This article first appeared on ClarkHoward.com
Toiletries and cosmetics are notoriously difficult to shop for. Manufacturers make completely optimistic (and often fantastical) claims promising everything from the fountain of youth to teeth so white they’ll stop traffic. Cosmetics, toiletries, feminine hygiene products and skin care regimes can cost anywhere from a dollar to hundreds of dollars, yet it’s almost impossible to do an apples to apples comparison. Think that spending more equates a higher quality product? Think again!
Take Wen hair care products as an example. Wen has been in the news lately due to reports of irate customers who’ve claimed hair loss and scalp irritation after splurging on their bottles of $32 Cleansing Conditioner. This unfortunate situation only hammers home that when it comes to cosmetics and toiletries, you don’t get what you pay for! (Also, simpler is often better, as my $1 White Rain brand shampoo has yet to give me any problems.)
Here’s what you need to know when it comes to choosing the very best personal care products without emptying your credit union account.
Do your research
Hair care products
You can choose to splurge on expensive infomercial or salon hair care products, or you can shop at your local supermarket or drugstore. The website Cheapism awarded their best everyday shampoo award to humble Garner Fructis, and I’ve always been perfectly happy with my White Rain shampoo. A buck per bottle, people. A buck per bottle.
Acne care
Your teen may be pleading for expensive and highly advertised $40 Proactive products, but the active ingredient can be bought for just a couple of bucks. Yes, I’m referring to Benzoyl Peroxide, which comes in a simple $5 tube and was a big success with my teenagers. The only thing to note with any peroxide product is that it’ll give a tie-dyed look to bedding, so maybe dedicate a few sets of scrappy sheets until their skin clears up. No Justin Bieber with the generic, but maybe that’s a good thing.
Cosmetics
Makeup is another category where a more expensive item does not guarantee a higher quality product. Yes, many high end cosmetics deliver on their promises of smooth application and a finished look, but so do a good number of the less expensive brands. Need an example? Paula Begoun rates the $1.99 Wet-n-Wild eyeshadow as high as the $59 Giorgio Armani alternative! No brand rates high across every category, so you’ll need to do your research. But that’s true with any purchase in life.
Avoid needlessly gendered products
Whether it’s deodorant, shampoo or razors, women’s products tend to cost more and often include less product. So unless it’s a scent issue, (I’m look at you, Axe!) you’d be smart to check out both sides of the aisle.
Feminine hygiene products
The average woman spends $1,773.33 on tampons over the course of her lifetime, which is an expense ignored by many personal finance experts. It’s a monthly expense for an average of 40 years, but can be alleviated by one simple purchase. The menstrual cup. Not highly advertised, these reusable silicone cups last for years before needing to be replaced. The main brands are Diva Cup and Moon Cup and come in two sizes, pre and post-childbirth. Once only available online, menstrual cups are now carried at mass merchandisers such as CVS and Walgreen’s. Safe and FDA approved, these $40 one-time purchases will change your life.
Skin care lotions
Although you can buy separate lotions for your face, eyes, feet and even your elbows, it’s not necessary. Skin is your largest organ and it’s the same from head to toe. Women have somehow been convinced that they require specialized eye creams, which can easily run $400 for 1.7 ounces. (Yes, you read that right!) One of Paula Begoun’s main soapbox stands is that “you don’t need a separate eye cream for the eye area.” It would be great if a miracle elixir could erase signs of aging, but that isn’t biologically possible. So keep your money in your wallet and choose a single allover body lotion.
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this article and agree with all of it. As for the Diva cup, I used mine for more than 10 years. I’m peri-menopausal now and haven’t needed it for a few months, but my Diva cup is still usable if needed. Thankfully, it’s doubtful I’ll ever need to buy another one.
Mine is eight years old and going strong. It’s likely to get me through to menopause!
That’s my hope too. Love the Diva Cup!
I’ve no doubt it most likely will! 🙂
The first time I tried the diva cup( about 10yrs ago), I could not remove it. I tried and tried to get it out without spilling the very full content. I had to cave and ask my wife( ex wife now) to help me get it out. She did and told me that it totally traumatized her and she’ll never be able to forget that for as long as she lives. I stopped using it after that, it was too hard for me to get in and out, maybe because I have psoriatic arthritis or maybe because I have a long vagina.
A few years ago I started making my own lotions,soaps etc. I also stopped wearing cosmetics and colouring my hair. It is very freeing not to have to look for sales at the drug store.
I read a few year ago that you should put nothing on your skin that you wouldn’t put in your mouth.
I agree with “you should put nothing on your skin that you wouldn’t put in your mouth”.
I also started making my own soap last year. My family now refuses to use store bought soap. We mostly used body wash before, so I am also loving the reduction of plastic bottles!
Here’s the good news and bad news from life beyond menopause:
The good news, natch, is that my days of needing feminine hygiene products are over. (I also haven’t yet developed a leaky bladder, but if I ever do, I may have a go at making some homemade pads.)
The bad news, as I have remarked in comments on earlier posts, is that postmenopausal hair is different. (I mean the kind on your head, although you will find that you also grow more on your face. Quel treat.) I have discovered that discount shampoos don’t quite get the job done any more for my curlier, more brittle hair.
Oh man, I wish I could love the Diva Cup, but I’ve tried it every year, called customer support, etc., and I always have leakage issues every month without fail. Sadly, I’m having to go back to tampons for day time use because I just can’t handle the Diva Cup’s poor coverage. I did have a Keeper Cup prior that worked slightly better, but I still had the same issue just to a lesser extent. I guess I just have broken lady parts…
I use the diva cup and occasionally stuff somehow slips around it and makes a mess. However, tampons do the same thing at times. I wear a thin reusable pad with the cup so then I don’t have to worry about any accidents.
I do this too (pad with the cup); really only need it for the heaviest day.
Mine is so bad that it almost immediately starts leaking. At least with tampons, I have a few hours before having to worry. With the Diva Cup, it’s immediate leaking. It may just be my weird anatomy (super tilted uterus), but whatever it is, it’s so not worth the stress of leaks any more.
Have you tried Lunette? I bought mine on amazon and it works great. It’s more pliable than the diva cup and a slightly different shape. It might be a better fit for you
Paula Begoun now has a website with current reviews called Beautypedia, much easier to search than a book! She has saved me lots of money on beauty products
You are spot on about doing the research on the products you use. Anything you put on your skin and hair seeps in through your pores. Some shampoos contain antifreeze and commercial degreasers, yuck. I have very sensitive skin and a latex allergy. When I needed to color my hair, I knew I could not use the box or salon dyes as they contain harsh chemicals that destroy your hair, but cause cancer and birth defects. I had a friend hospitalized with a burned scalp from a box of hair dye. I went with henna, 100% natural light mountain brand. Bought it online with a coupon code and free shipping, less than $4 a kit. My frugal husband who cuts my hair, applied it for me and I get fantastic color, shine, soft and silky hair.
I buy shampoo in big bottles at Sally’s when they have a sale and I have a coupon as well. Saves me over $1500 a year compared to what I would pay in the salon. Frugal is very smart.
Megyn,I also tried a Diva cup back in the day when I needed one.. it also leaked on me.. repeatedly– I had to stick with other products.Now,menopause has solved that ,LOL!! I refuse to pay top dollar for toiletries,etc..Have always used Suave shampoo, Cover Girl makeup (with coupons) for the good coverage foundation and then ELF products for concealer,pencils,etc. I don’t wear make up every day anymore now that I am retired.. saves $$!! My products last a long time. I use Ponds cold cream and Suave lotions for moisture.. I live in Arizona and dry dry skin gets itchy and uncomfortable.. Age-ing? Of course I am! Creams don’t stop Mother Nature!!
I haven’t purchased any face washes or creams for years. I use a combination of olive and castor oils for both. Works really, really well.
I just turned 60 and have lines above my brows (I think from putting on & removing contacts daily for 44 years). Recently I conducted an experiment. For a month I used an expensive “deep wrinkle cream” on one side & plain coconut oil on the other. Then I asked my husband if one side was better than the other. No difference! I wasn’t putting nasty chemicals on my skin & it was cheaper!
I buy zero waste bulk olive soap once a year. I stopped using any products other than olive soap to clean body, face, and hair. A simple SPF is my daily routine and a concealer stick I buy off etsy ($6 for one tube a year). No, I don’t have perfect skin and commercial bouncy hair but I look good enough and no other expensive product has made me look different !
My kids have ezcema and every other day I mix a small batch of olive oil and oatmeal then apply to their skin right before they get out of the shower. This works better than any lotion because most lotions have alcohol in them and cause their sensitive skin to burn. Olive oil is inexpensive in this regard because you only need a little bit. I also use a tiny bit of olive oil as a leave in conditioner. A drop in my hand then rub thru hair.
The thing is that unless you shop organic/natural or make them yourself, all those products are loaded with harmful chemical. Since we are back to buying the conventionnal stuff for now, I prefer to pay 2$ for a bottle of shampoo and not 30$! I am willing to pay more for natural products, but it’s not in the budget at the moment.
As for the rest, I limit what I use. Toothpaste, soap (every second day during winter), shampoo (once or twice a week during winter), deodorant (I tried the natural ones and I tried making my own = fail), a bit of hair mousse to keep the hair in place. And as for makeup I like lipstick/gloss, and I buy them cheaply like when L’oreal is 5$/ tube And a tube lasts forever.
I really think that the appearance of skin is linked to genetic, sun exposure and smoking. A 400$ cream won’t change that.
I have sensitive skin (have to wear sterling silver or solid gold. No plated metals or crap jewelry sadly) and incredibly dry, curly hair. My face broke out horribly until I hit 28. The cheap zit cream and the expensive zit cream didn’t work (equally). But I often found that store brand face cleansers were too harsh and I had to go with name brand to find something that didn’t irritate or dry out.
I also find the cheaper shampoos to not be moisturizing enough. That said, I bought some organic brand that smelled like bubble gum from Whole Foods based on how good it was for the environment and the hair…blah blah blah. It sucks too.
I’ve tried a lot of different makeups. And now I stick with what works–which is a mixture of expensive and cheap (Covergirl pressed power from Target, mascara and blush from Sephora, eyeliner, concealor and foundation from Mary Kay).
I use regular ol’ bar soap in the shower, but my friends and family treat me to bodywash as a holiday gift (hey…why not?)
So…really I’d say get what works best for you whether cheap/expensive. Because even if you buy cheap and don’t use it? It’s still a waste of money.
I, too, use drugstore makeup and until recently, Suave shampoo. However, I color my hair and my stylist said I was just stripping out the color with the really cheap stuff, so I switched to a much more expensive brand. The color does seem to stay a lot longer. Does anybody know about this?
Anne,
I color my own hair and I use JR Liggett’s (I think I spelled that right) bar shampoo from the health food store. It is $5/bar and lasts a long time. Salons do not sell great hair products. They are loaded with chemicals and fragrance, not good!
Love this post! I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately in my quest to not buy new. Making my own mesh scrubby sponge to exfoliate with the bag that a ham comes in was awesome because I was going to have to purchase something to exfoliate and this worked like a charm. I’m gonna be really open now with the possibility of getting scrutinized but in the spirit of possibly helping others I will put myself out there. I have terribly thick ,dry, dead skin on my heels built up from the entire winter from foot care neglect. This is probably hereditary but I know I’m not alone. I’ve tried lotion with socks, pumice stones, sand paper, and all that. I even used to use a dremel tool on low speed( not the safest choice). Trying not to buy anything new, yet needing my feet frugally flipflop ready in a few months,I soaked my feet in warm water for a while then using the sharper edge of a deodorant lid I kinda scraped all that yucky junk off my heels. Yep, not pretty, told you I was putting myself out there. Anyway, it worked great! My heels are now smooth and not gross! To quickly change the subject, dollar tree has a lot of name brand cosmetics and ELF cosmetics are also cheap and really good. I also try to get double duty things like pots of lip color that can double as blush. For shampoo my husband thinks he has to have Pert Plus. I have been adding some suave shampoo that I get very cheap with coupons to his bottle of Pert for months and he has never noticed.
For experimentation above and beyond the call of duty, Jennifer, we salute you!
Also, a P.S. to my original comment above: I have not worn cosmetics voluntarily since junior high school, and gave up wearing them even involuntarily about 20 years ago. That’s a lot of $$$ I haven’t spent over the years. I do confess to using an inexpensive moisturizer, but after reading others’ comments here, I may start experimenting with coconut oil and the like.
Thanks! I needed that because I was immediately regretting my post. Frugal tactics are trial and error sometimes, lol.
I’m not going to lie, my feet are horrendous. I have never had a pedi in my life and I work in retail on my feet all day and refuse to spend more than $12 on shoes. All this adds up to really yucky heels. And since I won’t buy any special products I appreciate the honesty Jennifer. I have yet to try a dremmel (!) but I may try the deodorant lid LOL
I have the Pedi-Egg and it works great. However, I found out accidentally that using athlete’s foot cream on my heels did a great job on getting rid of thick, dried skin on them. I was using it between my toes, and wiping any extra on the heels just to get it off my fingers. My heels are back to “normal” now.
The dremel really works but you have to be super careful. If you hold it in one spot for too long it heats up before you realize it causing a burn. Deodorant lid is so much safer.We can still have pretty feet and skip the expense of a pedicure!
I live in Australia, so a lot a sandals/bare feet in the summer which used to mean rough skin and sore cracked heels by the end of it. But then I read somewhere on the internets that the secret to soft heels was avoiding sandals with no back to them. Now I always make sure that my sandals have a back piece that covers the heel at least somewhat and an ankle strap. It works! No more hard skin build up or cracks since I started doing this – don’t ask me how it does it, but it does.
If you decide you want to purchase a callus remover product, I use callus blaster which I get on amazon. Its a no acid product that you rub on your feet and rinse off after 3 min. I take it with me to my pedicures and they also scrub my feet with it. I use aquaphor on my feet at night. That stuff is amazing for dry, cracked heels. The tub is huge and lasts forever. They are usually always coupons available for it too.
I still use what was hot in my teen years: Noxema and Cover Girl, and it still works well 40 years later. Unfortunately, really cheap shampoos send my psoriasis into overdrive, so I have to spend a little more there.
Dollar Tree baby shampoo – Just $1 and no more itchy scalp. Works for me!
I use baby shampoo too! I mix one with conditioner with one without which was cheaper too! Used in the past to buy Hairdresser shampoo and conditioner which were very expensive! Never again!
So glad you mentioned “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me”–Paula has been my go-to girl for years, and has probably saved me thousands of dollars!
My daughter “the farmers wife” has been moving more and more towards all natural products, and is a great advocate of coconut oil and olive oil for skin care. Check out the personal care recipes in the book “The Hands On Home”–especially her non-petroleum jelly.
4 years ago I shaved off my once a month dyed hair and threw out all make up. I keep my silvery hair short and I only use coconut oil on my skin and my scalp and I’ve never gotten so many compliments. I embraced the natural look and it saves me both time and money.
I know I don’t know you and all, but I want to tell you that I’m proud of you for doing that. The courage it took. Your post jumped out at me because I would love to do it too. Thanks for sharing. (and yes I realize that the beginning of my response sounds like the commercial of the guy talking to the cow about how good the yogurt is from his milk. LOL!)
I’m proud of you too for doing that!! One day I hope to reach that point : )
I have to say that for me, Proactive was a miracle product. Started using it in my 20’spare when it came out and wish it had been around when I was in my teens,. Over the counter benzoyl peroxide and expense prescriptions from the dermatologist did nothing to help me. I am in my 40s and still break out occasionally. When I do, I reach for the Proactive cream I have been sparingly using for years.
I am not one to spend mega bucks on makeup but as part of my job I do need to look reasonably stylish and well dressed. I have such uneven pigment on my 50 year old skin that my face looks dirty without make-up so make-up is a must for the working day. I have spent too much money trying to find a lipstick and foundation at cheaper stores. I have lots of wrong colors in my make-up tote. I’ve learned to go a store with a make-up counter and get what they suggest (within reason) and then match it with something from a discount place when I need more. I also will NOT buy any food or toiletry made in China. They don’t value human life. They don’t acre about their own people–why should they care about us? White Rain Shampoo makes my hair feel like straw but my dermatologist told me to use their scent free hairspray–works great.
Try Johnsons baby shampoo for face wash. Totally love it and cheap too!
I flip flop back and forth between what is very cheap and perfectly effective and what is more environmentally/socially responsible. I have yet to notice a difference between any shampoo – ever, or makeup, or shower gel (besides scent). But since I don’t have the free time or free brain space to start playing around with homemade natural products I will try to stick with Body shop or Lush since they don’t test on animals. But if no one has given me a gift certificate for a while I’ll sometimes just go with what I can find cheap for the sake of the budget.
I haven’t seen anyone mention Norwex!! I have their face cloth and body cloth. I use them to wash my face every night, take off all my makeup, exfoliate my legs before shaving (instead of shaving cream), wash my body in the shower, and even wash my body instead of a shower. No chemicals or soaps, just water!
Hi all!
Thanks for all the great shares and tips…I’ve tried so many things to cut back, cheaper products..you name it. What really has worked for me is the Dollar Tree. I buy the best quality that they have there. Have found the all natural tea tree oil shampoo and others in brand names. And with 4 teenagers at home; 2 boys and 2 girls. We go through a lot!
I have a funny tip.. I was at the dollar store and they had a name brand foundation makeup there but it was two extremes. One was white beige and the other was a very dark brown…I needed in between. I bought them both and have been mixing them in a small little container…it’s the best ever….seriously. Lol I have used these two for the past 7 months and have a half a bottle of each left.
For $2.00. Lol so give it a shot…I am sold on it.
Great article Katy! Less is more in the beauty department. I use Dove soap on my face and body, an inexpensive sunscreen on my face during the day, and coconut oil at night. I also use coconut oil on my hair. Another great website is the Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org. They grade the most common chemicals in everyday products and let you know if safe to use.
Great article! I’ve started entirely buying all cosmetics and toiletries from CVS because I’m able to stack coupons and roll my extra care bucks. I rarely pay for anything I buy, and I get a ton of quarterly bucks back too. I definitely wear less makeup now in my late twenties but still have to wear quite a bit because I have a “baby face” and looking older helps me be taken seriously (It’s a blessing and a curse, I know). I will say – as someone who had terrible skin as a teen I’d also like to throw into the ring that depending on the insurance that you have – a prescription from the dermatologist might actually wind up costing you less than drugstore products, so everyone check that out! You’re paying (SO MUCH, I KNOW, IT’S CRAZY) for your insurance, you might as well take advantage of it!!!
CVS rocks for sales, and stacking coupons. It only works if you do those things, otherwise, their prices are a few dollars more for an item than most other mass merchandisers like Target.
It’s true! It drives me crazy that “women’s” razors and shampoos cost more! And yeah, menstrual cups rock!! xoxo- Team Lunette
I love my menstral cup. That is all.
I don’t spend $275/oz for eye cream. Nonetheless I can’t use the same stuff near my eyes that I do on my elbow. Petroleum jelly is quite cheap, and CVS has many sale+coupon opportunities on Eucerin cream. $1-$3/oz is still pretty inexpensive.
I’m going to have to check out beautician mentioned above, sounds fun. I’ve always been intrigued by the mental cup, but I haven’t had much need for mental products since I started birth control years ago. I know not everyone responds well to it and gays that perk, but I only need the rare panty liner these days.
I only use products not tested on animals, and with no phthalates, SLS, parabens, etc. , so except for a very few brands, I can’t shop discount stores or drug stores for beauty and health care products. But, to balance that out, I make some of my own — my shampoo is pure liquid castile soap cut with water and aloe vera gel, my toothpaste is baking soda with a little bentonite clay, and my facial cleanser is sunflower oil. My blush is arrowroot powder with pure cosmetic grade mica added for color and my lipstick is cocoa butter, beeswax, oil, a touch of clay and mica coloring. Sometimes I make my own soap, but that’s not actually very frugal. I use a washcloth to scrub with.
I agree, paying hundreds of dollars for beauty products is crazy because a lot of that cost is simply marketing. Back before I committed to cruelty free products, a co-worker and I discovered we had both bought mattifying fluid for our oily complexions at the same time — I had bought an $8.00 bottle of it from a drugstore brand, and she had a smaller, $100 bottle from a pricy makeup counter. They worked exactly the same; we saw good results for about a month and then they both quit working at the same time!
I never got to try the Diva cup, because it wasn’t in stores when I still needed them, but I would have given it a try if it had been. I’ve tried to get my daughters to try it, but so far they have hesitated.
I started using a (hypoallergenic) Henri Bernard Deodorant Crystal several years ago. It does not stop the sweat, just the stink. I am home most days, so use it as needed. I used my first one for about five years until it dropped on the tile floor and shattered. I think it costs about a dollar more than the regular brands at the drugstore, but years, baby. Years.
I have given up conditioner and only shampoo (Every Day Shea) once every other week or so. I just do what worked for Laura Ingalls and Marcia Brady and brush my hair 100 strokes a night. To save time, I do it while supervising my toddler son’s bath time.
Surprisingly, my hair is not greasy. The brush transfers the oils down to the dry ends which soak it right up. Some of the excess oil rinses away in hot water, some of it is absorbed when I color my hair with henna (once a month). I have never had so many compliments on my hair. It is bouncier than it was before (conditioner weighing it down?), less frizzy, and it has a nice new natural wave that I never had before.
The natural oils help my hair air-dry faster and I don’t need to use a curling iron or straightener anymore. This saves a lot of time and a little electricity too.
Every Day Shea is a fair trade product that works to provide bicycles to people in Africa, along with fair wages. They also plant trees for sustainability. The shampoo is made in the Northwest (Olympia,WA) and only costs $11 for a HUGE bottle.
about an hour and a half after I wrote this I was parked on a pretty sketchy block downtown. My mother’s voice was telling me to hold my keys in one hand, phone in the other, tuck my purse firmly under my arm, and walk with purpose. I did so past 2 homeless men in a doorway who were drinking hard liquor in broad daylight. One of them opened his mouth to yell something at me. I though, “oh no, here it is…” and he yelled “I LOVE YOUR HAIR!” lol!
Not what I expected, but confirmation that my new hair routine is pretty great!
Okay, that’s really funny!
Ladies, check out Dr. John Lee’s book, Ehat your Dictir Will Not Tell Ypu About Menopause. Even if you are younger. So MUCH great information on incontinece, bone issues , Everthing for life changes. The Health Foid store has all you need. I love Progesteronre cream!!! I’m 64. It solved many problems for me! Also VitaminE capsules vaginally. Or Evening Primrose Oil.
Mimi