Show me your hair-care product hoard!

[xanthochromia]

There was one time when I really wished I had had a hoard -- Lush made a shampoo called Jersey Bounce that I absolutely loved. It worked so well on my hair and I bought it one-at-a-time for around 3 years. Then one time I got a new container and the texture was just a little different. I also started feeling vaguely ill a week or so later and couldn't figure out why. I idly read the ingredients list in the shower one day and realized what had happened: they had changed the formula to make it vegan, replacing the eggs with wheat gluten! This would work for most people, but not for me as I have celiac disease. If I had known and if it had been a product with a longer expiration time, I absolutely would have hoarded a bunch of it. Between favorite products that we worry will be discontinued and products that seem promising but don't work out, I can imagine it being very easy to acquire a lot. My minimalist regimen is already beginning to change, as I have recently ordered 3 new products to add to my 4-product collection. I do try to minimize packaging in my life, but it's very difficult with cosmetics....

[KameRose]

There is a reason that there is an entire aisle, sometimes two, at drug stores that are just dedicated to hair care. The one size fits all mentality doesn't work for hair care. You have all these factors, personal body chemistry(like dandruff, oily or waxy build up, etc), what else you do to your hair(like coloring, blow drying, etc), personal preference(do you like your hair to have 'body' or do you like it sleek/flat, how dry/oily you like your hair), and the frequency in which you plan to wash your hair. I personally stay away from any product that says anything about adding volume. I also alternate which products I use based on how oily/dry my hair is, how long it's been since my last wash, how long I plan to wait until my next wash, and of course my general mood.

I'm with Ylva on this, drugstore price points is where my budget lies. I think I've only ever seen like one shampoo bar ever in person, and definitely never seen a conditioner bar. Until such items become mainstream and readily available I am still going to be buying and using the more conventional products.

And yes I recycle my containers too. Even go as far as fishing out containers from others in my household and making sure it gets rinsed out and ends up in the right receptacle.

Eventually I would like to cut my hoard down to only three of each kind of product, shampoo, conditioner, leave in, mask, oil, however it will probably take several years before I can confidently figure out which products I can rely on. And then that's if they don't go discontinuing one of them on me, or changing formulas.

Okay that reads kind of scatter brained LOL.

[lapushka]

Sadly, stuff like this is not available everywhere, and it tends to be much more expensive than regular drugstore stuff. Acquiring such products is not realistic for me. However, I'm not wasteful with anything, and I recycle all my plastic. That's as good as it gets for me at this point in time.

Same here. I think for the "regular" consumer, meaning most people, plastic bottles are just a necessity, as is plastic wrapping for some things in the produce section.

This is awfully off track, but vegetables used to be in a sort of shrink wrap, some still are. There is this lady coming to our Aldi about weekly, supposedly (with permission) plucking the bad leaves off of the produce to feed it to her animals. She gets it for free. But she just plucks good vegetables about 1/3rd away too, and that just annoys the crap out of me. She would not be able to do this if the vegetables were still in packaging! Some things are just for the hygiene and safety of the consumer too.

[Feral_]

Sadly, stuff like this is not available everywhere, and it tends to be much more expensive than regular drugstore stuff. Acquiring such products is not realistic for me. However, I'm not wasteful with anything, and I recycle all my plastic. That's as good as it gets for me at this point in time.

Yes, unfortunately that’s true, Ylva. I know you’re not wasteful, seen you post about using shampoo as body wash etc. It would be nice if companies made it affordable.

There is a reason that there is an entire aisle, sometimes two, at drug stores that are just dedicated to hair care. The one size fits all mentality doesn't work for hair care. You have all these factors, personal body chemistry(like dandruff, oily or waxy build up, etc), what else you do to your hair(like coloring, blow drying, etc), personal preference(do you like your hair to have 'body' or do you like it sleek/flat, how dry/oily you like your hair), and the frequency in which you plan to wash your hair. I personally stay away from any product that says anything about adding volume. I also alternate which products I use based on how oily/dry my hair is, how long it's been since my last wash, how long I plan to wait until my next wash, and of course my general mood.

I'm with Ylva on this, drugstore price points is where my budget lies. I think I've only ever seen like one shampoo bar ever in person, and definitely never seen a conditioner bar. Until such items become mainstream and readily available I am still going to be buying and using the more conventional products.

And yes I recycle my containers too. Even go as far as fishing out containers from others in my household and making sure it gets rinsed out and ends up in the right receptacle.

Eventually I would like to cut my hoard down to only three of each kind of product, shampoo, conditioner, leave in, mask, oil, however it will probably take several years before I can confidently figure out which products I can rely on. And then that's if they don't go discontinuing one of them on me, or changing formulas.

Okay that reads kind of scatter brained LOL.

Hmmm at the risk of sounding like an old fart lol, KameRose it wasn’t that many years ago there weren’t all those products, yet people’s hair still looked good with a basic anti-dandruff shampoo, cheap conditioner, some curl cream or gel. Heck I’m not using anything and mines just fine! No the real reason there’s so many is purely marketing and supply-demand.

It’s not just hair care - there are 39 different varieties of Colgate toothpaste. All just to brush your teeth. Most people do not have several different toothpastes on the go in their home though

[lakhesis]

I have seen some pouches of shampoo and conditioner, but I’m not sure what they’re made of. Some companies like L’Occitane use glass. And some stores have refill stations, a health food shop in my nearest town has this. There’s also shampoo bars, conditioner bars. It’s good you’re recycling yours, lapushka. There’s just so many different products available now, and I wonder if there’s really the need? Obviously it’s supply and demand or they wouldn’t be made / marketed.



Please know that I’m not judging your purchases lakhesis. Nor am I suggesting folk do NWSO. I just fail to see how one person (and I use the term to mean anyone) can amass so many different products for their hair, when they can only use one shampoo conditioner and mask at a time. Use that, then when it’s nearly empty buy another, either same brand or a different one. I guess I just don’t understand the whole product whoring thing

If you have tips, I am genuinely interested. Most of my skin care is in glass bottles, however I don't think it is a good idea to have a glass bottles in the shower. I was using refill station for shower gels - which is more expensive than buying a new one. But I've moved and I don't have any near me now. Plus I am quite sure they did not have a refill for conditioner? Some of the Nature Box and Balea packaging comes from recycled plastic, which I think is a way to go. Also buying local brands.

Although I do give in into trying new products pretty often, most of my hoard comes from buying heavily discounted items. I've never had a hair care product go bad and I don't think I own more than what I am going to use. It's not any more wasteful than buying a new conditioner every time I run out.

[Feral_]

If you have tips, I am genuinely interested. Most of my skin care is in glass bottles, however I don't think it is a good idea to have a glass bottles in the shower. I was using refill station for shower gels - which is more expensive than buying a new one. But I've moved and I don't have any near me now. Plus I am quite sure they did not have a refill for conditioner? Some of the Nature Box and Balea packaging comes from recycled plastic, which I think is a way to go. Also buying local brands.

Although I do give in into trying new products pretty often, most of my hoard comes from buying heavily discounted items. I've never had a hair care product go bad and I don't think I own more than what I am going to use. It's not any more wasteful than buying a new conditioner every time I run out.

I’m very low maintenance and DIY lakhesis so really not the best person to advise! I try to buy local and use containers that are recyclable like aluminium / glass. I use locally made bar soap for washing in the shower, instead of shower gel (3 big bars for £10, last me 5 months). No hair products obvs!

Skincare, it’s oils to face cleanse, always done OCM (I buy oils from local health shop, mix and keep in a reused small aluminium pump bottle). I use the same oil mix as a body moisturiser after a shower or in the bath. I have a large jar of shea butter I keep in the fridge, then decant some into a little tin to use in the bathroom as a combined moisturiser, hand cream, lip balm. One children’s spf 50 sunscreen (plastic tube). One local natural deodorant in a tin. One glass bottle of Nuxe multipurpose dry oil. Toothpaste & dental tape.

I realise this personally suits my lifestyle and is not suitable for others. However I think as long as you’re actually using what you buy, and recycling where you can then you’re doing good