Cheap Shampoo: Finding the Best

These days, we're all looking to save costs where we can. But you shouldn't have to sacrifice personal beauty for keeping to that tight budget.

You can still have great hair even if you aren't able to afford more expensive shampoos like Bed Head or Sebastian. And that doesn't mean that you have to go to bargain basement shampoos like Suave or store brands. No, you can buy quality, brand-name shampoos on the cheap if you keep your eye out on great deals.

First, if you're looking for the best cheap shampoos with the highest quality, you've got to shop sales. This means doing a little bit of homework and perusing your department or grocery store advertisement for weekly specials. Typically, brands like Pantene, Dove, and Garnier Fructis are among those providing discounted prices for top hair products. Sometimes, these brands will advertise Buy One Get One specials and this is a great time to stock up on your favorite products.

To get the best cheap shampoo specials, though, you've got to cut coupons too. I know, I know - cutting coupons can be tedious, but it's a great way to save money while buying brand-name products. When you combine coupons with sales you get the key to getting the best cheap shampoo possible.

You've also got to stock up when you find these sales, because stores like Target and Wal-Mart only offer these deals periodically. Since shampoo has a long shelf life, you can stock up to 6 to 12 months at a time. For example, one summer (and these sales often come during July when folks are on vacation), I bought 6 bottles of Pantene shampoo for free after Pantene manufacturer coupons and in-store Target specials. Since I was able to stock up, I really cut my costs (and also didn't have to worry about finding more sales for a long time after).

Other great deals that I've gotten were large (40 ounce) bottles of Dove Green Tea shampoo with free conditioner for $1.81 at Sam's Club (I guess these were being discontinued). I've also gotten men's Gillette shampoo for free by using Kmart's double coupons (with the coupon being $2, I could get several of these for no cost).

For me, I've found the trick to getting the best cheap shampoo is looking for products when I don't necessarily need them and just buying in bulk when the sales are great. I always look at the clearance racks and discount sections even if I don't need the products because you never know what you'll find on sale. Then I use my grocery savings spreadsheet to figure out how much money I've saved by finding the best cheap shampoo.