Instead of trying every shampoo out there (I’m talking store brands) tell me what you prefer, and its a majority, then thats the one I will go with. My hair is long and thin.
For store brands, I’d go with Pantene or Dove.
For salon brands, I swear by Redkin products.
For being nice to the environment and my body, I chose Burt’s Bees products.
Bed Head is the best you can find in a store, imo. It’s expensive though. Do NOT recommend Pantene, it’s chock full of wax. It might make your hair glossy at first, but over time it will weigh it down a lot. For a cheaper store brand, garnier fructis is very good, light, and smells awesome.
Salon products-I also vote for Redken. You can go to a hair salon and they will tell you which product line is best for your hair type. I use the “smooth curls” line because my hair is medium thickness and curly texture. And when I get a deep conditioning done, they use the “all soft.” It all smells great, too.
Overall I like Bed Head the best. It’s cheaper than redken, available at your retail outlet of choice, works **very **well, and it comes in pump bottles. Also, some of the Bed Head products don’t use SLS (sodium laureth/laurel sulfates), which some people find to be a huge plus.
Now that I think about it, Redkin actually isn’t that expensive if you buy the bulk containers. I buy the 1L bottles for $23.00 each. I use All Soft and it’s fantastic.
I just use cheap shampoo, Suave in whatever smell suits me the day I buy it. The main trick I used to keep my long hair healthy is to only wash it once a week, and when I did wash it, I always used conditioner after.
Ditto Redkin. I have long, straight hair and I love this stuff. I always go for the dark blue bottles or the brown bottles (All Soft). You don’t need much and I can definitely tell the difference. A bottle of shampoo and condition costs about $30 and it lasts me at least three months.
I wanted to like Burt’s Bees products, but they reacted badly to my skin and I ended up breaking out all along my scalp. 
Where do you buy yours? Is it a chain salon or a local place?
Chatters. It’s a beauty supply store (and some places have salons). I think it’s in Canada only though.
I’m a total weirdo, but a year ago I switched to using a baking soda/sea salt mix for washing. (1c warm water, 1Tbsp soda, 1tsp salt) and haven’t looked back. I have very oily skin/hair and this has been the solution. I never liked washing every day or every other day, and now I can go three and once in a while 4 days between washing. I don’t do the vinegar conditioning rinse that other no-pooers do, though. I use either an organic conditioner, or, more often, I use a dab out of the tube of stuff that comes with my box of hair color. That tube usually lasts me until the next coloring, sometimes longer - I have 3 extra tubes under the sink.
Probably not helpful for your purposes, BigBertha, but that’s my coupla pennies…
Depends on your budget.
If you’re broke:
Suave actually makes a great conditioner (ocean rain or something weird like that-light blue color) that makes hair much shinier and softer than one might expect from such a low rent product. I found it during an emergency 7-11 run on a vacation to nowheresville and was surprised by how much I loved it. Didn’t try the shampoo, but chances are it’s just as good.
If you’re rolling in greenbacks:
Kerastase products are amazing. You have to buy them in a chichi salon, but they do amazing things to your hair.
I’m a natural blonde with baby fine hair, and I use John Frieda’s Sheer Blonde formula for darker hued blonde. I like it quite a lot. Smells nice, and it doesn’t weigh my hair down much. I have to wash every single day, so I need something that is not too expensive.
Twice a week I wash my hair. I use Suave coconut smellin’ shampoo and conditioner. Does well for me.
I have shorter, thick, curly hair… so what I use prolly won’t work for you. But I have heard good things about Aussie products. I personally use Tressume’s curl care line, which I love. They may have other good products for your hair type.
I’m a blonde, and I’m a sucker for Lush Cosmetic’s the blonde solid shampoo. I don’t even need to use conditioner with it, and I appreciate that it’s made out of real stuff, not formulated in a lab.
BigBertha, are you sure you aren’t doing consumer research?
I have dandruff.
I go with Walgreen’s Coal Tar house brand.
Me, too. I use the conditioner that comes with the hair colour for shaving my legs, too - it works beautifully as a shaving “soap.”
Made from real blondes?!? :eek:
I wash my hair two or three times a week and even though I can afford any shampoo I want to buy for thirty years I have sworn by Johnson’s Baby Shampoo.
The best shampoo for my hair is Infusium 23 – the one that builds body, not the moisture rich one. It’s middle of the road in price, but I love what it does for my hair. It’s difficult to find, though. Most stores only care the moisture rich kind, and that leaves my hair greasy.