So Many Shampoos, and So Expensive!

For many years, I have been using relatively cheap, non- or minimally-scented shampoos. Every couple of years, my brand of choice disappears from the market. No doubt some junior vice president recommended adding desiccated rat turds and tripling the price, thereby guaranteeing himself a bonus and a promotion.

My latest choice has been Suave Naturals Aloe & Waterlily, which is reasonably cheap and not too stinky. But it is no longer being stocked at my local drugstore, so I will probably have to order some on the Internet. (Hmm, it looks as if WalMart is buying it up the entire production run.) In the meantime, if I run out too quickly, I’ll try another cheap brand, Alberto VO-5, to see if it’ll do as a stopgap.

The personal care industry really wants you to buy shampoo that costs upwards of six to ten dollars a bottle. Something that’s demographically targeted to the way you feel about your hair. As a male with unruly white hair of silky thinness, I am not too eager to try some witches’ potion that will burn what remains off my scalp. And I am not eager for anything that advertises “fragrance that lasts.” What the heck type of fragrance do sweet young things look for in a fat old guy with thinning white hair? Eau d’argent? How about durian or eggplant?

Things can get ridiculous quickly in the shampoo section of your market. Not surprisingly, the active ingredients in all shampoos are pretty much the same. What you pay for is something that will make you feel special, something that will separate you from the herd. Perhaps something with a touch of whooping crane or passenger pigeon. Or Vladimir Putin’s special Polonium Blend. Or essence of saffron. Something that will go with my titanium left hip and my love of the poems of George Mackay Brown.

Actually, all I really want is a clean head.

Read this blog by TreeHugger on the subject for some more interesting observations. Also, I hijacked the picture from his website. Sorry, guy!