Putting shampoo claims to the test

If you've shopped for shampoo lately, you've probably been overwhelmed by all the claims: More body! Faster drying! Makes your hair squeaky clean! But do the shampoos really measure up?

To find out, the Good Housekeeping Institute put the most recent crop of shampoo claims to the test. Using hair swatches, our experts pitted a control shampoo against some new brands. The control shampoo was Suave Protein and Balsam Shampoo for Normal Hair, one of the few formulas that makes no promises other than to clean hair.

The bottom line: The shampoos pretty much did what they claimed, but you don't have to spend the most to get the best results.

Rapid-drying

Rapid-dry formula shampoos say they can shorten your drying time because they coat the hair with special substances.

The institute tested J.F. Lazartigue's Rapid Drying Shampoo ($17 for 5.1 fluid ounces) and Redken's Active Express Flash Wash ($7.50 for 10.1 fl. oz.) against the Suave Protein and Balsam control shampoo. Lazartigue says its shampoo has beadlike polymers that remain on hair after rinsing and form a thin "hydrophobic" layer that helps water drip off and evaporate 30 percent faster than usual. Redken says its fruit acids cause the hair's cuticle to lock down flat, thus minimizing absorption and accelerating runoff.

The rapid-dry shampoos did cut drying time, though not by the same amount. The hair swatch washed with Redken's Active Express Flash Wash dried in 27.5 minutes, the swatch washed with J.F. Lazartigue's Rapid Drying Shampoo in 35 minutes and the hair washed with the Suave Protein and Balsam control shampoo took 55 minutes to dry.

Volumizing shampoos claim to plump up fine, limp hair, providing body, bounce and manageability. The newest volumizers claim that their ingredients penetrate the cuticle and work inside it rather than on top of it.

The institute tested L'Oreal's Bodyvive ($3.49 for 13 fl. oz.) and Amplify Volumizing Shampoo ($8.95 for 13.5 fl. oz.). It first measured the volume of hair swatches before washing them with these shampoos and the control shampoo, then combed and dried the hair and remeasured the swatches. Both of the volumizing products increased hair volume slightly -- Bodyvive by 9.6 percent and Amplify by 15 percent.

Clarifying

The new clarifying shampoos say they deep-clean to remove buildup from styling products.

The institute tested Clairol Herbal Essences Clarifying Shampoo ($3.49 for 12 fl. oz.) and Paul Mitchell Shampoo Two ($3.95 for 8 fl. oz.) against the Suave control shampoo. After washing, drying and applying Dep Frizz Control Plus Hold Styling Gel to the swatches, the chemists photographed them under a microscope. Then they washed the hair with the clarifiers and the control shampoo, dried it, magnified it under the microscope and photographed it again.

Shampoo performance

The Good Housekeeping Institute checked to see whether claims made by six shampoos really held up. Here are the results:

J.F. Lazartigues Rapid Drying Shampoo ($17 for 5.1 fl. oz.) is expensive, but hair washed with it dried twice as fast as normal.

Redken's Active Express Flash Wash ($7.50 for 10.1 fl. oz.) is cheaper than Lazartigues and hair washed with it also dried quickly.

LOreal's Bodyvive (volumizer, $3.49 for 13 fl. oz.) increased hair-swatch volume by 9.6 percent.

Clairol Herbal Essences Clarifying Shampoo ($3.49 for 12 fl. oz.) removed gel buildup as well as standard shampoo.

Paul Mitchell Shampoo Two (clarifier, $3.95 for 8 fl. oz.) also removed gel as well as standard shampoo.