The Best Drugstore Shampoo & Conditioner

So when I was packing for vacation there was that dreaded thought...what am I going to do about shampoo and conditioner.  Face it trial sizes are not adequate for conditoner...sure I could get maybe two uses out of the shampoo....so what am I supposed to do buy like 10 of each of crappy products at $1.00 each...no thanks.  So since I use liters of my normal stuff...there was that dreaded thought of pumping it into travel size containers...again the thought just brought on a big sigh.  So instead I thought...why not try out a drugstore shampoo and conditioner for the trip...plus I could blog about it.  So I decided to get Aveeno Nourish & Moisturize Shampoo & Conditioner.  I think it was priced around $6 each but it had a $1 off coupon attached to each bottle and the shampoo came with a travel sized lotion (more on that later).  

As you have seen on my previous post, I use Redken All Soft and it makes my hair super soft.  Well Aveeno works just as well and maybe even a tad better because the conditioner isn't as thick as the All Soft so it rinses out easier.  I fell in love with this stuff the first time I used it.  It works great and has a softer scent than the All Soft which is a negative for me because I like my hair to smell shampoo clean.  

Since it's only 10.5 oz, I did get close to running out of conditioner while on vacation because some of it leaked out during the flight up and ironically Paul was using it to shave his face.  He said to me one day...I like that conditioner you bought it works well as shaving cream.  {Remember the post about shaving with conditioner...Lita Kim from Paper Folded Messages commented that she shaves with Aveeno conditioner...it totally does work! }  So since I needed to get some cash I decided to buy some more at CVS which then lead to ANOTHER section of my blog post....

CVS has their version and you get 14oz!!

I paid 4.99 for the CVS brand and got 3.5 more ounces.  They also had the Aveeno brand on sale for $5.99 so had they had those $1 off coupons attached they would have been the same price.  So I bought the CVS brand and it is the SAME stuff!  Same smell, same consistency and works EXACTLY the same.  Since I had Aveeno and CVS...I alternated them to make a fair comparison.  I even had Paul shave with the CVS brand and he said it worked the same.  

Is it cheaper?  So 1 Liter of Redken All Soft is 33.8 oz at ($11.99 to $13.99 depending on the sale at Ulta and the coupon available in the ad so let's say the higher price for the sake of the test) $13.99.  For Aveeno if you buy 3 bottles you're at 31.5 oz and at roughly $18.  As for the CVS brand, you're still at 3 bottles but you have 42 oz for roughly $15.  All Soft ends up being about $0.41 per oz so you add up the extra ounces and you're price is roughly $17 for 42 oz.  So the CVS brand is actually cheaper than All Soft and of course Aveeno.  

So I might make a full time switch for two reasons, (i) I can only buy All Soft when it is on sale and I have to stock up...which means several trips to Ulta to use multiple ad coupons and I can walk into CVS anytime for the CVS brand Aveeno and (ii) I really think I like the Aveeno stuff better. than All Soft..the shampoo lathers up better and it and the conditoner rinses out faster and easier.  

So there you have it girls...Aveeno or CVS brand (of Aveeno) are the best drugstore shampoos and conditioners.

Have you tried the CVS brand (of Aveeno)?  What did you think?

Also side note...I used the shampoo as a face wash and my face is so soft and smooth.  So now I am thinking about trying more Aveeno products perhaps CVS has the entire Aveeno line....stay tuned.