Shampoo and Conditioners.
So what's the difference between Salon and Supermarket brands?
You have all been bombarded with those amazing shampoo ads that promise you the shiniest, glossiest, healthiest, bounciest and easiest to maintain hair on the planet.
Now you just happen to be in the local supermarket and there it is, in all its glory right at eye level on the shelf in front of you. Your hairdresser may have warned you off these brands, but if the advertisements are to be believed, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference anyway.
This is the dilemma faced by many clients. Are supermarket available brands just as good as Salon brand shampoos? If so, why are they cheaper than what your hairdresser sells you?
Here are just few comparisons that may help you out.
Off The Shelf Brands
•Supermarket brands contain much, much more of one very natural ingredient than any Salon brand – water. And lots of it!
•The supermarket brands also contain ammonium and sodium sulphates to produce a much richer lather but are much harder on your hair. Over time they can strip out the hair colour you just spent big bucks on and cause fading
•A certain supermarket shampoo used to contain a heap of silicon to enhance shine. It became a hairdresser’s nightmare as hair colour could not penetrate the hair-shaft properly and caused uneven results in the salon
•Good hair advice is not always available in the supermarket so you could end up buying a shampoo that is not suitable for you at all. Keep in mind that a “family shampoo” won’t treat your partner’s dandruff, your son’s product laden hair, your daughter’s bleached mop and your frizzy ends all at the same time!
Salon Professional Brands.
Have you ever noticed most professional brands have a much smaller hole at the top of their bottles? Ever wondered why? It’s to encourage you to use much less as the product goes a longer way
•Professional brands are much more concentrated and have many more ‘safe’ ingredients that are hair type specific
•Professional brands on the whole use gentler less harmful ingredients in more concentrated amounts; therefore you need far less product than with a supermarket brand to achieve the same results
•The recommended serving of professional shampoo is 5 ml per wash, whilst you may have to use three or four times more to get the same result from an off the shelf brand.
•All professional brand shampoos contain a lathering agent called Laureth Sulphate. This is the safest agent to use on both hair and scalp and will not damage the hair shaft or change its colour
At the end of the day it’s entirely up to you, the consumer.In saying that, who would you trust more? Your regular hairdresser who cares about you and knows your hair?
Or a faceless multinational company that mass-produces megalitres of shampoo each year?
About the Author
Colin Moxey has worked in the hair industry for over 35 years, with a career spanning the Australian and European markets.
Currently based in Melbourne, Colin is the owner of Colin Moxey Hairdressing in South Yarra