Nature's Gate Pomegranate Sunflower Shampoo, $6

I picked up Nature's Gate Pomegranate Sunflower Hair Defense Shampoo at a trip to Whole Foods. I've been looking for a more natural shampoo and even though this one isn't sulfate-free, I decided to try it out. I picked this one because I color my hair constantly (my natural color is so dull!) and need something that won't strip out the color or my natural oils. I have to wash my hair daily (otherwise it gets gross) so I have to make sure it actually cleans my hair, too.

The first thing I noticed about this shampoo was its awesome smell--it's like fruit punch! Mmmm . . .

I've used the shampoo for about 2 months and I must say I really like it. It's gentle but gets my hair clean. (I brought it with me to the beach and it worked great!) My hair has felt manageable and soft, and my stylist noted how well my color has lasted. I say it's a winner!

Final verdict
Cost: $6 is a great price. I was paying twice as much for my other shampoo.
Scent: Fruit punch! Soooo yummy.
Clean: It doesn't leave any build-up on my hair, and actually gets it nice and clean.
Colored hair: It works great on my (very) colored hair and hasn't faded it a bit.
Repeat offender: I'll definitely buy it again! It's a great shampoo. And I think I'm now addicted to the scent.

-T

Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo, $4.99

Recently I felt the need to use a clarifying shampoo since I shower daily and shampoo and conditioner definitely buildup. So I went to Whole Foods to search the natural shampoos because those are usually the ones I use. But to my surprise I only found one clarifying shampoo and it smelled like straight lemon juice, and frankly I don't want my hair to smell like lemons. So that was a fail and I took myself to CVS. I saw this box with a clear shampoo and I immediately knew it was what I was looking for. Obviously the packaging is screaming out that this is a clarifying shampoo, hence the simple box and clear bottle filled with clear shampoo.


I gave the Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo a shot and I've got to tell you, I'm not disappointed at all! The product is gentle and does not leave your hair feeling stripped and completely dry (this has been my experience with other clarifying shampoos). Rather, it worked like a regular shampoo would and it even has a nice mild fresh scent. It says to use it once a week instead of your regular shampoo and it will actually help your everyday shampoo work better. I definitely felt that my scalp and hair was "clarified" after using this shampoo. One thing though, obviously everyone has different kinds of hair so this might work differently for you.


Final verdict:
Cost: $4.99-$7, it is priced differently everywhere. It isn't too bad and even though the bottle is kind of small you will only need one for a while since you are only supposed to use it once a week.
Effective?: I definitely saw less of a "residue" from my previous shampoo and conditioner treatments. I use natural shampoos but since I wash my hair daily these even tend to build up.
Repeat offender?: Definitely. I think this will be my go-to clarifying shampoo.

-M

Nature’s Gate Jojoba Revitalizing Shampoo, $6.29

For the past couple of years up until about the end of last summer I had long hair and was trying to grow it longer. For me having long hair was fun but the texture of my hair seemed to change, it got super thin, weighed down, and even started falling out at a rapid pace. I didn’t go to the doctor or anything but I decided to change my shampoo. I thought that maybe the shampoo I was using (I think it was Fructis) was too heavy for my hair so I went to Whole Foods looking for a more natural option. I wash my hair daily, otherwise it just doesn’t look right—I am one of those people. But you know everyone has to figure out what works for their hair. The shampoo I picked at the time was Nature’s Gate Biotin Strengthening Shampoo. I read that biotin is good to take as a supplement if you are trying to grow your hair so I thought it was worth a shot to try it in a shampoo. It is not proven that biotin in shampoo can actually do much but I was willing to try it. This shampoo was light, smelled mildly minty, and was perfect for an everyday shampoo. I used this product for months and I did notice a difference in my hair falling out, it was doing it much less but I cant 100% guarantee you that it was from the shampoo. Since then I have cut my hair short so it is much healthier and it hardly sheds!


A few weeks ago I ran out of my favorite Biotin Strengthening shampoo so I went to my local Whole Foods and to my pleasure the whole line was on sale, but my Biotin shampoo was sold out! I love when this stuff goes on sale at Whole Foods because it sells for about half the price and I just stock up on a few bottles, they last me a long time! I decided to try a different shampoo so I went with this Jojoba Revitalizing Shampoo for Damaged Hair and the conditioner. The shampoo has a very pleasant mild scent that reminds me a little bit of baby shampoo. I have been using the Jojoba shampoo for the last few weeks and I think my hair is really happy! It is a great daily use shampoo because of the short list of ingredients. A really awesome thing about Nature’s Gate is that they have a glossary of their ingredients on their website so you know exactly what is in your product, and what the use is.

Final verdict:
Cost: $6.29, but like I said before it goes on sale pretty regularly, it lasts a long time, and you can even buy it in bulk on their site.
As a brand?: Nature’s Gate is a really great brand that carries a lot of different beauty products that I would love to try. They recycle, don’t test on animals, and are even vegan—so basically they are guilt free. You can order from their site (it is run through drugstore.com), Amazon (4 bottles at a time!), or just go to your local Whole Foods, I have even seen their products at Giant and Safeway.
Repeat offender?: I will definitely keep using this line of shampoos, my hair feels healthier and even though it is probably from many different factors I think that using a more natural option helped it get healthier. I even bought two bottles of their Herbal Daily shampoo and conditioner to try after my Jojoba Revitalizing shampoo runs out (I’ll let you know how it goes!)

-M