Help me take shorter showers
July 13, 2010 3:51 PM   Subscribe

I have a new baby and taking a nice long shower is now a thing of the past. I've been using my husband's Pert Shampoo+Conditioner but it makes my hair feel dry and doesn't de-tangle well. Is there a combined shampoo+conditioner product that will actually make my hair feel nice after I use it? Bonus points for hypoallergenic or fragrance free.
posted by bq to Health & Fitness (18 answers total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 


Cut down on how often you shampoo your hair. I shampoo once or twice a week and condition more often. I have a very active two-year old and learning to get by with shampooing less has helped a lot!
posted by wallaby at 4:01 PM on July 13, 2010


The L'Oreal Kids line of shampoo+conditioner is great. The swim version does indeed make your hair dry faster, and it leaves it soft and oh-so-shiny. Gentle enough for colored hair, too. I haven't used any of the other, ahem, flavors.
posted by halogen at 4:06 PM on July 13, 2010


(But I've used their detangling spray. It works.)
posted by halogen at 4:07 PM on July 13, 2010


Pantene has a huge variety of formula's to choose from ... all come in separate shampoo, conditioner and a combined 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. Most department stores carry all variety's in the 2-in-1. Have used it for years.
posted by batikrose at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2010


My husband uses Pantene 2 in 1, and it's murder on my hair. Back in the day, I just shampooed and used a spray on conditioner when I got out of the shower. What kind of hair do you have?
posted by Ruki at 4:14 PM on July 13, 2010


I like the Pantene 2-in-1 too, but if I were going to 1 product at this point in my life I'd probably check out the organic thing bearwife is suggesting.
posted by Miko at 4:22 PM on July 13, 2010


I tend to follow wallaby's advice and use Johnson's No More Tangles Shampoo+Conditioner (in the blue or green bottle) in conjunction with whatever conditioner's on sale. This seems to work reasonably well for my coarse, frizz-prone hair.

(Although it's kinda hard for me to gauge how well it detangles because my hair's pretty short.)
posted by junques at 4:23 PM on July 13, 2010


I like the Dove Daily Moisture Therapy 2 in 1.
posted by phunniemee at 4:34 PM on July 13, 2010


I have to use my husbands Pert sometimes, and what I do is just apply some leave in de-tangling/de-frizzing cream before I comb my hair. It helps a lot, and I find the creams are a lot less greasy than the de-tangling sprays.

As far as other 2 in 1 shampoos go, I don't know of any fragrance-free, hypoallergenic brands, but head and shoulders makes a nice shampoo + conditioner that leaves my hair pretty smooth.
posted by Half-a-Dozen Paper Cranes at 4:54 PM on July 13, 2010


Have you tried a spray-in conditioner like Infusium? You do it after the shower, while the baby sits in her bouncer and looks at herself in the mirror. (Been there.)
posted by Knowyournuts at 5:02 PM on July 13, 2010 [1 favorite]


What about a leave-in conditioner? I just shampoo in the shower, towel my hair dry, then put the leave-in conditioner in. It doesn't cut down significantly on my total preparation time, but less of it is spent in the actual shower.
posted by srah at 5:09 PM on July 13, 2010


I like the Dove Daily Moisture Therapy 2 in 1.

This.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 5:17 PM on July 13, 2010


This isn't exactly what you're asking for, but I've discovered that you can glop the shampoo and the conditioner on at the same time and then rinse them off together. This actually gets pretty much the same result.
and since I don't have a two year old, then I get to spend more time on metafilter
posted by sunnichka at 7:05 PM on July 13, 2010


My stepmom took the babies into the shower with her. I was appalled, but I was also a teenager.

The Dove works well for me when I use a 2-in-1. I also found a few years ago that switching from one product to the next every few days helps a LOT with the bad effects from the stuff that doesn't work that great for me. It was a huge budget saver when I was working part-time in Southern California (i.e., poor.)
posted by SMPA at 8:06 PM on July 13, 2010


Congratulations! How old is the baby? I've set my 5.5 month old daughter up in the bathroom with me in her bouncy chair since she was born. When she was really tiny she found the sound of the shower calming, and now that she's a bit older, I sing songs and play peek-a-boo from behind the curtain. Usually she has a good time, but occasionally I have to cut the shower short to divert a meltdown. (A long shower for me is now 15 minutes so, yeah.) I too used my husband's Pert Plus with the same results. I've found that I'm better off just using my regular shampoo and skipping the conditioner if baby girl is heading into meltdown mode than messing around with 2 in 1s.
posted by defreckled at 8:31 PM on July 13, 2010


I skip using shampoo on a daily basis (I use once every week or two). I use the conditioner like shampoo, leave it in while I quickly do everything else and then rinse off head to toe. My hair is considerably less dry overall and it saves me a step, which equals faster shower.

I never did get the whole shampoo/conditioner together concept...
posted by getmetoSF at 5:59 AM on July 14, 2010


I've always found that shampoo+conditioner combos never work that well, regardless of the brand. I'd go for a creamy shampoo (I like anything Kiehls) and then a leave-in conditioner for after the shower.

Side note - you mention you have a husband. Perhaps this is my childless naivete, but can't your husband watch the baby while you shower? At least a few times per week?
posted by melissasaurus at 6:21 AM on July 14, 2010


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