What To Do When Your Hair Products Don't Work

Imagine this.

You just got a new shampoo or conditioner. They may have been a free sample, a gift from a friend, or a new release from your favorite brand you’ve been dying to try. You use it on your hair and go through the rest of your routine. But something doesn’t feel right. Your hair may feel too dry, too greasy, or something else not so great.

The new product doesn’t work for your hair.

So now what do you do with that hair product? You can’t use it on your hair anymore.

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I’ve been there several times. I sometimes get free hair products or even buy products that my hair ends up not liking. So I’ve come up with six different things I can do when a hair product isn’t working for my hair.

1. Return or exchange the products

Yep. If I used the hair product once and bought it within the last few days I’ll take it back to the store and return or exchange it for another product. There's nothing wrong with returning it if it's not working or you don't like it and you follow the store's return policy.

Watch: Hair Tip: The Difference Between Protein & Moisturizing Conditioners

2. Give the products away

I know, I know, I know. How could I give away a product that my hair hated? Just because it didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. There are several people in my life between family and friends who have different hair types and also aren't as selective about what they use on their hair as I am.

3. Use them in a product cocktail

If the shampoo or conditioner wasn't so bad that it caused my hair to revolt, I'll mix them with other products that do work with my hair and create a product cocktail. 

For example, I'll take the shampoo and mix it with a little bit of shampoo from my go-to stash. The conditioner may end up in a pre-poo mix with a conditioner my hair likes and some of my favorite oils.

I've found that using more of the go-to product/ingredient in the mix helps to negate the issues experienced when using the non-working product alone.

Related read: 10 Great Hair Products Under $10

4. Leave them out for guests

When I travel and stay with family I don't always bring a lot of toiletries because I know I can "borrow" some of theirs. This could also be true for some of your family and friends who visit you. So why not place some of these shampoos and conditioners you don't like in your guest bathroom for guests to use? I've done this a few times and my guests have really appreciated it.

5. Use the conditioner as shaving cream

Some former coworkers once told me when they travel and stay at hotels they use the free conditioner for shaving cream. I was skeptical about how conditioner would work in place of shaving cream, but gave it a try and found it totally works!

Now when I have a conditioner that didn't work for my hair I may opt to keep it and use it instead of shaving cream. Conditioners that don't help my hair feel soft and moisturized can help my legs and underarms feel soft and moisturized during shaving.

Related read: 8 Additional Ways To Use Hair Conditioner

6. Use the shampoo as a cleaner

I currently have a couple of shampoos in my bathroom cabinet that dried out my hair. So now I’ve started using them to clean my combs and applicator bottles.

I’ll also use gentle, sulfate-free shampoos to clean my makeup brushes and sponges. It’s a cleanser so why not let them do what they were made to do.