Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel Shampoo Versus Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo

I dye my hair a lot and have tried a lot of different shampoos to help me maintain a vibrant, healthy color as well as keep my hair soft and shiny. My two favorite products are Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel Shampoo and Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo. I prefer Burt's Bees because of the organic and natural ingredients, but the price can really strain my budget. Suave gets the price right, hands down.

Burt's Bees has a variety of products I use and absolutely love for body care and makeup. My main problem is, of course, the price. Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel Shampoo is simply one of the best shampoos I have ever used for keeping my dyed hair as vibrantly colored as the day I first dyed it. This is no mean feat as a majority of my hair is actually gray, and gray hair doesn't hold color as long as younger hair.

I really appreciate the clean, sharp smell of the shampoo and the lather is very rich. The smell is not overpoweringly "green", but lacks the perfume and flowers smell a lot of shampoos seem to think is necessary. When I'm done washing my hair I don't smell like a bowl of fruit or a bottle of chemicals.

Green Tea extract is a natural UV filter and this keeps the color healthy longer. It also makes this a great shampoo for summer, as it acts as a sunblock for your hair! Many moisturizing shampoos leave my hair feeling thick and dull, but the Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel Shampoo rinses clean and leaves no detectable residue on my hair. I frequently follow up with the companion Burt's Bees conditioner, but this is not always necessary as the shampoo is extremely non-drying. My biggest complaint is that I don't like the watery consistency of the product as I tend to spill it right out of my hand on the way from bottle to head.

The ingredients are all recognizable (and pronounceable!) with no known drying agents fighting against the moisturizing benefits of the Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel Shampoo. The product is listed as 97% natural ingredients, another benefit in my opinion.

Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo is a very rich shampoo that leaves my hair extra shiny and full of body. The package says it contains anti-oxidants which fight the damage done by processes such as color-treating, although it doesn't give a clear idea exactly what anti-oxidants are used. The label lists many natural ingredients, however, the majority are chemical and include several known drying agents. The Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo also provides some UV protection, and this is becoming standard in many shampoos.

The smell is very heavy and perfumed, sometimes lingering all day in my hair, which I do not like. I find a very little bit of product goes a long way toward getting my hair clean, but it tends to be very drying on my scalp. The lather is very rich, but seems to leave behind a little residue. The Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo doesn't seems to dull my hair at all, but I do find it necessary to follow with a conditioner whenever I use it.

The price is several dollars less than the Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel shampoo, but because I always must use a conditioner, this cost savings is somewhat reduced (although still cheaper).

For everything except price I prefer the Burt's Bees Color Keeper Green Tea and Fennel shampoo over the Suave Professionals Color Care Shampoo. However, both are good products and when money is tight, the price of the Suave product wins.