Hair Products - Salon vs Drugstore Brands

You don’t think it makes a big difference to buy the shampoo, conditioner and styling products at the drugstore, but you’re wrong. There are a few key reasons why you should spend a little more and get your products at the salon.

Get your products from a salon. Why? A stylist can refer you to which products will work best with your hair type. When you are getting a haircut or color service done to your hair, ask your stylist what you should be using at home. They can recommend products that work with your hair instead of against it. For instance, a non-stylist probably doesn’t know that to retain the moisture they are lacking in their hair they shouldn’t go straight for the moisturizing products if they have fine damaged hair. You need to build it back up with protein before those moisturizing products can be really effective. How can you possibly know that unless you ask a stylist or someone else trained in product knowledge?

Another benefit to going to the salon versus the drugstore is the fact that you can return it after it’s been opened if it doesn’t work for you or if you don’t like it. Try doing that at most drugstores and you will walk away frustrated and no return accomplished. One of the perks to buying from a salon is that they expect you to get the right product and work hard to put the right ones in your hands on the first try. If it turns out they were wrong, there’s no problem returning your money to you. Instead of having a cabinet full of unused products, you will have cleaner shelves with effective products you love.

One big issue with drugstore brands is that they contain a greater percentage of fillers. Fillers are the things they use to fill most of the bottle once they’ve put in the active ingredients. That’s why they cost less – you’re getting mostly water! The end result is that you will use more product trying to attain the same results you would get with less product from a salon brand. Salon brands are proud to give you more pure ingredients with less fillers. All products have to contain at least some fillers or they wouldn’t be user friendly at all, so don’t let the word in general make you frown. The difference is in the percentage being used. You definitely are getting what you pay for. In the end, it’s about even what you will spend on the products. Your drugstore products will need to be replaced more frequently because you have to use more. It takes much less product to achieve the desired results with a salon brand and you also get their guarantee. Why spend the same amount of money on less superior products? It just doesn’t make any sense. If you have issues spending that much at one time, try purchasing just one new thing per month. Get the shampoo and conditioner together if you can, but when it comes to styling products try getting a hairspray one month, a mousse the next, a styling crème after that… That way your hair will have a more professional polish and you won’t be breaking the bank in one shot.

A huge legal battle is being waged over diverted products. What are they? If you go to Target or Walgreens or some other non-salon that carries Paul Mitchell, for instance, there is a claim by Paul Mitchell that these stores are obtaining their products illegally that were meant to be sold only in salons, or the products were “diverted” from their intended destination. Why does it matter? Paul Mitchell products are only guaranteed if sold in a salon. They take their reputation very seriously and never intended to have their products to sold anywhere else. When these large chains started selling them, Paul Mitchell started taking them to court. It matters because the products may be expired and therefore possibly growing harmful bacteria or just not effective. This will in turn lead you to believe that their products are bad or that they don’t work at all. And if you do price comparisons, a lot of times you are paying the same at these large retail chains that you would be paying at the salon. There really is no benefit to you purchasing salon products in a non-salon. You can’t know if you are getting a legitimate product or not. If the company has to issue a recall on a product for whatever reason and you didn’t buy it at a salon, it won’t cover you. Why risk it? There are other legal issues that go along with this topic, but the main problem is that these manufacturers don’t want their products in these types of stores.

I think one of the most important reasons to purchase your products at a salon rather than a drugstore is the quality of research that is done to manufacture them. I’m not saying drugstore brand manufacturers don’t sink a lot of money into their products because they do. For whatever reason, the quality of product that results from this research is much greater with the salon brands no matter what the commercials claim. A lot of the money you are spending at the drugstore to buy them isn’t going back into research, it’s going into advertising. That’s why you see celebrities in their ads. Think how much of your purchase is going to the celeb instead of improving your products and you will find that going to a salon to get your products is a much better solution.