Budget-Friendly Beauty: My Top 5 Drugstore Haircare Products

Bren — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:14:08 -0700

I love my hair. In years past, I have been known to spend hundreds of dollars to get juuuuust the right cut, texture, and color. But now? Well, now I spend all my money on gas and cute shoes, but I still get compliments on my hair all the time - and here's a secret: all my hair products cost under $7 bucks. Who doesn't love a drugstore deal?

Goin' the drugstore route doesn't mean skimping on quality. If you compare the ingredients in the bottles, a lot of times they are the same exact ones. From what I understand, "salon quality" just means higher concentrates of the ingredients - but there's really not a big difference. So check out what I consider the top products in the drugstore aisles.

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner
I totally fell in love with Herbal Essences after they revamped their products (the "totally organic experience" thing just didn't work for me). They now have an entire line of fresh and fun hair products for different woes, everything from dry hair to normal hair to breaking hair to long hair. I'm partial to the Hello Hydration line in the fun blue bottles. They smell DELICIOUS, work just as well as salon products, and at under $5 a pop for a 40oz bottle, totally budget friendly. ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream, Sleek & Shine
I love this so much I travel with it, lest I have to shower somewhere and, God forbid, be without this miracle product. Hey, I used to have triple-processed platinum panels in my hair... And now my hair is a soft black shade. So believe me when I say my hair has been around the block quite a few times. This stuff has replenished the moisture, kept my ends from splitting, and smoothed the fly-aways from all the breakage I've incurred. It lasts forever, smells pretty neutral, and isn't a pain in the wallet to replenish. Loves it! ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Tousled Tresses Fine-Mist Wax
When I bought this, I was blonde, but switched it up in-between uses and wasn't about to throw out perfectly good product. Worked like a dream, so brunettes, please keep reading. I went through every single drugstore product that had the words "paste," "wax," "pomade," or "putty" in the title. The one thing they had in common? They all left my hair gunky, heavy, dirty, or gross. But this stuff is bottled perfection: amps up the texture, brings out my layers, easy to use, totally hooks it up with that edgy, piecey look that's always in style. ($5.99 - Won Allure's Best of Beauty Award; easier to find online than in stores)

Sunsilk Waves of Envy, Sea Mist
I love this stuff so much I already wrote a full article on it. It's that good. I know a lot of Sparkle Divas prefer the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, but I think it's way too little product for way too much price, especially if you have to replenish often - and it's drying. The Sunsilk Sea Mist gives the right amount of texture, is SO good on the go (I keep mine in my car), and generally rocks my short-haired and tousled world. ($3.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask
My flat iron is my best friend. We hang out together, go through products together, travel to far off places together. But it's a co-dependent relationship: I rely on my HAI to keep me smooth, while it sucks the moisture out of my hair. Neutrogena has come to my rescue again and again with this deep recovery hair mask - I simply lather it on once a week, leave it in while I watch Sex and the City reruns, then rinse it out and bam! Soft lustrous hair again, no mayo needed. ($6.99, available at drugstores nationwide)

What drugstore haircare products do you think are to die for? Any other suggestions / recommendations?

Beach Hair (Minus the Sand in your Suit!)

Bren — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:25:04 -0700

A few years ago, John Frieda broke my heart. He smashed it into a billion tiny little pieces. And I've refused to forgive him - until now.

You see, back in the day, he abruptly discontinued my favorite hair product - without notice! He might as well have stolen my Manolos for all the anguish he put me through! When I noticed the product was becoming harder and harder to find, I emailed the company, demanding to know who had taken my baby hostage. Well, I was sorely heartbroken when I was told it had been given its "Dear John" letter (or in this case, 'From John') and would never return, EVER. They told me to use instead their Brilliant Brunette Starlit Waves Wave Enhancing Spray (which, by the way, has since been discontinued as well). Ugh, as if!

Upon receiving that initial e-mail, I scoured every beauty and drug store in my area (and some not in my area) to find any remaining product. I ended up empty-handed, going home without my coveted John Frieda Beach Blonde Ocean Waves Sea Spray.

Sigh.... Remember this magical elixir that smelled like summer and worked like a dream? Of course you do! The outrageous prices on ebay will confirm as much. Who wouldn't still fantasize and shell out the big bucks for this great product? All my curly-haired friends loved this product, all my wavy-haired friends swore by it. And me? With my super-straight, crazy-thick, can't-hold-a-curl-to-save-its-life hair? Completely addicted to it! It gave my hair that sexy, surfer, straight-from-the-beach look, and it cancelled out my need for any perfume because of its delectable scent.

Sure, I've used other "similar" products, but they just weren't the same. Some were too sticky, too salty, too drying. Some were just plain too expensive. I even tried making my own version - water, coconut oil, and sea salt. And sure, it worked, but it just didn't feel right. Until now!

Now, I can forget all about that discontinued product, because Sunsilk has come to my rescue. They've hit the scene with their Waves of Envy Sea Mist, which I affectionately refer to as "my knight in shining armor." For those days when I'm just too lazy to blow-dry or flat-iron my hair (most days), this stuff is my one way ticket to instant hotness. It gives you that stylishly wild "just hit the beach" look, minus the hassle of sand in your suit and those pesky tanlines.

It also works great when I'm rushing out of my swim class to my English class. I just shake it up, spray it through my hair (it can be used on wet, damp, or dry hair; I've noticed that damp works best), muss it up with my hands and sail out the door. Perfectly tousled, for that "I look this good and didn't even have to try" look, a la Jennifer Aniston. Of course, you can use it with your hair dryer or diffuser as well, to up the glam factor. And at only $3-4 a bottle, available at any drug or beauty store, it's easy to come by and won't break your bank. Definitely my kind of hair-apy.

(Note: Any product that claims to give you beachy hair is probably going to have salt, which can be drying for your hair. Combat this by combing a leave-in conditioner through your hair first!)

sunsilk

Budget-Friendly Beauty: My Top 5 Drugstore Haircare Products

What drugstore haircare products do you think are to die for? Any other suggestions / recommendations?

Beach Hair (Minus the Sand in your Suit!)

A few years ago, John Frieda broke my heart. He smashed it into a billion tiny little pieces. And I've refused to forgive him - until now.