The Body Shop Shampoo Review 2024 update

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Last updated: November 16, 2024

The Body Shop has been through its ups and downs but somehow, it keeps on going! And as someone who still likes to use their haircare products, I’m pleased about that. Find out why I continue to use them in this ‘The Body Shop Shampoo Review’.

Editor’s Rating:

4.6 out of 5
2 Body Shop aluminium refill bottles containing Shea shampoo and conditioner, in a bathroom setting next to a fern in a plant pot to illustrate this Body Shop Shampoo review

Almost all of us need to use hair shampoo and conditioner, and they are products that we tend to use pretty frequently. However, I know that when I use the wrong formulation for my hair type, it can make my hair look dull and lifeless which, in turn, can affect my mood. So, it’s important to find the most appropriate product and that became abundantly clear when I was trialling this range. So read my review of The Body Shop shampoo range and find out why I also had to draft in my daughter to help with this trial.

Pros

  • Comprehensive range
  • They smell great
  • Good results
  • Vegan and cruelty-free

Cons

  • Packaging

Please note this post is not sponsored and I have not received any sample products for the purposes of this review.

Who owns The Body Shop now?

It has been the subject of many sales over the years and went from independent ownership in the 1970s, to L’Oreal, then Natura, Aurelius, and now to the Auréa Group. Hopefully this will be a lasting relationship for a brand that set out to be an ethical, cruelty-free and sustainable choice for consumers. It’s clearly very resilient and is still operating in the UK, although with fewer physical retail outlets. You can find out more about The Body Shop’s chequered history on Wikipedia.

Close up of a small dark plastic bottle with a dark green screw on lid. The label around the bottle states the brand - The Body Shop - and the contents - Ginger anti-dandruff shampoo. The bottle is standing on a shiny white sink surface with the green leaves of a houseplant slightly out of focus to the left

My experience of using The Body Shop shampoos

I can remember The Body Shop when it first started hitting the high streets in a big way in the 80s, and so can honestly say that I have been using their products for many years! But to focus in on the shampoos specifically, I have been a regular user of the Ginger, and occasional user of the Tea Tree formulations for well over 2 years, not because of any particular scalp issues but because I just really love the smell of the ginger shampoo and conditioner. I also find it’s relatively light so doesn’t weigh my hair down, leaves it smelling fresh, looking shiny and with some bounce (well, as bouncy as my hair can get).

And my husband uses the ginger shampoo consistently because it deals very effectively with his dry scalp, and when you don’t have much hair to speak of, that’s important (although I don’t think he’ll thank me for bringing that to your attention)!

I use the Tea Tree shampoo less frequently, perhaps during very hot weather and after sticky gym visits because it cuts through the grease and grime so effectively. It leaves my scalp and hair feeling really fresh and clean and although Tea Tree isn’t one of my favourite fragrances, it’s really not overpowering. And anyway, the results are worth it.

However, when I tried the Shea range on my fine, straight hair it was a bit disastrous. Whilst it made my hair shiny and bouncy at first, by day 2 my hair would look – as my Nan would have said – like rats’ tails (which look just fine on rats by the way)! I persevered for a while, but ended up having to wash it more frequently just to give it some bounce back. Consequently, in order to trial this product fairly, I enlisted the help of my daughter because her hair is thick, wavy, shiny and lustrous. Not that I’m envious or anything…

Anyway, she got on with the Shea really well. Both the shampoo and conditioner are very creamy, with a lovely fragrance, and after using it for a couple of weeks she found her hair was becoming smoother, shinier and less prone to frizz. So the Shea formulation is clearly better for her hair type. That said, I do still use it if I’m doing a lot of swimming (which really dries my hair out) because it seems to restore my hair’s natural balance after using it a couple of times.

So overall, we have tried 3 of this brand’s most popular shampoos and have had a very positive experience with all of them when we used the formulation appropriate to our respective hair types.


They have a product for all hair types

Below, I’ve listed 5 of their most popular ranges, along with the issue they address:

  • Shea – to repair and moisturise
  • Tea Tree – to purify and invigorate
  • Ginger – for dry, itchy scalps
  • Banana – for dry, frizz-prone hair
  • Moringa – to bring shine to dull hair

Whilst I have tested only the first 3 listed, reading The Body Shop shampoo reviews on their online store directly from customers suggest the others are just as popular.

And in addition to these more traditional products, they also have shampoo bars in 3 of their most popular ranges, as well as a variety of other haircare products like oils, scrubs, and serums. There seems to be a product for pretty much every hair type.


I love the fragrances in The Body Shop shampoo range

Whilst the fragrances are quite strong as you use them (which I like because it makes the bathroom smell nice!) once my hair is dry, it’s left with a subtle scent of the product that lasts all day. The other lovely thing about them is that their smell matches the description – the ginger shampoo smells like ginger and the banana shampoo actually has, well, banana in it! That sounds a bit daft, but with some other shampoos, they can have quite a synthetic smell whereas these smell natural, like they should I guess.


We were happy with the effectiveness of these shampoos

Using both the Ginger and the Tea Tree shampoos left my hair feeling lightweight, shiny and bouncy and I was able to add an extra day without washing it because they didn’t weigh my hair down or make it greasy. And my husband’s use of the Ginger shampoo manages his dry scalp very successfully and as a result, he doesn’t have to use any of the well-known non-vegan dandruff brands which he’s pleased about.

Equally, my daughter’s thick hair really benefitted from the Shea range, although it took a couple of weeks before it kicked in. Designed to repair and protect dry and damaged hair, the Shea range of haircare products look, smell and feel like luxuriant products. Both the shampoo and conditioner are thick and creamy which might make you think they are difficult to rinse out, but not so!

And I do use it occasionally too. When my hair gets dry and brittle (I do a bit of swimming in the sea and in chlorinated pools), I find that the Shea range helps to repair it and I can comb the conditioner through too without causing more damage. However, because I have very fine, straight hair, I find the product a little too heavy for general use.


The shampoos and conditioners are vegan and cruelty-free

The great news is that all The Body Shop products are now vegan. Previously, some of their products had contained beeswax, honey, lanolin and even shellac (an insect secretion). However, the brand is keen to state that it is now fully vegan.

In addition, The Body Shop is accredited as cruelty-free by PETA and has the Leaping Bunny certification too. As a business, they have never tested on animals and The Body Shop is an active campaigner on these issues too, trying to ensure that animal-testing is abolished worldwide.


Still a lot of plastic packaging

It’s a shame really because The Body Shop over the years has tried hard to introduce plastic bottle returns and refill schemes. But I guess with Covid, and the brand’s fairly frequent change of ownership, progress seems to have stalled a bit. So a lot of the products still come in plastic bottles and tubs, often with lids that aren’t recyclable, although I notice that at least some of the packaging is now made from recycled plastic so perhaps that’s some progress. With fewer stores though, I can’t see that their refill options are going to expand any time soon, but maybe we just need to ‘watch this space’.

Aluminium refillable bottle of The Body Shop Shea shampoo on a bathroom shelf in front of a fern plant

My verdict on The Body Shop shampoo review

I do like so many of The Body Shop products, and it’s even better now that their entire range is vegan – no more insect and animal secretions like shellac, lanolin and beeswax! And although their products aren’t all completely ‘natural’, they certainly avoid some of the nastier ingredients that you can find in other brands of personal care products, so I’m more than happy to use these lovely shampoos and conditioners.

From an environmental perspective, The Body Shop seem to be trying to do their bit too, often using recycled, recyclable plastic packaging, and offering a limited refills service too. Their website is easy to use, with everything very clearly labelled and whenever I’ve been in store, I’ve found their staff generally very helpful too.

They may be a little pricier than the standard haircare products you can buy in the supermarket (from £3.60 per 100ml for liquid shampoos, £1.67 per 10g for bars) although not as expensive as others so mid-price range. But overall, my experience of using these good quality products means that I would be happy to recommend them to anyone.

Where can you buy The Body Shop shampoo?

I buy all my products direct from their online shop where you can also benefit from their frequent discounts and special offers. However, you can buy them in-store too although since their recent takeover, they have significantly fewer stores in the high streets.

More vegan haircare articles

I hope you’ve enjoyed The Body Shop shampoo review. But if you haven’t found what you’re looking for here, there are lots of other lovely, natural vegan shampoos and conditioners out there so take a look at some of my other guides and reviews below. You can also read about some other ‘The Body Shop’ products in my Best Vegan Shower Gels guide and in my Vegan Winter Skincare article.

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