Any uses for old shampoo you don't use anymore?

United States
October 23, 2008 4:31pm CST
Hey anyone got some tips on what to do with shampoo you don't use anymore? I got some Tresemme Shampoo and Conditioner that didn't play nice with my hair. It dried it out so I switched to using Garnier Fructis. Anyway, I don't want to throw away the Tresemme if I can use it for something else. Any ideas? Thank you in advance and happy mylotting.
4 people like this
12 responses
@laglen (19759)
• United States
24 Oct 08
You can use the shampoo for bubble bath and the conditioner or shampoo for shaving. Also, I have tossed these items into a yard sale and they sell fast. I usually get a quarter or so for them! Good luck!
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
24 Oct 08
LOL laglen we come up with the same ideas!
@thedaddym (1731)
• United States
24 Oct 08
You could use it as a pre treater for stains on clothing. If you have a spray bottle fill the spray bottle half way with the shampoo, and half with water, then spray on stains before you wash clothing. You could also use it as a body wash instead of liquid soap. My wife just gave me those tips by the way, so she is the one to thank here not me.
@thedaddym (1731)
• United States
24 Oct 08
She also just told me you can use it as liquid hand soap. Diluting it with water and pouring it in to a hand soap bottle
@peavey (16936)
• United States
24 Oct 08
There are tons of things you can do with shampoo. Clean the bathtub, wash the floor, use as liquid hand soap, wash wooden furniture, hand wash delicate laundry and on and on and on. Soap is soap is soap. If the conditioner is separate from the shampoo, you can use it as fabric softener in the laundry, or to shave your legs and underarms. You'll be surprised at how smooth of a shave you get.
@peedielyn (1207)
• United States
28 Oct 08
These are awesome tips. I forgot about a bunch of these!!
• United States
28 Oct 08
I use my extra shampoo as a refill in the kids hand soap containers. My kids seem to wash their hands over and over again, which is great and all but they are very wasteful with it. They have an old foaming hand soap container. I use one part soap to ten parts water. That way I dont feel so bad about the waste. I also use it to clean the house, it works great on breaking up grease. If you have any oil stains in the drive way it helps a lot there too.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
23 Oct 08
I have used shampoo's for shaving. It doesn't foam up on the legs really but it is still a great use for a bottle that just didn't work well with your hair.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
24 Oct 08
Conditioner works great for shaving too. It makes your legs really soft!
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
28 Oct 08
use it like a body wash. i had to do that this morning because i forgot to put soap out whem i ran out yesterday when i showerd. didn't want to drip all over the floor so i just used my shampoo. if you have a dog shampoo him in it.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
23 Oct 08
I am not sure about conditioner, but I would use shampoo for laundry. It is gentle for your skin and it can be gentle for your clothes. It can be also used to clean bathtub, sink and so on....
• United States
24 Oct 08
Sometimes I buy shampoo and hair conditioners that don't work with my hair also, but I have found some uses for them. Shampoo I notice works really well as laundry soap and your clothes come out smelling nice, I also use hair conditioner as fabric softner when the rinse cycle comes on, this is a good stand by when you run out of laundry soap and fabric softener. I also use left over hair conditioners as shaving gel . I have a bottle of this lavender hair conditioner that isn't thick enough to use on my hair but it makes a great shaving gel on my legs and it smells so nice and make's my legs soft. I have also used shampoo to clean paint brushes and the brushes come out really clean and soft and the life of my paint brushes last a lot longer since I clean them with shampoo .
@peedielyn (1207)
• United States
28 Oct 08
I found out that alot of the shampoos that I use work great for "de-greasing" things. If you add a bit of baking soda to make a paste, you can scrub your sinks, toilets and bathrooms with it. It works like soft scrub. Make bubble bath out of it. The conditioner can be used in a tub soak. Just run your warm bath, and add some conditioner to it. It works like a "lotion" to soften skin-conditioner makes a great shaving "cream". At least I know it works for the boyfriends shave. His hairs aren't so ruff! I hope this helps! I am sure I have more and will leave you more tips when I find them!
• Singapore
24 Oct 08
Well, if you really can't find something useful for the shampoo, you can always make soap bubbles for your kids (if you have any) or your children around the neighbourhood. Alternatively you can put it up for recycle. I join Freecycle to give away things I don;t need to others. There will be people who need it. Just my way to save the earth.
@Jade13 (262)
• Malaysia
24 Oct 08
I used the shampoo that I bought and think not suitable for my hair type on my make up brushes. YES! haha. I think that we should clean makeup brushes at least once in two months. For people who always makeup, I think they should increase the frequency of cleaning their brushes. With this, my shampoo doesn't go to waste.:)
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
24 Oct 08
Yes I do! You can use the shampoo as bubble bath and the conditioner as shaving cream. I shave my legs with conditioner all of the time because it is cheaper than shaving cream. I do not notice a difference in my legs so it is not harmful!