Our investigation shows that you can make big savings on branded health and personal care products by holding out until you find the right price – more than 50% in some cases.
We analysed the prices of hundreds of branded products at Asda, Boots, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug, Tesco and Waitrose, and – where available – Aldi and Lidl, too.
Our research revealed that the cost of most personal care staples varies significantly throughout the year for almost every big brand.
There are also clear peaks and troughs in pricing for seasonal products such as sunscreen and cold and flu medicines, which could catch you out if you buy at the wrong time.
Eat well, live better and stay healthy:Toothpaste and mouthwash
These products are frequently on offer.
We found Oral-B Sensitivity & Gum Calm toothpaste (75ml) fluctuated at all retailers, with marked differences at Ocado and Boots, where it ranged from £2.50 to £5.
Colgate Max White Ultimate Radiance toothpaste (75ml) varied by a staggering £14.20 at Waitrose (from £11 to £25.20).
Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection, Sensodyne Daily Care Original Mint Sensitive and Sensodyne Daily Care Gentle Whitening Sensitive were exceptions, with prices largely stable at £1.50-£2.50.
The price of mouthwash also yo-yos frequently. Colgate Max White Expert Whitening 500ml was regularly sold at £2.50 and £5 at all major supermarkets, while Listerine Advanced Defence Gum Crisp Mint 500ml flip-flopped between £3 and £6 at Boots.
Deodorant
Also frequently on offer.
Sure Maximum Protection Clean Scent Anti-Perspirant (150ml), cost £3.35-£5 at Asda, and £3.50-£5.25 at Waitrose. Lynx Africa (150ml) fluctuated wherever it was stocked – £2.66-£4.75 at Superdrug and £3-£4 at Tesco.
Sure Men Anti-Perspirant Aerosol Active Dry (200ml) was an exception, which stayed relatively stable, although it was cheapest at Aldi (£1.95) and priciest at Waitrose (£3).
Soap, shower gel and shampoo
Hand soap and shower gel are comparatively stable compared to other categories; we found the price of Palmolive and Carex hand wash didn't fluctuate much.
The most common price for Palmolive Milk And Honey (300ml) was £1.15 at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug and Tesco.
Carex Original Antibacterial Hand Wash (250ml) typically cost £1 at Morrisons and Superdrug, although it was slightly pricier (£1.50) at Asda, Boots, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
Shower gel prices were stable too – Radox Therapy Body Wash Feel Awake (225ml) cost £1 everywhere.
Premium hair products, such as L’Oreal Paris Elvive Bond Repair Shampoo (200ml), fluctuated more. It varied by as much as £8.19 at Boots (£4.80-£12.99), £7 at Sainsbury’s and Ocado, and £6 at Morrisons and Superdrug.
More basic options, such as Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo (250ml) typically cost £2.50-£3.
Razors
Prices for popular razors fluctuated significantly. Gillette Labs Razor with Exfoliating Bar cost £22.49 at Morrisons when full price, but dropped to half price frequently.
Venus Comfortglide With Olay cost £6.48-£14.99 at Superdrug. Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 Skin Protection Razor was typically priced at around £8.50, although it was frequently on promotion at Asda, Boots, Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose.
Antihistamines
Hay-fever medication tends to be priced most competitively during allergy season.
A pack of 30 Piriteze Hayfever And Allergy Relief Tablets at Waitrose dropped from £11.50 to £8 from May to July 2023, then went back up to £11.55. The same product at Boots cost £10.55 from March to July, and then rose to £11.55.
Beconase Hayfever Relief Spray was also cheaper from April to August at Asda, Morrisons, Ocado and Superdrug.
The best way to save here is to opt for generic or own brands, and don’t pay full price in hay-fever season if you can avoid it. Most tablets have at least a year’s shelf life, so stock up when you see a deal.
where's cheapest and how to save £10 a month on your allergy medsAntacids
The antacids we tracked didn’t vary hugely in price, with retailers tending to stick to one price for most of the year with occasional promotions.
At both Asda and Ocado, for example, a pack of 24 Gaviscon Double Action Mixed Berries flavour stayed at £6 throughout.
Savings can be made if you shop around, though. A pack of 7 Nexium 20mg Gastro Resistant Tablets fluctuated between £6 and £7.50 at Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
For the best savings, opt for own brands – but do check that the active ingredients are the same.
Sunscreen
Try to avoid buying out of season. You’ll get the best price over the spring and summer months, when demand is highest.
We found significant price fluctuations on Nivea and Ambre Solaire.
The biggest difference we spotted was at Asda, where Nivea Protect and Moisture Sun Lotion SPF30 (200ml) cost £6 from April to August and more than doubled to £13 in September.
Boots Soltan prices were fairly stable year-round for those we looked at.
Painkillers and cold/flu medication
The price of branded painkillers moved around a little, but not wildly, and the same goes for cold and flu meds.
A pack of 16 Nurofen Express Ibuprofen Pain Relief Liquid Capsules (200mg) varied most at Ocado. It most frequently cost £4.40 (for 11 weeks), but dipped below that 62% of the time. The lowest price we spotted was £3.20.
The cost of 16 Solpadeine Paracetamol + Caffeine Headache Tablets varied very little across the retailers – the biggest difference we spotted was 50p at Superdrug where it went up from £2.29 to £2.79.
At Boots, a pack of 14 Panadol fluctuated between £2.99 and £3.75, and at Sainsbury’s between £1.75 and £3.80.
Your best bet to save money is opting for generic or own-brand painkillers that contain the same active ingredients. These will do the same job for less.
With cold and flu remedies, there are modest savings to be found in the winter months. Morrisons dropped the price of Benylin Chesty Coughs Non-Drowsy Liquid 150ml from £5.50 in September 2023 to £4.90 until January 2024.
The same was true at Asda, where it dipped from £6 in June to £5.40 from October to December.
Lemsip Max Cold And Flu Capsules fluctuated the least, costing around £4.25 most of the time across stockists, with the exception of Lidl (£3.99).
– aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol?Condoms
If you buy condoms at Waitrose, you could end up paying through the nose for the privilege. A 12-pack of Durex Real Feel Non Latex Condoms fluctuated between £11 and £18.15 here – a hefty £7.15 difference.
At Superdrug it fluctuated by £5.50, and at Boots by £5.
A pack of 10 Mates Skyn Original Condoms went from £8 to £10 at Morrisons. It was at the lower price for 38% of the time, showing it pays to shop around.
– find out how to save up to £340 a year, plus what you can buy cheaper over the counterWhere’s cheapest to stock up on health essentials?
If you don’t want the hassle of shopping around, Asda is your best bet for stocking up on the cheap.
We compared 107 like-for-like branded health and personal care goods to find the cheapest retailer over a year, based on the number of times goods had the cheapest average price. Aldi and Lidl stock fewer brands, so weren’t included.
Asda was cheapest on average across 28% of the products we tracked. This was followed by Morrisons (26%), Superdrug (16%), Ocado (10%), Boots and Sainsbury’s (7%) and Tesco (5%).
Waitrose had the cheapest products just 2% of the time.
Boots, Superdrug and Waitrose told us they aim to offer the best value to customers via a range of deals. The other supermarkets didn’t comment.
How to get the best price on personal care products
Opting for own brands will often save you money, particularly on health products such as painkillers, cold and flu and hay-fever meds. Just check they contain the same active ingredient (listed on the front).
Not being set on a particular brand means you can switch to the best offers when you shop – although most of us have our favourite personal care brands or products. Keep track of these to see if they are likely to be on offer, and make a habit of swinging by that aisle to check, so you can snap them up when they’re discounted rather than waiting until you run out.
Do check best-before dates on medications and sunscreens before stocking up, though, so you don't end up with expired products.
Our pricing research
We analysed the prices of hundreds of branded products at Asda, Boots, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Superdrug, Tesco and Waitrose, and – where available – at Aldi and Lidl, too.
We included the best-selling brands in each category that were available for at least 42 weeks between March 2023 and March 2024.
We took a snapshot price for each product at the same time each week over the year– this included discounts but not multibuy offers or loyalty prices.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/the-health-products-you-should-never-buy-full-price-acJ0m6O6Ryfs