The Real Reason Why $50 Shampoo Is Worth It
Some people splurge on purses. Some splurge on green juices. Some splurge on pricey exercise classes.
I don’t do any of the above (well, not since I kicked my green juice habit to the curb). But what I do drop stupid amounts of money on is shampoo and conditioner, and let me tell you why.
My favorite shampoo and conditioner are from Oribe’s Gold Lust line. They retail at $49 a pop for 8.5 fluid ounces of heavenly, sweet-smelling goop and even though it costs me almost $100 every time I have to restock, I never regret it.
If you’re more of a drug store gal, I know what you’re probably thinking: it’s shampoo and conditioner. How different could it be from the $8 CVS version? And the answer is: extremely different. And I don’t ever use the word “extremely,” so you should know I’m dead ass about this.
My love affair with pricey hair products started about 10 years ago when, encouraged by a hairstylist I just loved, I started to dabble in the world of Bumble & Bumble. I couldn’t help but notice that when I washed my hair with Bumble’s Creme de Coco, Straight, or Mending formulas, all at $26 to $31 each, my hair was way more manageable and smelled a lot nicer. It also lacked the gunky after-feel that seemed to accompany even the most top-shelf drug store brands.
But the most exciting side effect after I started using Bumble was that I stopped having to wash my hair every day. I was able to drop down to every other day, which was unheard of for me — all through high school I’d washed, blow dried, and straightened my hair every single morning because it tended to get oily by nightfall. But when I started using pricier products, I could eke out an extra day or two between washes.
I was introduced to Oribe products, which are even pricier and more sweet-smelling than Bumble, about six years ago. But I balked at the price. Surely, Oribe couldn’t be better than my beloved Bumble — and surely I didn’t need to be spending even more than the $60 per shamp-and-conditioner refill I was already dedicating myself to every three months or so.
But then, finally, about a year ago, I guess I was feeling like a high roller because I decided to take the plunge and tack another $100 onto my salon bill for Oribe’s Gold Lust shampoo and conditioner. And after that point, I’ve never looked back.
Why? Because when I use this formula, I can go five days without washing my hair if the weather’s right. Five days! That’s insane for me. I know a lot of girls can go way longer sans shampoo, but I have straight hair that’s on the oily side of the spectrum. Five days without shampooing is like loaves-and-fishes status miraculous.
I’m not 100% sure what sets Oribe apart from the pack — I’ve reached out to their PR to find out and will update when they tell me. But I think it has to do with the way it makes my scalp feel. With lesser products, when I go a few days without washing and conditioning, my scalp starts to feel dry and itchy. With Oribe Gold Lust, that never happens — every day feels like the first, even if I use a lot of dry shampoo, which can make your scalp feel like the Sahara.
Not having to wash my super thick hair every day translates into much quicker getting-ready times in the morning. But it also means that, while my shampoo and conditioner cost $50 a pop, I have to replace them way less frequently. Another cool thing about Oribe is that the formula’s really concentrated, so you only need to use a tiny bit each wash. Combine that with the fact that you might only average 1.5 to two washes per week, and your $50 bottle can last you months and months. Cheaper shampoos run out much more quickly.
So I will continue to pay what some might call ridiculous amounts of money for my shampoo and conditioner while skimping in other areas of my life, like lunches and after-work drinks. It’s just worth it to have great hair. If you get sick of shampooing your hair every single day, I highly recommend you save up your milk money and give Oribe a shot.
