Prell Shampoo and the $19 Conditioner

If you admit to remembering Prell as the leading shampoo along with Breck, you date yourself. You even understand references to John Edwards as the "Breck girl."

Last week I was reminded of Prell for the first time in years as I watched one of those morning talk shows that purported to show how to save money in the New Year. I don't remember how much Prell cost, except that it cost more than the other brands my mother wanted me to use. It did produce better results. Whether they were better than results from today's heavily researched and promoted products, I have no idea.

What stuck in my mind about the program, however, was not the cost of Prell. The two women advised buying a cheaper shampoo and a more expensive conditioner. Needless to say, what they considered cheap was what I considered expensive. Their advice was to purchase shampoo that cost only about $4 per bottle and conditioner that cost only about $19 per bottle (as opposed to those expensive ones!).

I had already discovered the advantage of purchasing the cheaper shampoo and more expensive conditioner, just in a different price range. Yes, my advice, for what it's worth, is to go with the $1 or less bottle of shampoo and the $4 bottle of conditioner. That's $5 as compared to $23 per supply. Of course, with BOGO and coupons, I never pay as much as $5.

Those women need to get out more. Come to think of it, on their salaries it doesn't matter!