# what can anyone tell me about this shampoo?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 28, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351 "2003-09-28T20:17:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Merla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merla)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/1 "2003-09-28T20:17:53Z")
Warning: Silly post. I’m basically just looking for someone who knows to confirm true or false this strange rumor I heard.
I have weak hair that breaks a lot. So I bought some Garnier Fructis; you know, the shampoo that promises to make your hair five times stronger. So far I like it- I’ve only used it twice, but it smells great, lathers up well and makes my hair less oily.
But a friend of mine says he learned in class that it kills your hair. That is, 1 in every 10 people has a reaction to this shampoo that makes all the skin cells around your hair follicles die, and causes some hair to fall out. This sounds ridiculous to me, if this were true they’d have to have some sort of warning on the bottle, right? He told me to stop using it right away if I want to keep my hair. And he was dead serious.
Has anyone else heard this strange rumor?
I told you this was a silly post.
Merla
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### Author:  [@LifeInHIM86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeInHIM86)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/2 "2003-09-28T20:27:10Z")
I use Fructis as well and love it. I haven’t heard that rumor… but then again… I’ve been shedding a lot lately! (Not really. Not any more than usual, anyway.)
Sorry I don’t have an answer, but I’m interested to see if anyone puts any stock in the rumor.
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### Author:  [@FreeRange\_Maniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FreeRange_Maniac)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/3 "2003-09-28T20:28:28Z")
I use it too, and haven’t had any weird problems with my hair. Sound like an urban legend in the making…
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/4 "2003-09-28T20:32:08Z")
Dang! I shave my head, and it’d be _soooooooo_ much easier to just buy a bottle of this stuff and use it.
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### Author:  [@Kieras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kieras)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/5 "2003-09-28T21:37:22Z")
I have used Garnier Fructis in the past.
I have never heard of your rumor. I tried looking around the net and didnt see anything about it either.
I would ask your hair stylist what they recommend for your hair.
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### Author:  [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/6 "2003-09-28T21:53:36Z")
I think your friend is mistaking what the fruit acids in Garnier Fructis actually do. These fruit acids exfoliate your scalp; they loosen even further scalp cells that are ready to come off. This means that there is less buildup of cells and that your scalp is free of pore clinging debris. It certainly doesn’t mean that your hair follicles are being washed away. It works the same way skin cells on your face react when you put on an alpha hydroxy cream. The cells that are ready to come off, come off even sooner, leaving a cleaner smoother complexion.
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### Author:  [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/7 "2003-09-28T21:56:23Z")
I’ve used Garnier Fructis… never had any problems…
Maybe he’s confusing it with a B-12 deficiency? My Grandma when she was younger lost all her hair because of that and now gets shots monthly to help with that…
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### Author:  [@Merla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merla)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/8 "2003-09-28T22:03:17Z")
So far it sounds like I shouldn’t be too worried about my hair falling out. Yet some of you say you have USED fructis. What made you stop?
Merla
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### Author:  [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/9 "2003-09-28T22:30:28Z")
Mainly I buy whichever is cheapest of my usual shampoos… lately I buy some really nice stuff from the dollar store. Got to save money somewhere…
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### Author:  [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)
#### Post date: [September 28, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-anyone-tell-me-about-this-shampoo/204351/10 "2003-09-28T22:47:57Z")
I USED Frutis and stopped before I used even 1/4 of the bottle. Maybe it’s just me, but I could _not_ rinse the stuff out of my hair. It smelled divine, but I could stand in the shower and rinse my hair for literally 10 minutes (raking fingers through and the whole 9 yards), and my hair would still dry to a greasy-looking sheen. Considering I have very fine, straight hair, it looked _horrible_. ☹