October 10, 2016

Do You Use Shower Gel as Shampoo?

shower-gel-as-shampoo

Do you use shower gel as shampoo? Guilty! I have used shower gel as shampoo. But I wouldn’t recommend it! I guess it could be worst! My x-boyfriend washed his hair with a bar of soap. Don’t even get me started on that….

Seriously, men really are from Mars.

Lush has commonly placed “shower gel” on their labels but if you read the descriptions they’ll recommend you use their shower gel in your hair. For example, Snow Fairy used to be marketed for use on your body and in your hair. But I WOULD not recommend it. It makes you hair smell amazing with a long lasting linger and incredible throw. Believe me, everyone and anyone will ask what you have in your hair. But man, it makes my hair as dry as straw! Actually most of Lush Shower Gels do this!

Philosophy also markets their formula for both hair and body but their formula is a lo more gentle on hair compared to Lush but still a bit drying!

Yeah, I’ve definitely used shower gels as shampoo a time or two but it isn’t something I’d recommend nor would I do it daily as it dries my already dry hair out badly. Not to mention it causes tangles and knots! Ugh!

But some days you just want your hair to smell like Lush Snow Fairy yanno? Want the Snow Fairy smell but don’t want the knots and dryness? Try out some of Lathers and Lights Shampoo and Conditioners in their Lush Dupe scents!

Have you ever used shower gel as a shampoo?

What results did you have?

Do share!

About the Muse

Isabella MuseIsabella is just an average everyday geeky girl who doesn’t blend her eyeshadow correctly, wears too much blush, and hopes she never finds her holy grail products because she likes the thrill of the chase so much. Her mission is to bring you super honest reviews on makeup, skincare, fragrance and all things beauty. She’s in no way an expert on the topic and she sure as hell isn’t a super model. But she’s passionate about makeup and is seeking like-minded individuals that like pina coladas, getting caught in the rain, and ones that enjoy spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora without feeling buyer’s remorse. If you’re that person feel free to reach out and leave a comment or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Bloglovin‘.

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Comments

  • Emily

    No. My hair is naturally curly and tangles like crazy. Its an ordeal to wash it without getting it all tangled up. I can’t even image what my crazy hair would do if I washed with shower gel. I could see doing this though for woman that have normal unruly hair.

  • ChynnaBlue

    I’ve used WEN for years, so there’s no shampoo in my bathroom and I haven’t bought any in years. I also color my own hair and occasionally it comes out too dark and I want it to fade faster than normal. (I color it red, so there’s a lot of fade in the first 2 weeks.) I used to buy a travel shampoo if I wanted to use shampoo to wash some color out, but then I realized I could just use a shower gel to do the same thing. So short story long, yes, but very rarely. 🙂

  • Carrie

    My boyfriend uses those men’s 3-in-1 body wash+shampoo+conditioner things and it makes me die on the inside that he uses the same thing on his body that he uses on his hair.

  • EliCaroline

    No.
    I’m always baffled by the shampoo/body wash situations. I always assumed there was so much fragrance in a shower gel that it couldn’t be good for my hair.

    On the other hand, I have used shampoo as a bodywash before 😉

  • Claudia

    I haven’t and wouldn’t unless I should run out or shampoo was not available. But that is not likely since I have like 30 bottles not shampoo hoarded in the closet. On that weird note though, my bro uses lotion in his hair. Ewww. It looks greasy and but makes it smell good for a little bit until his natural dude stink takes over.

  • Countess

    I use WEN too. So nothing else washes my hair. But I have used WEN cleansing conditioner as a body wash. Especially 6/13.

  • Codename Duchess

    The only shower gel I ever used as a shampoo is the old B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful shower gel from Lush (the actual Lush one, not the B Never one which had a little different formula and fragrance) and it was actually pretty great for my hair! All of that honey made my hair so soft and shiny!

    I also used to use Lush Gentle Lentil solid shampoo as a body soap. It lathered up beautifully with a mesh sponge and the suds were soft soft and smelled so nice! It was very gentle and moisturizing.

  • ch

    eh, I use a bar of natural soap instead of shower gel. cause I don’t like strong *chemical* fragrance of most shower gels. also many of them make my skin drier. organic shower gels are too expensive considering how much I use.
    so mild natural soaps with oils and herbs are my thing. not that expensive, long-lasting, and the lather is dense and pleasantly fragrant. and my skin is not dry afterwards, what’s not to love? )))

  • Susan

    I bought the Paula’s Choice body wash that is marketed as a shampoo too. I was thinking it would be good for travel. I’ve yet to use it, but I’m curious, since I love the brand and they are big on making quality products.

  • diane

    no way. i’m picky enough with actually shampoos that dry my hair out i wouldn’t want to try body wash on my hair.

  • Rose

    L’Occitane’s Shower Creme is suitable for both hair and body and leaves hair really lovely and shiny. Aveda Calming Cleanser could also be used on hair and body (until it was discontinued) and smellled lovely – rose, lavender and vanilla. You could even hand wash laundry in it – I’d rinse out underwear with it when on hols. I actually wish more brands would do this because it would be a real boon when travelling to be able to use one product for multiple things. And I’d like it even more if that included some of the higher end brands with nice fragrances, so the only options weren’t cheap fruity supermarket type brands.

  • Britni

    I have used body wash as shampoo in desperate situations when i forgot I was completely out of cowash. It didn’t work well. As someone who has curly hair that’s naturally dry and course, it’s also extremely color treated, cowash and deep conditioners are the only thing that touches my hair, but I’d be lying if I denied using body wash a time or two. I can’t act like I’ve never forgotten to buy a new bottle when I ran out of whatever I was using.

  • Liz

    I definitely do this! Some of the 3-in-1 body wash-bubble-bath-shampoo combos have dried out my hair (e.g., Cake Beauty’s line), but not all of them. I have fine, wavy hair, and if I don’t use a soapier cleanser on my hair, the styling products I use build up and weigh my hair down like crazy, making my hair look stringy and weird. The 3-in-1 “shower smoothies” that Ulta makes have worked well for me, and several of them smell wonderful. If you’re on a tight budget and like gourmand fragrances (Muse, I think we share this tendency), there are 3-in-1s sold at budget stores (like Big Logs), made by a company called Belcam that are shockingly high quality for how inexpensive they are. I bought one once on a whim because I liked the particular fragrance so much (pistachio & cream, which smells exactly like pistachio ice cream), thinking, “it will probably suck since it’s so cheap, but at least I won’t be wasting much money.” But it turned out to work really well, and it’s become my go-to for both shower gel and shampoo. They also have one that smells like vanilla ice cream, another that smells like caramel (and it actually does smell like caramel, not just an artificial chemical scent), and a bunch of other non-gourmand ones. Their fruity or floral ones aren’t as nice, IMHO, but they do the gourmand fragrances really well. Since the 3-in-1s can be a little drying, I do use an excellent conditioner afterwards & good styling products to fight the dryness/tangling/frizz. But I can’t stand having styling-product build-up in my hair, so even if I weren’t using a 3-in-1, I’d need a good clarifying (i.e., harsh) shampoo anyway. Glad to hear I’m not the only female human who does this, LOL!

  • Jaiden

    I’m a man I use shower gel as shampo it smalls lovely I love it but don’t now about girls hair

    • Isabella Muse

      I think it works fine for a guy but it can def make a girl’s hair super dry!