HERBAL Essences customers are in a lather after the haircare firm shrunk its conditioners by almost a THIRD.

Its Dazzling Shine, Hello Hydration, Daily Detox and Ignite My Colour hair moisturisers have gone from 400ml to 275ml in recent months, but remain at around £2.

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The product is now sold in tubes rather than bottles after the 31% reduction, leaving customers confused and angry about the change.

One, Brian Brennan, fumed on the review site Trustpilot this week: “My wife has always used the shampoo and conditioner, the prices were very good. 

“The shampoo and conditioner were in 400ml bottles. Now they put the conditioner in a 275ml tube container and charge the same price for 125ml less.”

Another added on X: “Why are you no longer selling 400ml bottles of conditioner? Now I can only find 275ml tubes, which means I’ll need to replace them more often – and they’re not that much cheaper!”

A third added: “Just been comparing the old and new Herbal Essences conditioner bottles, and the old one has 400ml, almost half a litre, whereas the new squeezy bottle only has 275ml. 

“That’s more than a quarter of your conditioner being stolen from right under your nose!”

Its equivalent shampoo range continues to be sold in 400ml bottles.

Shrinkflation is when products shrink in size but remain at the same price, meaning shoppers pay the same for less.

It’s a tactic often used by companies to avoid hiking prices, as a change if size is less noticeable.

Susannah Streeter, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said Herbal Essences’ owner Procter and Gamble (P&G) had been increasing prices month on month, which has put off price-conscious shoppers.

She added: “Attempts to limit the effect of price hikes through promotions and discounts have not been enough to win back loyalty.

“P&G has also been affected by weaker spending in China, even for essential items and it’s also been hit by boycotts of Western brands in the Middle East. 

“So, the company is looking at other ways to keep costs lower and keep its profits ticking up.

“It appears shrinking sizes on some products, rather than hiking prices, is part of the strategy.” 

Procter and Gamble did not comment.

Yesterday The Sun revealed how Cadbury’s family treat bags of chocolates have shrunk down in size.

New packs appearing in recent months have seen the Crunchie axed from the selection, as well as the size reduced from 216g to 207g.

It is the latest chocolatey snack made by the manufacturer to shrink in size.

Cadbury‘s Brunch bar multipacks have also reportedly been reduced in size by a major 12.5%.

Traditionally shoppers were able to bag up a pack of five bars which in total weighed over 160g – or 32g per lunchtime treat.

But now the entire box weighs a whole 20g less with the bars now sitting at 28g each, an investigation by The Grocer has revealed.

The size reduction applies to all the flavours including their raisin, peanut, choc chip and Bournville choc chip choices.

Elsewhere, shoppers have been feeling the crunch after it was revealed that two of Kellog’s four different cereal pack sizes have gone down in weight by 50g.

A box of 720g Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes is now 670g and 500g boxes are down to 450g.

But the smaller 670g boxes are being sold at £3.20 in Tesco – the same price as for the larger box when it was sold in May.

Meanwhile, its 450g boxes are £2.19, while the previous 500g boxes were only pennies more at £2.25.

A Kellogg’s spokesman previously told The Sun: “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are available in four different box sizes to suit different shopper preferences and needs. 

“As the cost of ingredients and production processes increase, it costs us more to make our products than it used to.

“This can impact the recommended retail price. It’s the grocer’s absolute discretion and decision what price to charge shoppers.”

Jars of Dolmio sauce reduced in size but remain the same price

THE latest example of shrinkflation sweeping across the UK has seen family favourite pasta sauce brand Dolmio adjust their packaging.

Their 750g jars are now 675g while 500g jars have been trimmed to 450g.

But despite the ten per cent decrease, the price has stayed put at £3 and £2.50 in supermarkets.

It has left customers unhappy at maker Mars, which advertises it on TV with the slogan, “When’sa your Dolmio day?”.

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One fan told The Sun: “It’s a family jar but now it’s smaller, so I’ve had to reduce the portions on every plate at the table.

“It’s really disappointing that companies try to hide this from their customers by making sneaky packaging changes instead of just being honest.

“In two months the price will go up again and it’s even worse of a deal.”

A Mars spokeswoman confirmed the changes, telling The Sun: “Like everyone, we’ve experienced significant cost increases across our raw materials and operations, something that we are continuing to see.

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“We have been absorbing these rising costs for some time, but the growing pressures we are facing means we needed to take further action.

“While it has been a difficult decision to decrease the weight of our jars, our priority is continuing to provide our great products, without compromising on quality or taste.”

A GRANDMA has been left fuming after she was charged £75 for her oversized suitcase but ‘younger and good looking’ passengers were let off.

Maxine Haughian, 63, was stopped in the queue for her flight to Alicante by Ryanair staff at Leeds Bradford Airport.

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The mum-of-two claims her luggage fit inside the guidance rack but “stuck out very slightly” by 2cm on one side.

She was told that her suitcase was too big and she’d need to pay to place the luggage into the hold.

However, Maxine, a retired prison governor, noticed other passengers in the queue being let off for oversized bags.

She described one woman as “young and gorgeous” and even took a sneaky snap of her being let off.

Taking to Facebook, Maxine said she was “disgusted” with Ryanair.

“I’ve just been held up for 20 minutes because they said my cabin bag was too big and I must pay an EXTRA £75 for it to go in hold,” she wrote.

“It’s funny (not funny) how other bags that are exactly the same were allowed through without comment.

“It’s a good job I took the photo of this (gorgeous) girl pushing her case into the box and being allowed through.

“I’m obviously not young or good looking enough!” she fumed.

Maxine, who was travelling with her husband Jim, continued: “Eventually (using photographic evidence) I was allowed through. I’m stressed to high-hell and hope I can calm down and get into holiday mode before we land.”

Despite being pleased that she was let off, Maxine told Oxford Mail: “It was almost like letting me go justified what I was saying. I think it’s definitely a money-making exercise.

“I’m a bit older, perhaps he thought I would be compliant. A lot of people just paid the money.”

She added: “Several people had suitcases that looked exactly the same as mine and they were putting them in the rack and it was sticking out a bit, but they were allowed to go through. It was the inconsistency of it all.

The Sun has contacted Ryanair for comment.

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Simplified advice can only be achieved if the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) work together, according to an industry expert.

Ian McKenna, founder of Financial Technology Research Centre, made the statement today (8 October) at Money Marketing Interactive in London.

The FCA announced proposals to launch a simplified advice model last December to make it easier for firms to provide affordable personal recommendations to those with simpler needs and smaller sums to invest.

McKenna, who was part of a panel discussing the future of advice, said for simplified advice to work, the Ombudsman needs to be part of the process.

However, he queried whether the regulator would be willing to make that decision.

He said: “The reality for simplified advice is the regulator would never bring the Ombudsman along. The argument was always do less, charge more or charge less, but still have the same responsibility at the end.

“This why I’m saying, and you could argue with my response, we don’t need the movement of the [advice/guidance] boundary.”

McKenna added that attempts were made in the past to address the issue of advice gap without much success.

“There’s no example of that happening in the past 20-30 years. Why would it be different now? What worries me is a huge amount of effort will be expended on something that just isn’t economically viable,” he said.

McKenna said the sector needs to tread with caution on the advice/guidance boundary review to avoid the equivalent of PPI in the long-term savings market.

“I think if we just remove the boundary, that’s what we will end up with and that will be devastating to people for long-term confidence.”

Tom Selby, director of policy at AJ Bell, said the advice/guidance boundary review is a test for the Consumer Duty and an opportunity for the regulator to assess how the financial services sector is abiding by the core terms of it.

He said the regulator now has access to huge amounts of data on firms to hold them accountable on their Consumer Duty commitments.

“It’s on them to make sure that firms do ultimately understand their shareholders.

“When they look at the cost benefit analysis of ‘am I going to throw people into an inappropriate product or am I going to follow the Consumer Duty?’

“Besides, if I don’t follow the Consumer Duty, I’m going to end up with a huge fine and a bad reputation.”

A MUM and her lover wheeled a toddler’s body around for three days in her buggy after she died from a “regime of escalating brutality”, a court heard.

Isabella Rose Wheildon suffered horror injuries after she was allegedly kicked or stomped on by 24-year-old Scott Jeff.

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Jurors heard how the two-year-old is believed to have died on June 26 last year in a temporary housing unit in Ipswich.

But Jeff and Isabella’s mum Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, also 24, allegedly kept the girl’s death a secret.

Ipswich Crown Court was told they carried on pushing her body around in a pushchair with the hood pulled up to shield her face.

The couple also allegedly took her corpse on a shopping trip to buy computer gaming equipment.

She was finally discovered on June 30 under blankets in a shower at the housing unit.

The court was told police officers had been greeted by a “very strong smell” when the bathroom was unlocked.

One pulled back the blankets to see the “face of a young child who was not moving”.

Prosecutor Sally Howes KC said: “He was aware of severe bruising on her face. She was cold to the touch.”

The discovery was made when a woman reported to police on June 30 that she had received a Facebook message from a “friend of hers”.

Ms Howes said: “That message disclosed that her friend’s daughter had died in her sleep three days before and was in her pushchair in the bathroom.

“That friend was the first defendant, Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, and her daughter was Isabella.”

Gleason-Mitchell is accused of allowed her daughter’s death to happen as she “stood back, watched and did nothing”.

A post mortem found she had “extensive external traumatic injuries to the soft tissues of the body including head, neck, torso, limbs” and other areas.

She had also suffered fractures to both wrists and a “complex pelvic fracture involving several bones”.

Her cause of death was given as “bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma”.

‘Regime of escalating brutality’

The court heard this “severe” damage to her pelvis was likely caused by “either kicking or stamping or both”.

Ms Howes said: “It’s the prosecution case that Isabella Wheildon was a healthy, contented, well-cared for little girl until Scott Jeff came into her young life.

“Towards the end of May 2023, he entered a relationship with Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell.

“From that time up to her death, Isabella was subjected to a regime of escalating brutality which was callous, cruel and ultimately fatal.”

Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff lived together in hotels in Great Yarmouth, a caravan park and “camping in a very small tent on Caister beach” in Norfolk before they ended up in Ipswich.

The mum told Great Yarmouth Borough Council she and her daughter were “homeless” and escaping domestic abuse from her ex.

She also falsely claimed Jeff was Isabella’s biological dad and refused a home by Bedfordshire Council for her and the youngster as she wanted to stay with her partner.

After moving into the unit, CCTV showed the toddler being pushed around in her chair, wearing sunglasses with the hood up, concealing her head, it was said.

The court heard the couple went with Isabella out on June 26, visiting a barber shop so Jeff could get a haircut.

They returned at 3.15pm with CCTV showing the youngster’s legs and feet moving in her pushchair – suggesting she was still alive.

The court was told this is believed to the last image of Isabella and that she had died later that day.

Jeff has denied causing or allowing Isabella’s death and murder.

Gleason-Mitchell has pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child but denies murder.

The trial continues.

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