Why: Readers say, "This shampoo (with its matching conditioner) actually seemed to dry my hair out even more. You'd think that a product that's supposed to inhibit breakage would help moisturize the hair, but this really didn't at all. In addition, my hair felt like it had an odd 'plastic-y' coat on it that made it feel heavy. I'm guessing that's from the gelatin. I don't recommend this at all." Another says, "It left my hair feeling waxy (from the gelatin in it) and dry. The smell and the price was great, but not worth going back to purchase more."
TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.9* Why: One reader says, "I have a lot of hair, but it's fine, so the girl told me [this product] would give me volume. I saw no volume and it left a buildup on my hair, which I did not like — and it even says on the bottle [that] it won't leave buildup." Another says, "this shampoo is awful. It smells good, but totally stripped the color from my hair and didn't really add much volume at all." And one reviewer says, "This product didn't give my hair any extra volume. In fact, I think it became more flat after using this shampoo and conditioner. It smells nice, but doesn't do anything for my thin, flat hair."
TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.8* Why: Readers say this shampoo "leaves hair sticky, greasy and lifeless." One explains, "'Ugh' is all I have to say about this shampoo. All you get is scent but little else. I ended up using mine for shaving my legs. Not worth the hype or the price." Another agrees saying, "this smells lovely in the bottle, but I find the scent does not last on my hair. I also find that it makes my hair more unmanageable than my usual shampoo but it costs more." And one reader says, "as something that's supposed to moisturize, this shampoo fails utterly. It actually stripped my hair of moisture, leaving me with dull, rough-looking hair."
TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.6* Why: "Not only did it NOT clean my hair, [this shampoo] dried it to a Brillo pad. It's an item to bring with you on a camping trip, I suppose, but not if you intend on combing out your hair afterward. I had to reenter the shower and use half a bottle of conditioner to get my hair somewhat approachable," says a reader. Others complain about the lack of suds saying, "I had to use a lot of this to get some kind of lather in my long hair [and] it still didn't get my hair very clean." Another agrees saying, "it was pretty difficult to get enough lather to completely get my hair clean, and I ended up in the shower for way longer than I wanted to be."
TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 5.5* Why: "This has to be one of the worst shampoos I have ever used," says a reader. "Not only did it make my hair greasy and tangled, but it also did not seem to be preserving my color at all. I even used it with other products in the line: the conditioner, the color enhancing cream, etc. and all it did was stain my fingernails and towels red." One reader says, "the first (and last time) I used it my hair turned a maroon color." And another says, "after one shampoo my white towel was red from the color this shampoo stripped."
Of all the hair care products in your shower, your shampoo is a nonnegotiable necessity.
We all need a good lather to wash out the grime after a run or after we've employed multiple styling products. But a great shampoo (like the reader-approved hair care products on this list) should not only leave our hair soft, clean and smelling delightful, it should also help cut down post-shower styling time by priming strands for our desired style of the day.
But when the shampoo we choose to use ends up dirtying our hair instead of cleaning it, and dries it out instead of infusing it with the moisture we need -- that's when it ends up on our worst shampoos list.
Readers say these shampoos left their hair high and dry -- literally. Instead of creating soft strands, these hair care products left hair feeling "plastic-y," "waxy," and some even made readers fear that their "hair was going to fall out" due to the burning and itching feeling left behind on their scalps -- yikes! Some of these shampoos were so bad that they were "tossed in the trash before my hair was dry," or condemned to being used only on "a dog they didn't like." Curious to see which products our readers are referring to?
