Much like virtually everything in the personal care category. Shampoo is a scam. Conditioner is a scam. Lotions and washes and creams are scams. Antibacterial xyz is a scam.
Hot water and plain soap work wonders all by themselves.
Hot water and plain soap work wonders all by themselves.
Likewise, this time of year I'm reminded by nature to buy a bottle of really good quality moisturizing shampoo. My experience has also suggested any conditioner you can buy at Walmart is a scam, but for certain heads and certain climates, spending more on the good stuff makes the difference between your hair being anemic or healthy. I switch to nice shampoo every winter and year after year the difference is night and day within a week or two.
Fabric softener on the other hand...what a waste!
A bottle of the most expensive olive oil is still cheaper per fluid oz. than a bottle of lotion.
There are mosturizing creams that are much less greasy
https://www.amazon.com/Palmers-Cocoa-Butter-Soothing-Itchy/d... https://www.amazon.com/Palmers-Cocoa-Butter-Formula-Therapy/... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A4D5YM/
If I use Aveeno brand shampoo and conditioner, this never happens, ever. Not a single white flake. Nothing else has done it. Totally brand loyal and that stuff isn't cheap, nor is it advertised as a dandruff product
That's why I don't use those either (in shower). Usually I wash with water only, sometimes with some bar soap.
For killing bacteries in my armpits (which causes the bad smell of sweat, thus "deodorant") I use coconut oil. Works superbly, but makes stains in shirts as a downside.
(Or they actually die because they don't like it, but bacteria is famous for processing whatever it can get)
I found at least one study showing that coconut oil _extract_ has negative effect on E. Coli growth[2]. Of course, this is not same as using virgin coconut oil.
There's also a study[3] showing that Coconut Oil may boost the growth for some other bacteria.
Anyway, personally I've found it to work, whatever the mechanism is.
[1] http://www.medicaldaily.com/what-causes-body-odor-small-amou...
[2] http://innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ijpps/article...
There may be some products you actually do consume for no good reason, but note that even if a product serves no real purpose, it can still have value to you, even if just by making you feel good about owning or using it.
You could say that all of fashion is a "scam", because cheap, plain-looking clothes can protect you from the elements just as well as expensive, extravagant clothes. But nevertheless the latter can serve a purpose, such as (for example) social signaling that can enhance your reproductive success -- so it has evolutionary utility. Same with fancy cars, more or less.
A $10.000 pair of shoes doesn't claim to do anything more than a $100 pair of shoes, except maybe being more luxurious and lasting.