14 of the best budget-friendly shampoos for your next hair wash day

Let’s be real, damage and incredible hair often go hand in hand. Yep, it’s devastating. But fear not, damaged hair isn’t going to be your tipping point to stopping dying your mane. This all natural reparative shampoo is here to cocoon your strands back to life. Think of this shampoo like a big warm, nurturing hug for hair. The all natural, vegan formulation includes the strand-strengthening likes of Australian macadamia oil, hyaluronic acid and panthenol for the utmost hydration your hair could need. 

$20 at Woolworths

Get ready to enter your most hydrated luscious locks era! This multifunction powerhouse could be just the shampoo to replace all shampoos. Okay not to be dramatic but when you hear the ingredients in this bottle you’ll understand.

Glow Lab set out on a mission to create natural, effective, no-nasties products that really work, and won’t break the bank. Their hydrating shampoo epitomises this mission, packed with incredible active ingredients, such as shea butter for hydration, and Functional Keratin® which helps to protect and prevent from breakage. They’ve even thought of an antistatic ingredient (betaine) to help with those pesky fly aways!

Your hair is already calling out to be quenched, protected, enriched and de-frizzed with this wonderful shampoo.

$33 at Woolworths

Curly-haired friends, rejoice! No more missing out on budget beauty buys! Shea Moisture is the cruelty-free, nasties-free shampoo that your tremendous tresses have so long desired! Enriched with moisturising shea butter and nourishing, curl-enhancing silk proteins, plus neem oil, your curls will have never looked (or smelled) better!

$26.22 at iHerb

Alright girlies, we know that sometimes the best financial decisions don’t always come in the most aesthetic bottles.

Monday is here to bust that thought. The stunning pale pink bottles will fit in with your shower “shelfie”, and not only is it beautiful to look at, but its active ingredients pack a punch. Made to balance your hair pH, it’s dermatologically tested, cruelty free and SLS/paraben free, so we don’t doubt you’ll be completely sold before you even see the incredible results. 

This shampoo is made with ginger root to help stimulate and volumise your hair from the scalp, coconut oil to maintain that luscious shine and vitamin E to support hair and scalp health. Not to paraphrase Mean Girls but that’s why your hair will be so big… It's full of Monday's secrets. 

Need we say more?

$10 at Coles

This one is for our sensitive skin girls, because, it’s okay to be sensitive, okay?

With ingredients sourced from nature, Sukin is helping us take the best care of the environment and honestly, ourselves. While the micellar gently cleanses your hair and scalp, chamomile extract and aloe help to hydrate and soothe, and a trio of oils (coconut, avocado and argan) lock in the shiniest, moisturised hair you could ever hope for. 

$19 at Sukin Naturals

Considering we’re all self-proclaimed caffeine addicts (no we’re not ashamed) the thought of caffeine surrounding us everywhere we go is an absolute dream that OGX Anti-hair Fall is bringing to life. 

This wonderful concoction that smells absolutely good enough to drink (obvs please don’t), is here to save your strands. 

Formulated with caffeine, and coconut oil this shampoo will help to strengthen those locks, and wake up lifeless locks. Using it will help to prevent future breakage, by reinforcing your hair’s natural strength.

$23 at Chemist Warehouse

TRESemmé is a name that we all know and trust; it’s been giving us salon- quality hair for years. And now that we’re reaching for that hair dye a bit more, we’ve got to make sure that we’re maintaining our colour and hair health. 

That’s where TRESemmé Colour Revitalise Shampoo steps in! Nutri-oil, rosemary oil and green tea extract help to protect your salon perfect colour, while UV fibres work to replenish your hair's moisture. 

“This shampoo really protects my colour. I have dark hair that I colour regularly and when using this shampoo my hair looks brighter and shinier and it keeps my colour looking good and lasting for longer. It’s great value for money, at under $15.00 it’s a huge container and lasts for ages and delivers salon worthy results, much the same as a much more expensive shampoo. The flip top is handy and means no mess and it lathers and rinses well. I recommend using the matching conditioner in this range for silky shiny hair and vibrant colour that lasts. I will definitely be buying more of this shampoo, TRESemmé is a great brand that delivers great results and I would recommend this product” - Debbie P. BEAUTYcrew Member

$13.99 at Chemist Warehouse

It’s the topic no one really wants to talk about, but really we all get it from time to time. Let’s open up the convo on dandruff chat. 

This incredible ingredient-packed shampoo is here to fight the battles for everyone struggling with scalp health. From psoriasis all the way to eczema and dandruff, it will soothe those itchy scalp feelings that come with an irritated or unbalanced scalp.

Neutrogena’s T/Gel formula lathers up just the same as any other shampoo and gives your hair and scalp a good deep clean, leaving you thanking us for easing your itchy scalp. 

$15 at Chemist Warehouse

Okay, we get it, we’re not going to wash our hair every day, or nor should we! To get us through those ‘just too greasy to pass’ but ‘can’t be bothered to wash’ days, we’ve luckily got dry shampoo. And not any dry shampoo: the Klorane range has multiple incredible dry shampoos for you to choose from. They even have a tinted range! 

This show-stopper of a can will cure your oily woes. With nettle extract as a proven oil buster as it’s main ingredient, your hair will get an extra volumising kick and be back to its usual stunning self in no time. 

$16.99 at Adore Beauty

This shampoo substitute (or extra pre-shampoo step if you’re feeling spicy), is designed to deeply clean and exfoliate your scalp, with the use of sea salt granules as a physical exfoliant able to remove any product build up that’s accumulated. Made with peppermint oil to stimulate and purify, your scalp will be feeling fresh and squeaky clean after this detox.

Added bonus: it’s made here in Australia without any parabens, sulphates or silicone. Win!

$16.99 at Priceline

Special Mention! 

We just had to include this last product in the mix, because while it may not be a shampoo it goes hand in hand with our hair wash routines. 

The Lady Jayne Restorative Brush  is designed to rejuvenate the scalp with its silicone bristles, aiding with stimulation and circulation.

We love to really get our shampoo lathered in with the brush for our cleanest hair wash yet.

$22.99 at Chemist Warehouse

Dandruff needn’t be a taboo topic, because the white flakey stuff happens to the best of us. If your mane is suffering, and your scalp errs on the sensitive side then it’s best to opt for a nourishing pH-balanced shampoo that’s specially designed to care for your sensitive scalp. The dermatologically-tested formulation will not only cleanse away any additional buildup, but it’ll also soothe, all thanks to gentle aloe vera. 

$14.99 at Priceline

If your hair has ended up on the straw-like side, it’s time to boost those moisture levels. The Pantene Pro-V Moisture Renewal Shampoo is specially formulated with a selection of strand-salvaging vitamins (leaving out the silicones) to give your hair the lightweight moisture-boost it needs. The carefully designed formula even goes one step further, working to strengthen your strands from the inside out.

$9.99 at Priceline

Who says buying budget beauty means you have to sacrifice anything? Not only does this Herbal Essences shampoo not compromise on quality (think incredible argan oil nourishment), but it also doesn’t compromise on ethics, with a completely vegan, cruelty-free formula that’s even jam-packed with plant-based antioxidant ingredients. All that for an affordable price;, we couldn’t ask for more. 

$9.99 at Chemist Warehouse