shampoos : drugstore vs hair salon ?

mellecyn

mellecyn

O.G.
Feb 28, 2006
7,330
2,635
#1
Washing my hair 4 times/week, and having long hair the shampoo bottle doesn't last long, and it's a real budget !!
I was using John Frieda's brilliant brunette at 12$ the bottle and also Kerastase.....definitely making the shampoo experience more pleasurable BUT so expensive !!
So do you think there is much difference for your hair using the basic shampoo for family from your drugstore at 2-3$ the bottle ??
I would still use my usual after shampoo serum for protection and shiny hair (Leonor Greyl-excellent)....
Thanks for any input !
 
#2
I most certainly think it makes a diffference. I find the "cheaper" products you have to use more product. Like they don't lather up as much so you have to repeat. With genuine salon products, I find that I use less. I have tried everything and I always go back to the same thing. I use Frederik Fekkai shampoo and conditioners. I also switch back and forth with Paul Mitchell Super Skinny products.
 
#3
Most of the drug store shampoos have a higher PH level in them than a hair salon's shampoo. What this means for the consumer is that it makes the hair dry out, or depending upon the brand, it can make your hair feel limp. Lots of people think when they buy Pantene that their hair is so soft. That's because Pantene coats the hair shaft with a coat of wax.
Although they are more expensive, they are worth it to purchase something from a hair salon because they are forumulated different.
 
#4
My hair gets really dried out and the skin of my scalp hurt a lot from some of these products. I'd recommend, if you have the patience, that you try different ones from different price ranges.
 
#5
I don't see much of a difference. I've tried salon products off and on before and they never live up to their claims. I've just stuck with store brands for the last 10 years or so. I understand your budget issue....

My hair goes down past my rear end and I wash and condition it every day. If I found a more expensive brand that I felt worked, I would be willing to pay for it, but I haven't yet. But from personal experience the store brands do the same job and I get to spend all that money other places.
 
#6
i definitely notice a difference when i run out of salon shampoo and switch to drugstore brand for a few weeks. i have pretty fine, dry, color treated hair and the drugstore stuff is extremely drying (even with the extra moisture formulas). i'd rather pay the extra money and not have my hair break.
 
#7
For years I used drugstore shampoos and cream rinses, and my hair was always okay. When I wore it short, it wasn't a big deal. However, once I started to grow it out and wear it long, I began using salon shampoo at the recommendation of my stylist. I noticed a change *immediately* in my hair - it was shinier, the ends were less damaged, and it didn't get as oily everyday. (My stylist told me that drugstore shampoos, in particular, contain more detergents than salon shampoos. They dry out your hair and scalp, causing your body to produce more oil to compensate for the loss of moisture.) These days, I buy the huge gallon jugs of Paul Mitchell shampoo and cream rinse when it's on special at Ulta. The jugs last me so long that it ends up being cheaper than buying smaller bottles at the drugstore.
 
#8
I have spent a small fortune of salon shampoo and hav ebeen very disappointed , I have tried every brand you can think of and I still stick with the Pual Mitchell Tea Tree Shampoo which is about the only salon brand that works every time I use it and I always use Pantene Hydrating Curls or their Restoritives Frizz Control , I switch between these three and I really makes my hair look and feel better ,I bought one brand Davines Shampoo and Condiotner because my hair stylist swore that it as the best , I used it for 2 weeks and my hair has never been so frizzy and dry feeling and I bought the formula for curly hair .Aside from Paul Mitchell the only other brand I have had luck with was Aveda .
 
#9
Of course, there is a difference. I mean... you can't really compare Alterna White Truffle Caviar Extract Shampoo/conditioner, Kerastase products and drugstore brands.(I don't want to spell out who as it may offend.)
Using kerastase products is like just being in a salon getting my hair washed and conditioned. Also, my once chemically damaged hair has been made soft, shiny and allows me to style my hair even easier and generally looks much better.
 
#10
PurseManiac said:
Most of the drug store shampoos have a higher PH level in them than a hair salon's shampoo. What this means for the consumer is that it makes the hair dry out, or depending upon the brand, it can make your hair feel limp. Lots of people think when they buy Pantene that their hair is so soft. That's because Pantene coats the hair shaft with a coat of wax.
Although they are more expensive, they are worth it to purchase something from a hair salon because they are forumulated different.
Click to expand...

All very true and poignant facts. The pH of the shampoo is higher in drug store products and that in turn will open the cuticle of the hair (consistently until it falls off!) which not only dries the hair out but will in fact lead to color fadage. It has to do with the pH of your skin and hair and the correltation of your products as well.
The ideas of the wax's and lards is also very true. These products build up on the hair and weigh it down. That waxy buildup will also dull the hair.
Another fact with inexpensive store brands are their protein fillers. It is a bit too technical to get into here but the best way I can put it is that even when the protein is hydrolized down to the correct mollecular weight to penetrate the cuticle (500mw-1,500mw) it will always return to it's original protein status. Therefore, if you're using a shampoo that is using protein from a substandard source (Ick...like hoofs and carteledge that is CHEAP to buy and therefore ends up as the "protein" in cheap hair care products) it will always return to it's natural source. That is why you hear people say that too much protein in the hair makes it brittle......well, yeah too much of the WRONG protein makes it brittle! You need to use a protein that is most like hair like....durh, human hair keratin proteins! Silk and soy proteins when properly hydrolized are great as well but you're not going to find it in a bottle of $2.00 shampoo!
I could go on and with numerous other points like the charges of the surfactants in professional vs. consumer products, and other ingredients but I won't.....just a few key notes!;)
 
#11
I worked in a retail salon for a long timeand learned a lot,
that said, I can tell a HUGE difference between drugstore and salon products.
I have a buttload of very long hair and I shampoo every other day and I usually only use Kerastase or Joico.
I do not run out of shampoo fast at all though.
{?}
I use it on my scalp mostly and run it through the ends right before I rinse, I use more conditioner than anything, but even that I only use from a ponytail down.
 
#12
I've tried: Paul Mitchell -Awapuhi, Tea Tree, Biolage, Matrix, Kiss my Face, Pantene, Neutrogena...on my very thick and wavy shoulder length black hair that I have to wash once a day or it looks like I put a pot of grease on it.

What works best for me- Prell!

My cousin, who had hip-length black hair used to wash her hair with baby shampoo first and then use her salon product as a second shampoo. She said that made a little salon product foam a lot more. I've never done it myself, thoguh.
 
#13
Ilikemike65 said:
All very true and poignant facts. The pH of the shampoo is higher in drug store products and that in turn will open the cuticle of the hair (consistently until it falls off!) which not only dries the hair out but will in fact lead to color fadage. It has to do with the pH of your skin and hair and the correltation of your products as well.
The ideas of the wax's and lards is also very true. These products build up on the hair and weigh it down. That waxy buildup will also dull the hair.
Another fact with inexpensive store brands are their protein fillers. It is a bit too technical to get into here but the best way I can put it is that even when the protein is hydrolized down to the correct mollecular weight to penetrate the cuticle (500mw-1,500mw) it will always return to it's original protein status. Therefore, if you're using a shampoo that is using protein from a substandard source (Ick...like hoofs and carteledge that is CHEAP to buy and therefore ends up as the "protein" in cheap hair care products) it will always return to it's natural source. That is why you hear people say that too much protein in the hair makes it brittle......well, yeah too much of the WRONG protein makes it brittle! You need to use a protein that is most like hair like....durh, human hair keratin proteins! Silk and soy proteins when properly hydrolized are great as well but you're not going to find it in a bottle of $2.00 shampoo!
I could go on and with numerous other points like the charges of the surfactants in professional vs. consumer products, and other ingredients but I won't.....just a few key notes!;)
Click to expand...

I have always wondered about the differences, and your explanation helped me a lot. Thanks!
 
#14
vanessa225 said:
These days, I buy the huge gallon jugs of Paul Mitchell shampoo and cream rinse when it's on special at Ulta. The jugs last me so long that it ends up being cheaper than buying smaller bottles at the drugstore.
Click to expand...
I trust salon products a lot more than store products. I lighten my hair and im always nervous its going to get over dried with harsher detergents.
I always buy the HUGE paul mitchell products too. I'm using the color care shampoo and the SuperSkinny conditioner right now. The massive size (i get them for about 12$) is only a few dollars more than the smaller bottles so they last forever.
 
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