hairtips

A lot of people use drugstore brands as their go to for hair care products. Maybe because they see all the great commercials for Suave and Pantene and all those other competitive brands or maybe because they are on a budget or because they truly don’t know the difference between what I like to call “over the counter” drugstore products and professional salon quality products.

“But I don’t have the money to spend on salon products…”

Water:

Let me just say that you definitely pay for what you get when it comes to haircare products. Take a look at the back of your Herbal Essence bottle, I’ll guarantee you the first ingredient is water and the second is some sort of sulfate. Remember that the first ingredients listed are the most concentrated and the last ones are the least. You may think you are getting an amazing deal paying under $5 for that shampoo but trust me.. you’re not.

Let’s compare Redkin and Pantene. They both contain water. With Redkin, the water content is a lot less because their company knows that when combined with the water (already in your hair) the product is activated and starts to lather. Where as with Pantene you need to use more product to achieve the same result because of how watered down their product is. So now that you wasted you’re whole $5 bottle of shampoo trying to just simply wash your hair, you get to go out and buy another “bargain bottle” that will probably only last you another two weeks. Professional brands will usually last you at least two months. So you may be paying more for a single bottle of good quality Redkin but that beats having to buy multiple bottles of cheap, watered down Pantene in the same amount of time.

Go for the product that had a higher concentration of quality ingredients, after all you do want truly healthy hair right?

Sulfates and alcohol:

If you didn’t go to cosmetology school or have a background in chemistry, then you may not know that sulfates are actually a salt of sulfuric acid. Pair that with the harshness of alcohol and all you get is a giant frizzy mess of tangles. Yes, alcohol is needed in certain products so that they can lather and work properly, but in large quantities it’s very damaging to your hair. Drugstore companies tend to use all the cheap ingredients and chemicals, hence the low and appealing prices. These ingredients are extremely harsh on the hair and make it very dry and brittle. You may not see those effects though because they also contain petroleum based ingredients that coat the cuticle layers of your hair and create a waxy buildup to make your hair look silky, shiny, and frizz-free. But trust me, the damage is underneath their coverup. Drugstore companies such as Suave, Pantene, Herbal Essence, TRESemmé, Aussie, etc.. don’t actually care about the integrity of your hair in the long run. They just care about creating marketing scams and making a profit. Professional brand companies hire chemists that are required to also have a Cosmetology license so that they really understand the makeup of the hair and know how to give you a quality product that will truly help you maintain the healthy hair you’re looking for without covering up any dirty little secrets.

Drugstore companies use cheap ingredients and water their products down so that you use more product at a time which means you run out of it faster and buy more. It’s their marketing chain of events… and since they are already using the cheapest ingredients out there, they are making a bunch more money off of you!

Professional brands are also pH balanced to your hair’s natural pH (4.5-5.5). Since drugstore brands use cheap ingredients, they fall on the alkaline side of the pH scale… which is why they cause a lot of dryness. Just think about washing your hair with Dawn dish soap! Professionals really do care about the integrity of your hair and want to keep their customers for all the right reasons, not just to make a profit.

I wrote this post to educate you and help you put your money where it’s well spent. In the end, you’d be paying the same amount anyways but it just depends on if you want good quality that lasts or cheap watered down product more often. Yes, there are stylists out there who only want to make commission off you buying products from them but then there’s stylists(like me) who have a true passion for this industry and really care about helping you find what’s best for you and your lifestyle.

If money is an issue for you but you want to make the switch, talk to your stylist about what to do. Know me personally? Ask me for product advice and i’d love to help you out. If you’re on a tight budget, I’ll help you get products before their prices are marked up.

Trust me, before I went to Cosmetology school, I was a culprit of using drugstore products. Now that I use professional products I see a HUGE difference with my hair. It honestly has that silkiness and shine that I was always looking for. Now, after getting educated, I know why I never had it before 😉