Many people can never find a hair product that works for their hair type, so how do they finally choose which one to use? Even though there are too many to brands to name, I am going to be comparing two popular drug store brands; Dove and Herbal Essence. There are many differences and similarities between these products and it is hard to choose which is better. Herbal Essences has the best inexpensive shampoo and conditioner because, it has a wonderful and powering fragrance, has a great after use look that leaves hair feeling smooth and soft, it has a larger product variety, and is more cost efficient.
Compared to Dove, Herbal Essences without a doubt has a stronger and longer lasting fragrance. Dove has a subtle fragrance that does not seem to last as long as other leading brands such as Herbal Essences. A review on Dove products from viewpoints.com, which has personal views, says this, “I would've washed my hairs more often than usual because it caused some dandruff and oil some. I felt often my hairs were dirty and there was some weird smell. Some of my friends love this shampoo, they say it prevents from their hair being dry which makes hair broken up on ends easily and helps them to feel their hair smooth. But for me, it caused dandruff, weird smells, and itchy.”(Dove Shampoo- All Types Reviews) As for a Herbal Essences review from viewpoints.com, “I liked this product. It smells very good and made my hair very soft. The smell is really amazing also. It leaves my hair with this great fragrance all day.” (“Herbal Essences Hydralicious Reviews”) Herbal Essences uses more oils and fragrances in the products that have stronger, longer lasting smells. For example, in Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo, it has three different fragrances; vanilla planifolia fruit extract, cocos nucifera(coconut) fruit extract, and fragrance (“Herbal Essences hair care and color products”), as for Dove Daily Moisture Therapy Shampoo, has one, fragrance (parfum). (“Dove”) Just because one smells better than the other, fragrance is not the only deciding factor of which brand to use.
The fragrance of different brands of shampoo and conditioner may smell better then one another, but the after look and feel of the hair may matter more. A female from Austin, Texas writes this about an Herbal Essences shampoo, “I've only been using thing shampoo for a week, but WOW what a difference. It leaves my hair super soft and bouncy. The difference was noticeable after only 1-2 washes. My husband even noticed and asked me if I'd gotten my hair cut. When I told him I was just using a new shampoo, he asked, “Was it expensive?!””(Ratings & Reviews”) As well as another female from Maryland wrote, “This is- by far- the best shampoo that I have tried! It made my hair shiny, soft and frizz-free! Buy it! Or at least try someone else’s!”(“Ratings & Reviews”) Herbal Essences seems to have many reviews in favor of their products with only 4% of reviews that are lower than three stars. Dove on the other hand has 22% of their reviews lower than three stars. How can this be when they have reviews that are similar to Herbal Essences? To show some examples, here are a few Dove review; a female from Honolulu, HI quotes, “I love Dove Shampoo's especially this one because I have really long hair, this shampoo makes my hair feel weightless. I am really picky about the shampoo that I use, so when I decide to try a different shampoo, I always end up switching back to Dove.” (“Dove Shampoo- All Types Reviews”) Another review from a female in San Diego, CA wrote, “My hair was damaged from a perm when I started using Dove Intensive Repair (the blue bottle). I started noticing my hair was getting softer and lying much better almost immediately. I highly recommend this shampoo and conditioner to anyone who has damaged hair. Even my stylist commented on the difference in my hair after I started using Dove.” (“Dove Shampoo- All Types Reviews”) With all of the top ratings from both Herbal Essences and Dove, it seems hard to choose one over the other. The after look of the hair is important to most people, but it goes farther then just looks.
Someone’s hair may look great, but if it does not feel great, they have nothing going for them. The texture of ones hair has a major part in deciding which brand to buy and use. You can have rough, tangled, or course hair that looks great when your ten feet away, but if you try to run your fingers through your hair and it just gets caught, you wont use the product anymore. With both reviews stating one is better than the other, this is where they get tough and you start picking off the one with less of what you want. With Viewpoints.com showing us that Herbal Essences has a rating of 4.54 out of 5 from 26 users, and Dove has a rating of 4.08 out of 5 from 50 users, Herbal Essences seems to be liked more. Herbal Essences compared to Dove, has a tremendously larger amount of hair products. Is this where Herbal Essences beats out Dove? The amount of variety gives consumers more options so they have a better chance to like the product. Herbal Essences has 15 categories that they use to target each specific hair type. In each category they have many different products that range from hair spray, gel, mousse, shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner, hair dye, frizz control, and even shimmer spray. As for Dove they have five main categories which are; shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, mousse, and hair cream. The amount of product for both of these brands; Herbal Essences and Dove, are significant and they are very different plus of minus a few similar products.
The costs of the different products go hand in hand with the variety. The more variety the brand has the cheaper they can be since they have more products for consumers to choose from. Dove, who does not have the variety of hair products that’s Herbal Essences does, seems to be more costly. Herbal Essences has been a leading brand ever since their commercials in the shower with girls saying, “Yes, Yes, Yes,” from the smell and feeling it was leaving them. These commercials grabbed the attention of consumers, which gives Herbal Essences a jump start on drawing consumers in to purchase the products. So, since the cost of Dove and Herbal Essences is similar, one brand is still cheaper than the other. Drugstore.com shows that a 12fl oz bottle of Herbal Essences shampoo or conditioner is $3.99 yet a 12fl oz bottle of Dove shampoo or conditioner is $4.75. For the price to be a $.76 difference it may or may not be the deciding factor on which shampoo and conditioner to use.
The difference in product plays a tremendous role in consumer’s decision making. Herbal Essences it is known for its fragrance, as for Dove it is known for its moisturizing ability. So where do consumers draw the line? With so many people having different and unique hair types how can they find the perfect shampoo or conditioner? With Herbal Essences having a larger variety people with unique hair types have a better chance find that perfect match. Although reviewers have there pros and cons about each brand, Dove has a lower over all rating than Herbal Essences does. As I have shown Herbal Essences has the best inexpensive shampoo and conditioner because it has a strong fresh sent, leaves hair feeling and looking better than ever, has more variety, and it is less expensive than other brands. All of this shows that Herbal Essences blows Dove out of the water.
Works Cited
“Dove Damage Therapy Daily Moisture Shampoo.” Dove. Unilever, 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2010.
“Dove Shampoo- All Types Reviews.” Viewpoints Let’s Review. Viewpoints Network, 2006-2010. Web. 29 Mar 2010.
“Hair Care.” Dove. Unilever. 2010. Web. 29 Mar 2010.
“Hello Hydration moisturizing shampoo.” Herbal Essences hair care and color products. P&G, 2010. Web. 1 Apr 2010.
“Herbal Essences Hair Care Products.” Herbal Essences hair care and hair color products. P&G, 2010. Web. 29 Mar 2010.
“Herbal Essences Hydralicious Reviews.” Viewpoints Let’s Review. Viewpoints Network, 2006-2010. Web. 29 Mar 2010.
