Recipe - Replacement for Pert for Oily Hair Shampoo
Once upon a time, Pert made
a version of their shampoo-and-conditioner product which was formulated
for people with oily hair. I don't know how many other people
availed themselves of this formula, but I for one relied on it quite
heavily. My hair generates copious oil, and it does horrible
things to my skin if I don't wash it away periodically.
Ordinary shampoos don't make the
grade; they leave me clean for the first few hours out of the shower, and
then I'm covered in oil again. Even with a good shampoo, few will
last the entire day. Most of those that did last the entire day,
left my hair frizzy and straw-like, and looking like hell.
Pert's formula of oil-stripping shampoo and hair conditioner
worked pretty darned well, though. Nothing else came even close.
Then they cut the product!
A few years ago, Pert stopped making this Oily Hair formula, and
instead started packaging their products in various flavors -- normal,
extra body, extra moisturizing, etc, but nothing for oily
hair. The official Pert FAQ recognizes this and recommends washing
with the extra body formula twice, rinsing between lathers.
This didn't work very well for me.
I tried mixing my own, but no mix
of the new Pert products seemed to match the effectiveness of the old
formula. Even so, necessity is mother of invention, and I expanded
the scope of my experimental ingredients until I found something that
worked as well as the original "good stuff".
The mixture is simple, but it's
important (at least for me) to get the proportions right:
* 60% Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo
* 40% Pert Simply Cleanse & Condition Shampoo and Conditioner (the new stuff)
Note that there are two Daily
Clarifying Suave products: a shampoo, and a conditioner. You want
to make sure to get the shampoo. It comes in a clear bottle, and is a
translucent amber color. Fortunately it is inexpensive and very much
ubiquitous.
I have noticed that if I get the mix
off by much, I will either end up with straw-like hair, or my hair will be
too oily at the end of the day. 50%/50% is too much Pert. 75%/25%
is too much Suave.
As an aside, I also had good luck with
a 40% Suave, 40% Pert, 20% Fantastic Sams mix, but
stopped using the Sams because it is rather expensive.
Am I a little obsessive about this?
Well, yes I am. But it's something I'll obsess over gladly, and I have
put this recipe here as the fruits of that obsession, for the benefit of
anyone in the same boat (but lacking the nitpickiness necessary for finding
a formula that works for them).
One more aside -- I still have a couple
of Family Sized bottles of the original Oily Hair. I've opened
one, and use it occasionally, but the other is unopened. Wonder if
it's worth anything to anyone? Perhaps I'll try auctioning it off on
eBay someday and find out!
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