In December, my shampoo bottle was nearly done, and I kept procrastinating on purchasing a new bottle. Haha, I ended up making one of those frantic visits to the store when I ran out.
Since I needed shampoo urgently, I wasn’t being picky about which one to get. I literally just looked at the sale prices and then chose the cheapest.
For a hulking 700 mL bottle of the Clairol Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Smoothing Shampoo, I paid only $4.99 CAD!
Normally when I buy a shampoo, I like to take my time, make sure it smells nice, etc. Usually price is the last factor I consider. (My hair needs to be whipped into shape, so efficacy is of the highest priority usually.)
This time, it was a scan of the price tag, a quick grab, and then a dash to the cashier.
I figured that this Herbal Essences shampoo would be just a ‘quick fix’ until I got one of my favourites later on.
Little did I know that I’d actually like it!
Clairol Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Smoothing Shampoo Pictures
Clairol Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Smoothing Shampoo Ingredients
Claims: TRUSTED
√ Smooths
√ Reveals a natural shine
√ Lays down flyaways
Key Notes
- Name: Clairol Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Smoothing Shampoo
- Amount: 700 mL (23.7 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: $4.99 CAD on sale
- Where to Buy: Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, Wal-Mart & anywhere that sells Clairol hair products
Clairol Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Smoothing Shampoo Review
Efficacy
Shampoos from drugstores or grocery stores tend to dry my hair out like crazy, so I wasn’t expecting much from the Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo.
But, it actually did a wonderful job at making my hair feel clean, yet smoothing out my strands as promised!
This is a big deal to me because I have the type of hair that requires following up a shampoo with a moisturizing conditioner. If I don’t do that, my hair resembles the straw from the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. (Although it’s my favourite movie of all time, the Scarecrow has a look that I don’t want to replicate.) 😉
I’m used to drugstore shampoos stripping my hair of the natural oil so that it actually squeaks. (It’s a myth that squeaky hair is clean hair. When your hair squeaks after you’ve shampooed, it means that it’s more vulnerable to breakage and that it’s so dry that the shampoo removed too much natural oil.)
What I noticed is that even before I used conditioner, this Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo left my hair already feeling silky. And best of all? My hair didn’t squeak! (Me to my hair: “I don’t want to hear a peep out of you! Do you hear?” Yes, I really lay down the law! Hehe!)
Fragrance
I’m not crazy about the scent. It smells like a generic salon perfume-y kind of product. However, I appreciated how it wasn’t strong. I could tolerate it. And after drying and styling my hair, I couldn’t really notice much of a lingering scent. (While that may be a Con for you, this is a Pro for me because I wear perfume nearly every day, and some strong shampoo scents can clash with it.)
Price
What a great deal I scored! This massive bottle was only $4.99 CAD on sale, and although I’ve been using it since December, I still have tons left. I definitely got a lot of bang for my buck!
Packaging
The Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo has such a girly design…haha! I don’t usually go for bottles that look like that.
Funny thing: I only just now realized that maybe the reason I went for this (other than the fact that it was on sale) was because I was subliminally influenced by the colour of the cap – it’s greeeeeeeeeeeeen! 😉
The cap flips up easily. It’s the type where you press down one side, and the other lifts up…kind of like a see-saw. They should call this style of cap a see-saw cap. Random thought…haha!
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 9.5/10
Considering that I only picked up this Clairol shampoo out of necessity and without any great expectations, I was very impressed by the results it delivered! And, although the regular price at the store I got it from was around $8.99 CAD or so, I think for a bottle this big, it’s not unreasonable, either.
This experience has made me more curious to try other drugstore shampoos when I run out of this one. Before, I had been using Bath & Body Works’ haircare and some salon brands. It has been a long time since I got a drugstore shampoo, so it looks like they’ve made a lot of progress since I last tried them!
What’s your favourite shampoo? Do you buy your haircare from the drugstore, grocery store, or salon? Can you recommend a really good mosturizing conditioner for me? (I have frizzy, dry, naturally wavy/curly hair that I flat iron on a daily basis.)
My hair type sounds like yours, and I also flat iron it. I’ll wash and style about every three days though. Just doing it less often will save your hair some abuse.
Going SLS-free has helped my hair, and my favorite inexpensive conditioner is Aussie 3-Minute Miracle.
Cherie recently posted: thesparklinghoard:
Enchanted Forest mani! I included a blurry…
Hey Cherie!
I’ve tried washing my hair only every other day, but I couldn’t stand the feeling of 2nd day hair. People say that your hair will get used to it and then produce less oil, but I just couldn’t push through that feeling of oiliness initially. So I went back to washing my hair every day. 🙁
I’ll need to try more SLS-free hair products. I’ve only tried a handful, but they didn’t have miraculous results for my hair. Haha, I want a hair miracle! 😉
Do you have any suggestions for SLS-free haircare for me?
For drugstore sulfate-free, I haven’t tried many. I liked Giovanni Smooth as Silk. For salon products I like DevaCurl No Poo. Yep, no poo. 😉
Since you style everyday you could try washing your hair with only the conditioner. Maybe use shampoo once or twice a week. Search for the curly girl hair care routine for guidance.
I use plain ol’ cornstarch on my crown for the 2nd/3rd day oiliness. This might be obvious on your dark hair though. Somebody’s got to have tinted powder by now. I haven’t tried any commercial dry shampoos after trying some Tresemme that came in a spray. Having sticky roots was not an improvement over oily!
And use a heat protectant if you’re not already. I liked Silk ‘N Sleek. I’m not impressed with got2b Guardian Angel. After I have my split ends cut off I will start using Silk ‘N Sleek again.
Good luck on your hair care journey. 🙂
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Hahahaha, No Poo! WOW – what a name! Sounds like that hair product is constipated…hehehe!
Thanks for the tip – I’ll try just washing with conditioner once to see what it’s like. Someone else told me she did that, but I never thought to try. Thanks for reminding me! 🙂
For heat protectant, currently I’m using Josie Maran’s 100% pure Argan Oil. Loving it so far! Before that, I used MoroccanOil Oil Treatment, which I liked, but now that I’m using Josie Maran, this is way better!
OMG My hair is the same way!! Awful stuff. I tried the Garnier smoothing and that worked at first and then suddenly didn’t. Right now I’ve got two hulking bottles of Tresemme smoothing/conditioning/restoring that’s working well so far. Once those run out I’ll give this a shot. 😀
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Hey Lizzy!
It’s possible that the Garnier one just coated your hair and then you got product build-up, which is why it no longer worked. I’m wondering if this Herbal Essences shampoo will do the same thing. So far, though, I haven’t had any problems with it. Then again, I’m nowhere near done with this bottle. It’s going to last me a looooong time. (If I notice it stops working or my hair gets worse, I’ll edit this review to reflect that.)
I have thick, long (almost to my butt), wavy/curly hair and have found the Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo and Conditioner to work exceptionally well for my hair. Most shampoos make it super wirey feeling and the conditioners don’t help any. I’ve even bought the really expensive salon brands and they didn’t help either. The only salon shampoo and conditioner I’ve ever cared for was the Tea Tree Lavender Mint. So just as a little suggestion if you want to try out a different drug store brand, I highly recommend the Garnier Triple Nutrition!!
Hey Jessica!
YES, I totally know that “wirey” feeling that a lot of shampoos are responsible for. I think it’s because they have salt, which dries out your hair. Companies use salt in haircare to ‘beef up’ the consistency. That’s why I normally prefer a lot of salon brands. They’re expensive, yes, but they don’t have salt or have very little, so my hair doesn’t feel as dry. That’s why I was surprised when this inexpensive Clairol one worked well!
Have you tried the AG brand? AG Hair Cosmetics is incredible! For many years, I was loyal to their shampoos and conditioners. But then I got curious and tried other things. Still, whenever I go back and use their stuff, I’m very pleased with the results. (You can find them at some salons, but I mainly buy them from Trade Secrets. Trade Secrets even has sales on that brand sometimes.)
I just saw this, Mary! Never heard of AG Hair Cosmetics, I’ll have to check them out. Hopefully they’re available online as I have no Trade Secret or any stores near me really (except Rite Aid and Dollar General, lol). Thanks for the suggestion!!
I don’t think that AG Hair Cosmetics is too popular. In real life, I actually don’t know anyone who knows them. And even online, I’ve only occasionally seen reviews on that brand. It’s a shame because their products are great! (I would review them, but I still have a lot of other products in my shower to finish before buying more.)
This line has a new Honey scent which smells amazing! Plus, I can always find coupons for it, and it goes on sale frequently.
Hey Gloria!
Oh yeah? That sounds incredible! If I see it in the store, I’ll have to sneak a sniff. Shhhhh! 😉