Sulfates are one of the reasons I know that people switch to no shampoo method. And within her link on my first post of this thread, she references many low sulfate shampoos, if you want alternatives. I am still a huge fan of the no shampoo method. Works wonders.

I use sulfate- free shampoo (L’Oreal Volumizing) and there are suds. I like it just fine. Just Google sulfate free shampoos and you can come up with several reasonably priced brands. I believe Argan makes one. I bought mine at Target but just happened to be there.

Sulfates can strip your hair of all sorts of things, including color so I chose to switch a few years ago.

I use Pureology, It lathers just fine. The secret is use far less than with cheap shampoos and use more water to get the lather going. A little bit of shampoo goes a long way. I have hair just below my shoulders too. No short hair.

I used to think it was expensive. But I pay under around 90 dollars for the salon sized bottles with the pump and they last me well over a year. That is for shampoo and condition both. I used to spend a whole lot more buying drugstore shampoo and conditioner. works out to around 7.00 or less a month to shampoo and conditioner my hair. I wash my hair every three days.

i used Redkin’s products for a few years, not my favorite brand, but it’s what’s popular in the salons right now and I figured it was for a reason.

I too found that most of their shampoos don’t lather well but they do get your hair clean. I also noticed that after this last change in their packaging, my hair seemed kind of dry (like maybe they changed the formula as well?); I honestly wasn’t sure if it was me or the shampoo though.

Recently I decided to try some other products and to my surprise I really like the Bed Head Shampoo and Conditioners. When I told the gal who cuts my hair, she said they are one of her personal favorites as well. Their prices are much easier to swallow and their packaging is much more generous too. I kind of resented that Redkin’s prices keep going up at the same time that their packaging is shrinking.

The Matrix brand has a sulfure free shampoo that worked great for my hair, pricing is about the same but I do think the bottles are larger.

edited to change commentary.

I use L'Oreal Ever Pure sulfate free Blonde shampoo (it keeps gray hair from being brassy). It's about $7.00 a bottle from Amazon.

My salon uses Redkin but the most of the products just don't work for me. They seem to coarsen my hair. On the other hand my hair doesn't like Argan Oil either. Just a few drops and my hair becomes completely fly away with static electricity within a few hours. Weird. But even my hairdresser noticed.

That should help your color last longer, Lucille. And you should feel a difference in your hair as well.

I've been using Biolage Matrix for the last month and what a difference!! My hair hasn't been this "clean" or healthy in years. I bought it at Christmas because the salon was having a BOGO. I went back and bought 2 more! Came out to $6 a bottle which, I felt, was a great price. AND I'm stocked for the year.

I really like Bed Head shampoo and conditioner... I still find swapping out 'poos and conditioners helps my hair look it's best when it starts dulling... not sure why.

Please stay away from Wen, which is purported to be sulfate free... my SIL gave it to me a couple years ago and I tried it maybe 3 times, each time left me with lank, greasy hair that still felt dry somehow (has alcohol in it). Now apparently Wen has caused extreme hair loss in so many women there's a class action lawsuit, and the FDA says Wen has "the largest number of [safety] reports ever associated with any cosmetic hair cleansing product." and they started investigating it a couple years ago, I think. Thankfully, I never used it again. My SIL swore by it... but then, she doesn't like me, so I gotta wonder...

I really like Bed Head shampoo and conditioner... I still find swapping out 'poos and conditioners helps my hair look it's best when it starts dulling... not sure why.

I could have written the above too. My favorite was Bed Head's Moisture Maniac, but I don't know if they still make it. I can't justify spending that much on shampoo anymore, so I've been using Suave, Garnier, and Aussie shampoos for several years. (I don't use conditioner.) Happy with them.

Thank y'all for the suggestions of brands to go to and also to stay away from. The bottle of Redken shampoo is 33 ounces or about a quart. If I use less than usual that should last quite a while and then I will try some of y'all's suggestions.

Alisande I googled MM, they do still make it, and I like BedHead products.

One way to get more suds is to rub the shampoo between your hands before putting it on your hair. I do not know the why this happens but if you notice the people at the salon almost always do this.

The reasoning behind changing shampoos is that every shampoo leaves a small amount of residue on your hair. Conditioner really leaves a residue. A difference between now and then is that salons used to get your hair squeaky clean. If you rubbed your wet hair between your fingers it would squeak.

Bed Head here.

Redken user here - for about the last 4 decades ;0) And I do color. It's not as dramatic as your red but still expensive - mostly though, I have manageable hair using Redken and haven't found reason to change.

Used to use Redken, Matrix Biolage, and BedHead but for the past year or so I've been using It's a Ten products and like them very much. I use the shampoo with keratin.

It's my experience that any shampoo that's diluted with water (pre-application) performs better.

Also the kind of water you have greatly affects performance. I used to live in a place that only cheap-o V05 would work...so it's a ymmv kind of thing.

It's a psychological thing that we need bubbles to clean....one that I can't get past, myself...

TIP: I used to add a little of my color du jour to my conditioner to keep the color bright. Just the tint, though, NOT the developer.

I used Redken Clear Moisture Shampoo for years (it's been discontinued). I read that Kim Kardashian likes Finesse Moisturizing Shampoo, so I tried it. I like it and it's cheap. Lots of lather. My hair is colored and with highlights. The bottle says that it is safe for color-treated hair. So far it's been great.

LOL OJ! My husband claims that his hair on top has gone 'clear' :-)

I can only use Suave shampoos due to skin sensitivities to anything with oils. I don't color since my natural color is already close to gray anyway. Back in the day, I was a Suicide Blond.

My favorite shampoo for colored hair. Bonus, very inexpensive.

i also use Loreal, Everpure sulfate free. very happy with it. i also heard that sulfates are not good for your hair or your color

Bubbles don't clean. They bubble. Cleansers clean. We've been led to believe that the sudsier a cleanser is, the better it works. NOT TRUE. So your hair will be clean. :)

PK, clear....too funny

Lathering doesn't do you any favors. Once you get used to it, you don't miss it. I use the new sulfite Aveda.

I have used others. All costly. But I see a difference. If you are mindful, a regular size bottle can last. Also, no need to shampoo every day unless you are in a heavy sweating situation.

A baking soda user here. Make a paste out of baking soda with some water, rub into the scalp and let sit a few minutes. Rinse thoroughly. For a rinse/conditioner, use diluted cider vinegar. I've been doing this for 1 1/2 years. No shampoo, period.

Rob333 and a couple of others here have used this 'recipe' as well.

I was interested once in the baking soda as shampoo...I even spoke to Amiees derm about it. I was told it's fine to use occasionally to remove hair product build-up.But continue to use as a shampoo can strip all the oils from your scalp causing dry scalp dry hair and even hair that breaks. Maybe my research was wrong...not all doctors are 100% correct about everything and we know Google can be a good starting point with research but most of what's posted online is opinions and not fact. Elmer opened my eyes to that so I payed more attention in my research and realized I was reading a whole lotta opinions and a whole lotta less facts.

You have to be fairly vigilant for the baking soda thing. There are ways to balance too much oil loss, etc. on her site that works wonders. It's more about balance than it is about routines. It works so well, I quit having any tangles. When I pull out a hair band, it doesn't even need to be coated, it comes out without hair pulling or tangling. I'm better off going this route. I've been doing it for many years. I've lost track of how many.

A couple of people here said Redken was to them, somewhat drying. So I went to pick out a conditioner. I had to go to Walmart anyway so went to look there, there is around 20 linear feet in the hair care aisle devoted to conditioners. So I narrowed it down by first finding which were sulfate free, and then which were moisturizing, and for colored hair. I finally ended up with Ever Pure by Loreal. Not expensive at all.

I have heard some people mock the plethora of products saying they are all the same. But they are not, not even remotely. I really when I was a teenager using Prell, that got my hair clean but I don't think it was very gentle, I imagine that something like that might not be gentle enough for colored hair.

Hopefully the shampoo gets delivered today and I can try them both.

The biggest hair problem in this house is my ten-year-old Tim who has oily hair. I've been told tea tree oil shampoo but he has a skin allergy to tea tree oil. Than I was told any shampoo thats labled clarifying so I've tried a bunch of them with no luck. He can wash his hair and 3 hours later it needs another shampoo.

I remember when shampoos were labled for dry, normal or oily...not any longer.

Anyone know a good shampoo for oily heads?

It's probably because he's 10, mampinky0...

Also, work too hard to remove an issue and your body will overcompensate to "correct" what you're doing. You may need to simply use baby shampoo and use a wait-and-see approach (if you can stand it...)

Just a general comment:

I have started buying more expensive shampoos and am not sure if this would work for everyone but it seems to work for me. I have always lathered, rinsed and repeated (I shampoo twice), so .......

I first shampoo with a cheap brand (Suave, VO5). Then I use my expensive shampoo. My hair seems to reflect the second shampoo I use. Makes it last longer.

I also shampoo every other day, unless I am sweaty or it is a special occasion.

Penny's comment about overcompensating is spot on. Very right!

Thanks Penny. I agree.

Tackycat...Tim prewashes his hair. He uses Kirks bar soap for the prewash than whatever shampoo he grabs.

I suspect Tims oily head is hormone related since he's also developed oily face and ZITS.....OMG maybe he's in the first stage of puberty. He is in another growing spurt...size 9&1/2 men's shoe now.....he's 10...

Mamapinky when I was a teen and sometimes tended toward oiliness I used Prell, not sure if they still make it.

They still make Prell. May not make any difference but goes with the above overcompensating suggest to young Tim he do an experiment. If he washes his hair every day have him experiment every other day with a warm water rinse on the days between. Present it to him as he is doing an experiment rather than just telling him to do it. My husband had somewhat oily scalp and that is what his stylist suggested. She also suggested that after the final rinse using cold water to do another rinse as it helps close the pores on the body.

The Wen comment interested me. A relative gave my daughter and me each a Wen product for Xmas last year. I think mine is a conditioner, but I heard vague negative reports about this product, told my daughter and neither of us used it. I'll have to google it.

mamapinky, I am sorry I did not have a solution to your question. my comment was a more general response to the OP on the topic of shampoo.

I tried the Redken and EverPure, they are terrific.

lily316, from what I understand, but don't know as a fact, WEN is now 'compensating' hair loss sufferers. Not sure how old some of this is, but here are some links:

FDA Information for Consumers About WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioners

FDA: Cosmetics; Hair Products

WEN Hair Loss Scandal

I read other info, but the FDA website seems to be the most valid. Sorry, not feeling well this week. I'd stop using it, though.

Thanks for the links. I never used it and told my daughter not to so we didn't. I remember hearing all this praise about it and seeing infomercials too, and then from somewhere, I heard about lawsuits. I'll read these. Thanks again.

I don't know what to think of the WEN allegations. I'm sure that some people could have experienced hair loss and may or may not be related to using WEN. I find myself often reading shampoo and conditioner reviews and I swear there isn't one brand that I have not seen at least one person claiming their hair fell out in huge clumps from the product. Most recently I was a review about Pureology shampoo, a lady swears her hair started to fall out in huge clumps but as soon as she stopped using it, her hair stopped falling out. What causes this? I don't believe it's specific to WEN...I just think it's some sort of an allergic reaction and lots of products could potentially cause it. I would not be afraid to use WEN.

Also, hair sheds naturally, and we all go through shedding periods, that's normal.

I think the allegations and investigations on WEN by the FDA had more to do with the abnormally high number of complaints received. Not saying the allegations were/are true, but I remember when women complained about silicone implants, and they went ignored for far too long before anyone did anything about it.

I also remember when a medication initially meant for humans but was reported by physicians to the FDA as having too many serious side affects was then targeted and prescribed for dogs by the drug manufacturer to keep from losing money. FDA received an unusually high amount of complaints for that as well and told Veterinarians in the US they had to include "death" as a side effect - many ignored that policy - still do. It's still used on dogs, many with no issues whatsoever, but for one of my dogs as well as a friend's dog (both different breeds, different sizes)... it was their death sentence.

I see no reason to jump on the 'fear' wagon, but why take chances if you don't have to? Too many shampoos out there that'll work.