have my huge bottle of) Redken Color Extend shampoo, which I really liked. I can get a Liter sized bottle from Costco for $16 or less (maybe $13...fuzzy memory). I used it every day for 4 months and it's still half full. You really don't need a lot b/c it's salon formulated. I lighten and tone my hair color, so it's really prevented fading. I don't like most shampoos b/c they seem to deposit too much goo on your hair, contributing to build-up, but Redken CE doesn't do this (and neither does the non-poo).

For conditioner, I love Dove Volumizing Conditioner. It doesn't weigh down my tresses. I get a liter of it for $6 at BJs wholesale club (they send coupons for one day trial memberships and I snap it up). I actually periodically still use it b/c skindeep.com actually rated it as very safe from a toxicity standpoint. It has parabens, but so do they all, and I don't put conditioner on my skin, just tips of hair, and hair is dead, so it doesn't absorb. Anyways, just thought I'd throw that out there.

As to mascara....love Lancome, but Maybeline Full n Soft is also nice, as is Great Lash mascara (in the classic pink tube).
Larissa
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure." Rom 5:3

Proud Aunt to Jack Dorian, b. 3/06

[Fairy]

Well, I mirror you pretty closely, here. I love Kerastase. It's awesome stuff, truly. But I, too, have alot of hair, and just cannot afford to keep buying the stuff. My husband stays out of my skin/hair/makeup product choices, but if he knew how much I'd spent on this stuff he'd have a cow. So, I stick with the following for now, but ya gotta change it up every now and then:

* Aquage shampoo & conditioner
* There's a soy leave-in conditioner whose brand I forget, but it's great.
* Aquage gel
* Pantene shampoo & conditioner for variety (best of the cheap stuff, I think)

As for makeup, I'm also a Lancome girl, but I've recently shifted to lots of Mac. I use Definicils mascara, but I use mine till it's too clumpy, so I go way longer than once a month. I buy maybe 3 or 4 times a year, tops. Since I don't wear makeup every day, that makes it easier, too. I also love their eye paints mascara and Juicy Tubes. There's no better makeup remover than their bi-facil. However, I love Mac's eyeliners, lip glass, and traditional eye shadows. That said, party on, dude.

[Fairy]

Oh, also, I highly recommend In Style magazine's annual Best Beauty Buys issue. It's either the February or April issue each year,I forget. I tear those pages out and keep them all year long. They cover every part of skincare, makeup, and hair, including tools and testimonials from the experts in the entertainment industry. Now, are they consumer reports testing and scientifically "this is the very best, and here is why?" Heck, no. But taken for what its worth, I've found that most of their recommendations have been awesome. You can probably also find their Best Beauty Buys in basic form online at www.instyle.com if you do a search on their website.

[dhano923]

I really like the Kirkland brand Salon Shampoo and Conditioner! Sounds surprising, but it's actually very good stuff. My hair stylist always comments how healthy and shiny my hair is (I have dark, mid back length hair that's colored). It's 2 large pump bottles for about $6 -- can't beat that!

Twice a month, I deep condition with Terax brand conditioner. It's about $40 for a large tub at Sephora, but it lasts for months because you only need a little bit each time.

For mascara, I used to use MAC, but I switched to Bobbi Brown a few months ago. It lasts me a while too -- it gives good coverage, so you don't need to use as much. One tube lasts me 3 months or so.

[DDowning]

I'll add that I use BB everything mascara too - have used it for the past 3 years now. I just switched to her new "no-smudge" mascara. OMG - its fabulous!

[RwnMayfair]

Shampoo tends to alternate a bit between two brands (though I really like the Aveda stuff the best), but I really love the DuWop mascara (Lash Lacquer) I'm using right now. :) So far, it's been the least flaky (or whatever you'd like to call it) of those that I've tried. :)

-Melissa

Taran, November 20
Elowen, August 20

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[kijip]

I use Bed Head Manipulator for shampoo and conditioner. I tried a lot of dirt cheap brands for a long time and told myself that they were fine but honestly, they were not for my hair, especially if I was using other product. Since I switched a few months ago, I have noticed a huge improvement in my hair. I don't wash everyday, usually 3-4 times per week. I could not go without shampoo like I did once upon a time as I now gunk my hair up pretty heavily with gels/waxes/sprays for various things.

As for mascara, I don't use it. I am not much into makeup at all but frankly, I don't need it. Toby got his long lashes from me. ;)

[holliam]

Eileen, going to this method has been on our "to do" list for a while. We have been waiting to finish up our current hair products (Aveda and Biolage). So, you gave me the final push! :)

Holli

[mudder17]

Glad I could help. ;)

Eileen

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[elliput]

Currently I am using Fructis shampoo and conditioner - it seems to be doing okay. For quite a few years I had been using Pantene, but Sam's had big bottles of the Fructis so I decided to give it a try. I have past-my-butt long hair, so I like something that is going to condition well. :-)

Mascara, well, I think I have a tube of mascara. I don't wear makeup except on very, very, very special occaisions. Like once or twice a year, maybe.

[KBecks]

Suave, Suave, and Just for Redheads

I like suave because it's cheap, and the JFR because they have nice colors.

[elliput]

Okay, as a redhead, you have just piqued my interest. What is Just for Redheads?

[boolady]

I am a fairly recent convert to Bigelow Protein Enriched Shampoo and Conditioner. It has a subtle smell that is really good and seems to keep my hair, which is medium brown with highlights, much less dry than what I was using before. It's not that expensive-- I think the big bottle is $12, and it goes a long way.

I have stubby lashes, and have never been thrilled with mascara until 2 people recommended Loreal Double Extend mascara about a year ago. It is GREAT. It's a double ended tube with a white base coat you put on first, then go to the other end and put on the black or whatever you're using. The trick is to do white then black on one eye, then the other. I think the black adheres best when the white is still moist.

[hudsonam]

I color and/or highlight my hair, so I go back and forth between L'Oreal, Pantene, and Suave products for color treated hair. I just recently bought the Suave shampoo and conditioner that are supposed to be the same as John Freda for highlighted hair. I love them. I am a bit of a hair nut, always changing my style and obsessing over how it looks, and I think the drug store brands are just fine. The only way my hair looks really, really good (IMO) is when the stylist does it. ;)

As for mascara, I have been looking for a good one too. I use Great Lash by Maybelline sometimes, but right now I have a sample size Lancome, and I bought the brushless mascara from Bare Escentuals, but I'm not loving it yet. I think there's a learning curve. I also liked Maybelline Illegal Lengths when I had it. Good luck!

[DrSally]

I'v tried samples of Lancome mascara and really like it too, but can't bring myself to pay the price. Loreal makes great mascaras and Loreal owns Lancome, so they are similar. Check out Paula Begoun's "Don't go to the cosmetics counter without me", she tests and deconstructs all the makeup brands and tells you what's worth and and what's just hype. Many drugstore brands are just as good as the higher priced brands. She has a book on hair products too, and a website www.cosmeticscop.com, and newsletter.

[BeachBaby]

Well, I might not be much help because I actually use Kerastase's Elasto-Curl line on my TWO year old's hair. 8-O In my defense, though, she is bi-racial and has really dry, curly hair. The Kerastase does wonders for it. My husband had a heart attack when I first bought it, but it lasts a really long time so that helps a little.

Anyway, I would be careful if you want to try the no-poo thing. I'd ask your colorist if vinegar and the highlight chemicals are a good mix. I color my hair (all-over) and use Pureology, which is forumlated for colored hair and I really like it. I think it is less expensive than Kerastase, but still pricey. Another brand/line I've heard good things about is Nexxus Therappe/Humectress (sp?). I forget which one of those is the conditioner and which is the shampoo, but my Costco carries the large size bottles in a set.

As for mascara, I've found a new one that I really like. It's the new Cover Girl ... Exact Lash maybe? It comes in a shiny purple tube. The brush is plastic or something, very different from a normal mascara brush and it seems to clump less.

HTH!
Megan

[saschalicks]

I have the shampoo problem in that I have YET to find one I like. My next is to is to try Aveda.

Mascara on the other had I am an expert (self professed however :) ). I love MAC it's great. Prescriptives is my new favorite, this is great lengthening. I am currently on Stila mascara and got a compliment just the other day on my lashes. I like, but I don't love it. If you're looking for something new I would try MAC or Prescriptives and they last a really long time.

On another note you should know that Lancome is the same as Revlon (same maker) so if you love Lancome then just buy Revlon and you're all set.

[Corie]

I'm not going to be much help but I use Suave shampoo
and my daughter's conditioner. (Johnson's Buddies No Tangles
Easy Comb Conditioner)

And, I don't wear any mascara. But, I never leave the
house without my Bobbi Brown "Raisin" lipstick on! :)
I LOVE lipstick!

[brittone2]

I'm another "no pooer". :) It works better for me than even the pricier shampoos and conditioners, but took some tweaking. I definitely think my hair is healthier.

I use baking soda and white vinegar. ACV and my hair don't agree for some reason ;)

You didn't ask this, but I use coconut oil to clean my face (you can google "oil cleansing method" or OCM), and it works better than any of the (VERY) expensive face products I used at one time.

[KBecks]

Its a brand sold online and thru catalog.. made by a redhead w/coloring for redheads. I like the mascara but tried a lipstick and didnt like the color. Google for the site.

I might go to great lash since my tube is getting old, but I like the brown and tan shades at JFR. The red shade felt orange to me.

nak

[dhano923]

Lancome is the high end version of Loreal, not Revlon. My DH works for their parent company and they carry both brands in their company store. :)

[saschalicks]

Sorry! Thanks for the update!

[Tracey]

I'm intrigued by the no-poo. What are the proportions you use? Do you mix it in the shower? Anywhere you can direct me for more info?

Also, I didn't want to add to that long thread, but I wanted to add that I'm really pulling for you and the embies.

[bostonsmama]

So funny....I'm actually heading to my mom's today, so I'm figuring out a neat way to pack up my baking soda and vinegar!!

I just fill two cups and take them with me into the shower (one baking soda, one white vinegar). I thoroughly saturate my hair with water until it's sopping. With my finger tips, I grab a teaspoon of BS and rub it in a circular motion into a 4 inch square section of my scalp at the roots of my hair follicles. I repeat until I've "scrubbed in" my entire scalp, from front of forehead to nape of neck and towards the ears on the side. It takes about 2 minutes to get a good scrub. Then, I take the vinegar cup and gently poor a little bit into the roots until it gets foamy. I use about 1/2 cup to saturate everything, then I rinse out for a minute or two until it's nice and clean. I follow up with a 1/2 cup vinegar rinse over the shaft/ends of hair and it makes it instantly smooth (closes cuticle) in my hands. Then I rinse again w/ warm water. Sometimes I'll skip the V rinse and use my Dove conditioner, which isn't as bad as most conditioners from a toxic standpoint. I haven't cheated yet...but I'm close! Sigh.

You could also start w/ a mashed banana (or ripe avocado) and olive oil mask on your hair to deep condition it and then rinse it out and do the BS wash. There are lots of cool treatments for hair that are all-natural and actually more effective than the waxy OTC stuff on the market. My hair gets major build-up, so I avoid most heavy conditioners.

Anyways...it's working...and it cleans my bathroom while I wash!!! It's like I don't have to worry about build-up, and as the baking soda washes down the drain of the shower, I rub my foot over it and laugh that I'm cleaning the tub!!! LOL!

Larissa
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure." Rom 5:3

Proud Aunt to Jack Dorian, b. 3/06

[mudder17]

In addition to what Larissa said, here are some links for other info, especially because everyone's hair needs are different so there may be different solutions for you:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/No_poo/
http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/1-nb/53-no-shampoo.htm
http://community.livejournal.com/naturalfamily/53928.html

I read up a lot in the second two links to start experimenting with my own hair. Then I went to the yahoo group and posted some of my specific needs and some people helped me figure out my own needs. Larissa, is there a difference in how ACV and white vinegar will treat with your hair? I use ACV.

Hope this helps!

Eileen

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[mudder17]

Hmm...maybe I should try the coconut oil cleansing in the winter. I've been mostly using ACV/water with a touch of TTO for my face and it's done a great job. But every once in a while (and I'm thinking I may need to do it more often in the winter), I like to do an oil cleansing to restore the moisture. I've been using Apricot oil, but I do also have coconut oil.

And FWIW, my face hasn't broken out this pregnancy at all vs. the last pregnancy when I hadn't discovered all this natural stuff. :)

Eileen

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[spanannie]

I'm just curious...does the vinegar smell stick around? I know when I use it for cleaning something the smell stays on my hands.

[bostonsmama]

Not really. They "say" if it does then you're using too much. I've been refining my technique as have others, so I'm considering using a vinegar/water solution. But if you rinse well, when you get out of the shower, once your hair starts to dry, it's gone. I don't know if I could walk around smelling like a pickle if it didn't! ;)

Or, as Eileen does, you can add an essential oil and/or try apple cider vinegar. I just use white b/c it's cheap, I have it on hand (a gallon), and it's working fine.

Larissa
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure." Rom 5:3

Proud Aunt to Jack Dorian, b. 3/06

[JenniferMC1971]

I never buy any makeup or hair products without a recommendation from Paula Begoun anymore. She's a kind of consumer advocate for beauty products and evaluates and reviews products. She can tell you what drugstore brand product is almost identical to a department store product. Her website is www.cosmeticscop.com, and she has several books that you can find on amazon.com

So, based on her recommendations, I use Suave Daily Clarifying and sometimes Aveda Pure Abundance Voluminizing Shampoo or Shampure if I feel like spluring. For conditioner, I use Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner.

-Jennifer