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)

herbal essences

Budget-Friendly Beauty: My Top 5 Drugstore Haircare Products

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