Using the same Poo/Condish for year(s)?

[Ashflower89]

I didn't put this in the Conventional Products forum because it isn't really about a specific product.

Over the years I've always been told to change up my shampoo + conditioner set pretty often, and the only reason given was that "your hair gets used to the same stuff and it stops working as well". Not a very good answer but I bought it for years. I still switch shampoo + conditioner after each bottle now, and I only buy the small bottles, but mostly because I like trying new scents.

Lately its been hit-or-miss when it comes to trying a new kind, sometimes I really regret bothering to try a new one at all and should have just stuck with what worked. Do any of you stick with the same shampoo and/or conditioner for long periods of time? Or even refuse to use any other? Do you really think your hair "gets used to it" and it stops working like it did? Or do you maybe just switch it up for a new scent and no other reason?

Right now my two go-to sets that my hair always loves are Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and Honey I'm Strong. Tousle Me Softly was an old favorite from 2011(favorite smell), but after trying it again recently it dried the bajesus out of my hair. I'm trying out De-damage Hydralicious right now because the berry scent is sooooo nice. :o

[AJNinami]

I think the issue that people run into with using one product for a long time is related more to product buildup and lifestyle than hair "getting used to it". I use products for a very long time and when they stop working it's usually because I've moved and my water hardness has changed or I've been doing something else different with my hair.

[Baby]

I switch ever so often due to wanting to try different scents and different brands and due to season change, my hair wants different things in different seasons. In winter I have to use oilier conditioners and absolutley no glycerol or there will be static and frizz and in the summer I need lighter products. But I keep away from the same ingredients, no mineral oils, silicones or hydrolyzed anything and no glycerol in winter, and I use sls-free shampoos mostly. When I look for new things to try I usually look for the same set of ingredients.
Right now there is sort of spring in the air so I have been able to use products with glycerol, I use a sls-free shampoo from Dr. Organics(Rose) and switch between two conditioners, one from Desert Essence(Raspberry) and one from Faith in Nature(fragrance free).
If I use a product with proteins (hydrolyzed anything) once, my hair gets bouncy and lovely but if I use it twice without clarifying my hair becomes a tangly mess so I generally avoid that unless I go to a wedding or a "dress your best" party. If I notice buildup I use a mild sls-shampoo from Urtekram and then I continue as usual.

Sometimes I experiment with using clay, hearbs, oils, wo, acv etc. because I like the idea of not having to buy ready made products and use natural stuff instead but the results are never really satisfactory to me.

I think that they recomend swithing it up because of buildup. I remember before I learned about ingredients I had a shampoo and conditioner set that I used, It worked wonders in my hair at first but then it just became stickier and stickier until it felt like I had not washed my hair at all. It got really gross and I had no idea why, now I know that it was because it was mineral oils in both the shampoo and the conditioner and it never rinsed out, it just build up. When I swithed shampoo it went away.

[Plix]

Did you try a all natural brand? I use one part of my rotation and love it.

[Nique1202]

I can't imagine putting my hair through the horrors of trying to find new products again. Find something that makes your hair feel good, and clarify when your hair stops feeling good to reset the clock. As AJNinami pointed out, using the same products for a while can lead to buildup, but most people don't think of it that way so they switch products instead of clarifying, which sometimes fixes the problem and sometimes makes it worse.

[lapushka]

Lately its been hit-or-miss when it comes to trying a new kind, sometimes I really regret bothering to try a new one at all and should have just stuck with what worked. Do any of you stick with the same shampoo and/or conditioner for long periods of time? Or even refuse to use any other? Do you really think your hair "gets used to it" and it stops working like it did? Or do you maybe just switch it up for a new scent and no other reason?

My fave is the Pantene Aqua Light, and I use that pretty much all the time. Sometimes I switch it up. But my hair needs either Pantene or HE, because they are the only shampoos on the market that contain both SLS & SLES (& CB). I need that with my SD if I am to last a week with no washing.

It is also said on this site not to "experiment" too much. So... I don't think you need to switch it up that much, just MO.

[MadHouseWitch]

Well, I've pretty much been using the same S&C since at least 2012! And I'm not about to change it since it WORKS! I went to a sulfate free and I'm NOT going back from that LOL
the only changes have been what "product" I use in my hair. Which has gone from aloe, to flax seed gel or nothing at all. I don't really care for conventional curl stuff but I did get some from a friend and use occasionally (but it is coney) I can get the same results from other natural things

And I've added in a VO5 for co washes and or henna rinsing (since I don't want to use my "good" stuff to co wash out the henna) but if it weren't for specific things I'd not have introduced that into my routine.

I had to buy a different type of the same brand last time because the store was out of the one I normally buy.
All in all though I'm happy I've been happy and I'm not changing it!

I'm not generally a fan of the "switch out your products" though. Think I read somewhere once it was a load of BS. BUT you do have to not have buildup-y products. And I still think a clarifier would work instead of a change up. I grew up with the advice of changing products and I never understood it AT ALL LOL

[lapushka]

I'm not generally a fan of the "switch out your products" though. Think I read somewhere once it was a load of BS. BUT you do have to not have buildup-y products. And I still think a clarifier would work instead of a change up. I grew up with the advice of changing products and I never understood it AT ALL LOL

Yes, I think that myth of having to "rotate" your S/C comes from possible build-up being present and it not washing out. BUT if you know about silicones and how to get them out and you stick to a sulfate routine, I think there is no issue at all if you keep using the same products.

[lithostoic]

If it works, it works.

[meteor]

^ Yes, if it works, it works. :agree:
I agree with AJNinami and others, those potential problems are more about build-up, and I don't see how hair can "get used to" a product in another way. If a lot of conditioning ingredients are layered on top of each other without proper clarifying, the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in and, after a while, it won't look/feel as great and there might be issues with tangling, grabby or lank texture, etc. And if the shampoo is too stripping and used very frequently (and one doesn't replenish length with conditioning/oiling), it gets worse with time, as well.
If one isn't experiencing any of these problems, then great! :D I think it's best to avoid the whole build-up/clarify cycle - makes life much easier. ;)

I do rotate products quite a bit, but that's because I can get bored with the same products and haven't really experienced any irreplaceable holy grails.


If I use a product with proteins (hydrolyzed anything) once, my hair gets bouncy and lovely but if I use it twice without clarifying my hair becomes a tangly mess so I generally avoid that unless I go to a wedding or a "dress your best" party.

I experience the same with proteins! :agree: Great once in a blue moon, tangly and dry if over-used. It also seems to matter quite a bit for my hair whether the protein product is well-formulated and the protein size is small enough (e.g. silk, keratin, etc)


Right now my two go-to sets that my hair always loves are Herbal Essences Hello Hydration and Honey I'm Strong. Tousle Me Softly was an old favorite from 2011(favorite smell), but after trying it again recently it dried the bajesus out of my hair. I'm trying out De-damage Hydralicious right now because the berry scent is sooooo nice. :o

I'm curious: how do you like Hydralicious? :) How is it in terms of detangling power and compared to Hello Hydration? :)

[lapushka]

I'm curious: how do you like Hydralicious? :) How is it in terms of detangling power and compared to Hello Hydration? :)

Ooh, would love to know that too! :D

[Ashflower89]

I'm curious: how do you like Hydralicious? :) How is it in terms of detangling power and compared to Hello Hydration? :)

Actually, I've only used the set twice so far. The first time my hair came out very dry and frizzy, wasn't impressed at all. This second time, it came out shinier and less frizzy, but now that I'm on day 2 (i wash every other day), my scalp feels very oily and sort of goopy.

Then again it was very warm at work last night (dirty hot factory job), so its possible that its now warm enough for me to have to start washing daily again. I've tried really hard to stretch washes, but between the smokey smell of my factory and how sweaty I get working there, its just about impossible not to wash daily in warmer weather. I could only stretch it 2 days tops in the coldest of winter.

[lapushka]

Actually, I've only used the set twice so far. The first time my hair came out very dry and frizzy, wasn't impressed at all. This second time, it came out shinier and less frizzy, but now that I'm on day 2 (i wash every other day), my scalp feels very oily and sort of goopy.

Then again it was very warm at work last night (dirty hot factory job), so its possible that its now warm enough for me to have to start washing daily again. I've tried really hard to stretch washes, but between the smokey smell of my factory and how sweaty I get working there, its just about impossible not to wash daily in warmer weather. I could only stretch it 2 days tops in the coldest of winter.

For me, don't know about meteor, I'm only interested in the conditioner, how that compares to the HH. Is it more moisturizing, more detangling, or no? :)

[Ashflower89]

For me, don't know about meteor, I'm only interested in the conditioner, how that compares to the HH. Is it more moisturizing, more detangling, or no? :)

To me it feels like the same amount of detangling as HH. As far as moisturizing, it feels like it has less slip than HH, but thats about the only way I can tell a difference in moisture. It was weird that my hair came out frizzier the first use, then smoother the second. I guess it just didn't like the sudden change in product.