I stumbled upon this question over at the excellent beauty blog Doryn’s Dish. Essentially, the reader wanted to know if the salon products that you buy at the local Kroger (general store) are the same as the ones you can buy at a salon. The answer referenced this story by a news team out of Fort Meyers, Florida. The story was so biased and misinformed I thought a balanced, insider response was needed. We’ll reproduce it here for our readers.
Interesting story. We are cosmetic chemists that work in the industry and know that this story is a bit skewed. If the news reporters wanted to get the “real” story, they shouldn’t be asking the head of Paul Mitchell because he is completely biased.
The truth is these salon brands depend on ‘diverted’ product to boost their sales. They want to have it both ways. They want to tell you that Paul Mitchell is a salon-only brand which makes it seem more exclusive, but they also want the high volume sales that they can only get through mass market outlets like your local Kroger. Additionally, they don’t want to anger their salon distributors because people are able to get the same stuff but for cheaper.
They make up this story of products being inferior. In nearly all cases, they are not.
The way diversion works is this. Paul Mitchell hires a company to manufacture their products. Then Paul Mitchell sales people get and fill orders from distributors. Distributors are legitimate businesses that sell directly to independent salons. The distributors can order as much as they want, then sell it to the salons who can then sell it to you.
Some of these distributors work directly with stores like Kroger, Albertsons, etc. So when these stores put in an order (a really big order compared to a salon) the distributors just order more product from Paul Mitchell to fill the Kroger order.
Paul Mitchell doesn’t even question the big orders because they like the extra sales. They turn a blind eye to what`s going on just so they can express public “outrage” that their product is being sold at the local drugstore. This is bunch of bunk.
The stuff you get at the local Kroger is every bit as good as the stuff you get at the salon. Don’t be fooled. If the folks at Paul Mitchell really wanted to stop these sales, they would simply question their distributors and find out who is selling to Kroger, or Target or Albertson.
The problem of counterfeiting is a real one, but it’s not something that you’ll find at large stores like Kroger. That company is not going to sell something contaminated because they would be sued in a heartbeat. The places that are a little more sketchy are the small shops (some salons) with the dust on top of the bottles. Those are the places you have to worry about.
Check out I Want That Hair.com for hair beauty products.
The Beauty Brains Bottom line…
You can trust that if you’re buying a salon brand from a regular store, there is no difference between it and the stuff you can get at a salon.
And if anyone from one of those salon brands sees it differently, they are welcome to respond to the Beauty Brains.
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Hi Brains
Here in the UK, it is almost impossible to find salon brands like Paul Mitchell outside of salons. Supermarkets sell commercial brands only. What I would like to know is, what is the quality difference between a $5 bottle of shampoo or conditioner for coloured hair from the supermarket and a $30 shampoo and conditioner such as, say, Kerastase Chromariche?
There is no quality difference between a $5 and a $30 shampoo or conditioner. In fact, they typically use the same ingredients.
Once you get passed $5, you are merely paying for marketing hype and brand prestige. The product certainly won’t work any better.
I used to own a distributorship in the Rocky Mountain area. I sold it a few years ago. Now we manufacture 2 lines one for salons and the other for mass chain, they are both the same products no different in them at all. It is cheaper to buy more of the same raw materials then change it for mass chain!!!! The only thing different is the label name!!!!
We sold to both mass chain stores and salons. We were told when a change in product line was going to happen and we told to call the salons and mass chain buyers and offer deals to get them to buy the old line up.
When the new line up would come it the deals were done.
Some of the line change was bottle only or some times it was a new formula. If we had a product that sat around for a long time we would call other vendors and make a deal with them, We did not care were it went as long as it went away and we got our money back from it.
We carried over 500 product lines so I know that all of them do this.
There have been times when a company would tell us to sell the new line change to the mass chain and keep selling the old style to the salons so they would not get phone calls about why did you change it,it’s not as good as before. Most of the time it was just a bottle change.
Hope this clears a few things up
I remember one time when I was called by one of the companies that yelled the loudest about salon only sales. I was told I would be getting a order from one of the mall marts and to take it here was my P.O. number.
I did not ask any questions and took the order I made 3% of the sale and never touched the product at all. The sale came strait from the company the made the product and used me to funnel it to the mass chain store.
It was great for me the order was 5 million and we made 3%for just putting it threw our company!!!
i love this debate as well. i also have to agree that i’d rather believe a scientist then a hairdresser/salon owner. furthermore i too have seen those dusty bottles at salons. nonetheless, i would much rather buy my hair care products with advice from a professional but also agree that well… it’s shampoo… what in the world can ya do wrong!?! plus, it is labeled -you know.
i love the fact that Kelly actually wrote an email and confronted them. their phoney so-called “diversion department” (that won’t answer back) to me is proof enough that it is the same product: in the salon as well as @ grocery stores. rofl! i’m so sorry but i just have to giggle about all the posts disagreeing. do you honestly believe what you are being told and are dublicating here? too funny. ignorance is proof of a simple mind. i don’t really mean to offend anybody but i just can’t help my statements. last but def not least: congrats to the distributer that made 3%! hahahaha. hey, it is what it is!
oh AND!!! i have also noticed that high end products in walmarts/targets, etc. are usually pricier then at the salon. if your salon isn’t completely out of the way… it does make more sense! i will refuse product that’s being pushed upon me by styists though and change the salon. but that’s just me. i don’t like being forced into buying and don’t think it’s a smart strategy, almost all have changed salon because of that very reason!
I believe that buying salon products from a salon is the safest way to go. If you trust your salon with your hair, you trust their sanitizing techniques and you trust their opinion, you should trust their product. If there is a question of any of these things, then you need to find a different salon. Salons are held accountable by the distributors and manufacturing companies by having a “Salon Only Guarantee”. If there is a problem, the salon receives the product back and sends it back to the distributor. It would be detrimental to the salon to sell “bad” products. Clients would soon stop buying from them if the products didn’t measure up to what they were supposed to be. So the more reputable salons wouldn’t risk their client base by doing this. I don’t know whether the major companies are knowingly diverting or not, but I don’t believe it is smart or ethical for you to say that ALL products in major chain stores are safe. I seem to remember a major pain reliever being sold all across America that ended up killing people because of the arsenic in it. I realize that aresenic is a little more serious than shampoo, but what about the study that FOX News did. They pulled Professional “In Salon Only” hair care products from the shelf of a major chain store and did testing on them. They found high levels of bacteria in one sample, enough to make a person very ill. Even if that is a very rare incident, it just shows that you can’t make an across the board statement saying that there are no worries in buying any product, in a chain store or in a salon. The salon is buying directly from an established distributor. The chain stores are not. You can not say that they are only buying from the actual manufacturers or distributors unless you are an actual buyer for that chain store, you just don’t know for sure. They may be buying from a high producing diverter who promotes themselves as a distributor and doesn’t have quite as high standards in handling product. So, don’t make across the board statements that may lull people into believing that the world is a wonderful place and they have nothing to worry about. In short, small businesses are vital to our country. Do you want your money to go back into your community, supporting the independant salon and the people in your area or would you rather put that money into the big supermarket chains pocket to go out of state? If for no other reason than this, you should buy from your local salon. Taking the small amount of professional products off the shelves of a major store will not cause a loss of any local jobs, but retail sales in a salon often pay the rent, so leaving the products on the small salons shelves could cause the ending of another one of our small businesses.
if diversion is the problem all the professional hair care lines could just call longs, target and whom ever is carrying their product and just say we do not sell to chain stores and we will not authorize you to sell our products so on and so forth ? or like one said they are out to make money thats it .these stores are major chain stores that’s allot of product right? not just a couple of boxes .diverted or not that product is out there in allot of stores. I’ve done hair for 42 years it is not a surprise.
As someone who sold a very successfull beauty product website recently, I can attest that what you say is true! I am also a cosmetologist and salon owner and wouldn’t have believed it had I not began an internet business selling products. Here is my experience:
The 5 local beauty supplies in my city all sold to me with no problem (I told them up front that I was selling online.) Then a few stylists began boycotting these beauty supplies since they were selling to me. At that point, most of these salons told me they couldn’t sell to me anymore simply because they were getting “bad press” because of it. After that, i simply bought from beauty supplies in different states – and every one knew I sold product on Ebay and on my website.
Seriously…they have brainwashed stylists to the point of stupidity!
Dear Beauty Brains,
Although I respect your STATED credentials, (If TRUE ) I must say I disagree with you ALMOST entirely. Some things you have stated are true about diversion. But I have worked for a very large salon brand company for 15 plus years, and in FACT, we do NOT condone the sale of our products to retailers that are not PROFESSIONAL Salons. It takes away from the integrity of our products. If it in FACT were about money we would openly state that we condone these actions. But in TRUTH, WE DONT! If money were the only factor we would market our self as does NEXUS, Suave, Dove, Clairol and …ect. We sell our products worldwide and they are designed for Professional SALE ONLY. Their is a very specific reason for this. Consumers that buy hair care products in mass retail outlets DO NOT continue to buy the same product all the time. They are apt to buy based on price (SALES), trend, or “HEY this looks cool, I’ll try this…..THIS TIME” shoppers. Our products are designed for OUR clientele. People who buy our product REGARDLESS of price. It’s their Brand. They ARE COMMITTED Customers. THATS where OUR MONEY IS….SIR!!!!!!!
Dear TRUTH Insider,
Thank you for your interesting perspective (if indeed your STATED credentials are TRUE). Your experience and attitude is not universal in the salon brand business.
The way I am reading this is that the salon professionals are saying is that they have been indoctrinated to believe what the product company reps tell them regarding product exclusivity.
I’m an economics major, and aside from the fact that I trust what the Brains say about the chemical makeup of the products, analyzing this issue from a economic perspective also supports the Brain’s findings. What the product companies have managed to do is tap into 2 separate price demand levels for the same product; what an upscale salon goer would pay, and then what a bargain hunter would pay. By throwing in the marketing ploy of a “product guarantee” keeps salon buyers faithful, guaranteeing their continued purchases at the higher price level.
It’s really quite simple.
I’m shaking my head at how gullible some people are – especially the ones that swear they know it all just because a product rep told them so!
Diverted product: Sure this happens!
Different packaging: Doh. Sometimes lines (as has been explained) dump some packaging in one direction in the market and have different bottles being filled in the other.
Dates: Where is everyone coming up with how old the product is? Just because they’ve seen different bottles produced in the past year or two doesn’t mean the company is still not filling the “old” style.
Freshness: Shampoo keeps. There’s nothing about it that needs to be “Fresh”.
Oh.. and my fav… most of the “professionals” in this forum would have a brain hemorrhage if they ever gained access to the production area of a major company (I have a relative that works in one) … They fill brands sold at Walmart and “professional” products out of the same vat – just different bottles rolling down the line.
Cosmetologists don’t learn squat about what’s really in those bottles… and the quality of education doesn’t get any better from most product reps.
In the end… price doesn’t make a product good or bad. And there is absolutely no logic behind the thinking that all “professional” products are better.
My credentials:
Licensed Professional (term loosely applied)
Salon rep
Business Owner
and 30 years of observing ignorance in this field.
As a salon professional, I am shocked at the extent that some of my fellow professional have “drank the koolaid”. Of course the products are the same at chain retailers.Large corporations don’t fool around with bootleg products. There are tons of people just looking for a reason to sue them, I doubt they would take such risks for shampoo. I personally cannot figure out why there is so much wailing and wining about it anyway. The chain retailers want these products because hairdressers made them popular by recommending them to their clients.A very simple way to stop the problem is to simply stop promoting anything that you see in a big box store. In my salon it is our policy to pack up our stock of anything we see sold outside of salons and send it right back to our distributor. Then we simply replace it with the new hot product, and we decide what what is hot. There are tons of fantastic products out there, you don,t have to be held retail hostage by product companies that only pretend to support you. Your clients buy what you recommend, so you are really the one with all of the power, but your freindly neighborhood
I have tried various salon shampoos, and NONE of them can get my scalp clean. My scalp gets smelly, greasy, and itchy even when I shampoo every day. The obnoxious scents make me sneeze and itch and even bother people sitting near me in class. You couldn’t get me to use those for free any more!
My favorite shampoo is the cheap house brand from Costco. It cleans my scalp and has a light scent nobody notices unless they hug me. If my stylist sold it in smaller bottles, I’d pay a bit more for the convenience as well as to help her pay the bills.
I have to laugh at how some “professionals” chose to respond immaturely to this post.
They are the same product. Treat it as gossip or fact, though the latter is recommended. The fact of the matter is, salons make commission and pay the rent with their sales. If customers knew that the exact same products were available at a local grocery store (god forbid. some of you act so above grocery stores and drugstores. ridiculous.), salons would lose business. The companies will try to play it up that their products are exclusive and “elite” to salons only. Its all a matter of business and tactic.
Independent salons can just as easily sell bad product too. World wide chain stores wouldn’t risk being sued, think about what you’re claiming.
And because I can, I’ll just add this last bit in. I always research and know what I want BEFORE buying my products, whether it be from a salon or drugstore. I know my hair and body better than a stranger, regardless of their credentials. I’ve been given lousy advice at certain salons I’ve been to.
I laughed at the comment about adding water to the product. You get a gold star for creativity.
If you cannot read a label and pick haircare for yourself so you must rely only on the opinion of someone who’s trying to sell you something, that’s pretty pathetic.
I’ve gotten crazy advice (and usually bad cuts) at salons for my entire life. Each time I’ve gone to the same salon (over the last 3 years), I’ve heard at least two radically different opinions about my hair per visit – one will say my hair’s in wonderful shape and ask what I use; the other will complain that my hair’s in terrible shape and surely it’d be better if I bought something from the salon. The “wow, your hair’s so damaged, buy our stuff to fix it!” person has always been the one cutting my hair. It makes me laugh every time.
Last time I was even told “___ will protect your color!” about 5min after I’d just told her my hair’s completely naturally curly and I’ve never dyed it. And she had cheerfully told me at the start of the cut, “___ will fix your split ends and prevent more!” – but she could not find a single split end when I asked her to show me some of these horrible split ends ’cause I hadn’t noticed more than one or two after 8 months since my last haircut…
The big assumption everyone is making here is that all salons sell products for the same price. A can of professional hairspray is sold for, say $7, which means it will then be sold both at Target and at the hair salon for around $14. Now there are some salons (or individual chair renting hair stylists) who buy products and DON’T automatically mark the product up 100% because they want to pass the savings on to their customers. (Not very often, but it does happen-I am one of them) Some of us even buy products when they are on sale, like buy 2 cans at $14 and get a third free. There are hairdressers who are able to set their own prices and are not greedy and simply want their clients to have the right products for their hair to insure that color, perms, cuts that the stylist gives them are enhanced by the use of the proper product. I rent a chair in a salon and am able to set my own prices on products i display and sell and i make sure to sell lower than the department stores and offer great deals to my REGULAR customers. I care about them and want them to have the best products possible since they are a walking advertisement for my work and they provide me with a living and an outlet for my Passion. Yes the products are the same. Find a really good, not- greedy hairstylist and they will hook you up.
Also a hairstylist who is pushing products is usually making only minimum wage or slightly more and the only chance for them to move to a higher level of pay is to sell more products. Don’t frequent these salons- they are nearly all owned by one large corporation, Regis who is known for underpaying their stylists and setting up salons as a front for mass product sales. They could’nt care less about you, the stylist, or your hair. Find a small salon independent salon near your home and get an experienced stylist to take you on as a client.
I’m a hairstylist also the only thing that i have to say about the professional products is that on most of the professional product bottles it clearly states that the products are not garunteed unless sold in a profeesional salon. at my salon if you don’t like the product you can return it within 30 days. I don’t know if you have that long in a grocery store or not. also generally they cost about $1 more in grocer stores. I’ve personally priced them at several stores.
I was just reading through this thread and the thought crossed my mind that although salon products are “guaranteed,” a major chain store will accept your product as a return or in-store credit if you are not happy with it.
That sounds like a guarantee, to me.
Uh…this question was concerning Salon Brands (such as Paul Mitchell) being sold in Kroger vs being sold in a salon, NOT Salon Brands (eg Paul Mitchell) vs Mass Brads (eg Herbal Essences), right? Because it seems like there are 2 differnt arguments going on, one being the same product (salon brands) being sold 2 different type of places and another between salon brands and cheaper mass market products. These are 2 very different argument, but interesting, but different.
You are correct. The original post was comparing a salon brands in the store versus the same ones in a salon. They are not different.
The comments section raised the question of whether salon brands were better than regular store brands. They aren’t.
You are obviously not any such credible source in the way you that you desperatly reply to peoples posts. I got sick from a bottle of “salon brand” conditioner and turned out I was not even getting a deal. THAT I got sick from the product, is a FACT. If the product is not gauranteed it should AT LEAST be cheaper, period. It was contaminated and I am having it inspected. It was filled with an unknown substance, had been used, had a huge stain and dent that cracked and busted the bottle. HOW can you say this and be so inconsiderate toward the health of others and tell them they are dreaming things? Bottom line is when it is sold by unathorized dealers there is any chance in the world the product could be compromised, sure some probably most will not be, but that IS a chance you take. You also cannot say, that you scientifically checked everything in the world that is sold on e-bay to say it was legit, that is not possible nor true! And besides even if the product were not compromised, would you really want to buy a product in a sorry state like this? thing is I was willing but I was dumb. That is what we should teach people.
JIllian, that is NOT a gaurantee..not being sure that it is the real thing but being able to return it is no consolation. everyone has a return policy, but you would not expect for it to be counterfeit, contaminated or more expensive..people like me who were just stupid, are vast. I would have never returned a salon product, if I wanted it and THOUGHT i was getting a good “deal”. The issue is would you want to buy vitamins that COULD be not really vitamins and leave it up to you to return if you think it is not working. In many cases you are ignorant of this problem or it is past the date of return. These issues must be REGULATING, not your suggestion, so we are gauranteed to get the real thing
allie, you would not want to say where you work to add more weight to your comment. this is a conflict of interest and you could risk your job for that, you know..Paul mitchell did this because manufacturers at a reputible level like Paul mitchell were in the bisiness initially to HELP people’s hair. I wish I could say the same for all drugstore brands. They are literally fighting diversion and do not want to risk compromised quality to the consumer. Their good name is on the line THIS should tell you something about diversion and not to succomb to it, not lose you as a cx, and if it does, that is a risk they are willing to take with you, if they could save MANY.
We do not recommend buying cosmetics from unknown sources like eBay. Stick to reputable stores.
Incidentally, capitalizing a word doesn’t make it true. But if you did get sick from using a contaminated product, you should sue the company that sold it to you.
Interesting topics. It would seem to me that a shampoo company can not legally prevent a mass market retailer from selling their products. It is an issue between the manufacturer and the distributor. I have noticed that the “salon” brands are just as expensive in the the large retailers as they are in salons.
Lastly, dust on the top doesn’t necessarily mean something is old.
As a person that formerly owned and manufactured cosmetics, including high end soaps, lotions, haircare, etc. I would have to agree with the beauty brains editor.
It was always in my best interest to keep the prestige of my products and limit sales as much as possible to high end businesses. This kept the prestige of the product in tact and people were willing to pay higher price per unit.
However, if we had an overrun of merchandise, or something was discontinued, I would gladly sell it to anyone interested in purchasing it rather than eating the costs of product sitting around the warehouse.
It is called “loss prevention”.
As far as cosmetics and hair products being “watered down” or “cheaper version of the same surfactant” or other myths I have heard being told within the salon industry, that is not true. If you read the ingredients list, there is no substitute company manufacturing a cheaper less effective version of that surfactant. Many of the chemical names are trade names and they come from the same exact source, and are sold to manufacturers to be included in end products. So for instance the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate found in Suave is the same Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in a salon brand. Various ingredients are added to provide slip and label appeal, however you are fine purchasing many drug store brands which many are just as good as salon brands. This is where reading labels comes in handy, and educating yourself on the formulary of a product.
Myself, I stick to cheap drug store shampoo and splurge on a nicer silicone free, coconut oil based conditioner that agrees with my hair type. That is a personal preference. (of course, when I don’t have time to make my own!)
With Shampoo, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate – harsh (fine oily hair). Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – slightly less harsh (normal hair)… SLES… even less harsh (gentle cleanser)… etc. It just depends on your hair type and the amount of cleansing you desire.
I would advise everyone to educate themselves on formulary. For the layperson there are places like the herbarie, the soapdishforum, and most importantly, keep reading this site. etc. etc.
I also would like to add…
From scrolling back people claiming to get sick from using product from questionable sources, don’t buy your products there then. Drugstore chains are reputable.
The problem with purchasing on places like Ebay, is that that product can be very old. Over time product can change and the preservatives become less effective. You should realistically not use product over 2 years old, no matter who manufactured it. Once a preservative quits working bacteria and fungus can develop in a product. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t in there.
This can happen to formulary that has been sitting on any shelf for 2 years. That shelf can be in a salon, a beauty supply store or anyplace!
Until the FDA mandates that expiration or date of manufacture is standard labeling laws, this will continue to happen. Labels were standardized with the INCA nomanclature for ingredients and I am sure at some point and time date of manufacturing will be mandated.
Until then, purchase products from a place that you are confident that product has a high rate of turnover from the shelves. To me logic would indicate, someplace that is busy like a drugstore or a very busy salon.
Hello, My name is Chelsea and am currently a student at Avalon School of Cosmetology in Phoenix, AZ. I must say that this issue is very much debatable. On one hand you have the professional hair dresser doing his or her thing for 40 years telling you that these products are only guaranteed when sold in stores. Then you have the distributors who are “supposedly” responsible for these “counterfeit” products who are saying that they do not tamper with products. In all honesty, I don’t think you would need so much as a chemist to figure this one out, simply a brain. John Paul Mitchell is a big corporation, that makes BIG money. Had there been a problem with mass chains selling these products, he could have taken some of his large chunk of money and already found a way to “track” these bottles, that or sue the distributors/ companies who are selling these supposed “tampered products.” Like stated earlier, Paul Mitchell simply slaps on a guaranteed only when sold by professionals label to protect their sales through their loyal stylists, so that way they can like said earlier, turn a blind eye to this incident and cause a bunch of hoopla about this happening. If it was such a big deal why hasn’t there been any serious affirmative action? I highly doubt such large companies such as Target or Walmart would put their company at risk of lawsuit for illegally selling these products, because like Paul Mitchell, they LOVES their money. I am just saying, after thorough research I have come to the conclusion that no, there is no difference between the two. When asking all of my hair stylists and teachers at my school these same questions I have brought up, none of them could give a clear answer. And why? Because they are not being fed clear information by their products manager being PM. However, I DO have to disagree with the difference between commercial brands and professional. I have seen and felt the difference in my hair, in families and friends hair, and in clients hair. If just feels healthier looks healthier and would simply recommend to steer clear of some of these commercial products and try to find specials on professional products at stores near you if you cannot afford to purchase them at a salon. Thank you for allowing me to state my opinion.
I apologize I would like to correct something I had said previously as I am tired and must have missed it but the part where I stated :
“On one hand you have the professional hair dresser doing his or her thing for 40 years telling you that these products are only guaranteed when sold in stores.”
I meant to say only guaranteed when sold in salons.
ALL apologies!
I have been a hairstylist for 2 years, and I have also worked in a professional beauty supply store. Being against diversion has been drilled into my head for the past 3 years and after reading this article, I’m in a bit of a shock because it makes so much sense. I was always told never to by a salon product from a drug store because it could be old, spoiled, watered down, or not even the same product. I have tried to figure out how the products came to be there and how the store was able to sell them, but decided to just accept that it happened and that it was bad. When I worked in a professional beauty supply store we would have meetings on diversion and how to prevent it. The company had started an organization to help stop diversion. They collect donations and spend thousands or millions of dollars on programs to stop diversion. My question is, if these companies are the ones at fault for diversion in the first place (i.e. selling to drug stores), why are they spending all this time and money to prevent it? It’s starting to seem like one big conspiracy theory to me.
My hair stylist told me it is better to buy salon products in the salon rather than at a local grocery market because they could not even be the same product. so i’m curious…what is the proof that these products in salon and at the super market are the same quality?? my stylist told me her salon did several tests on their salon products and the exact same brand and product from the local grocery store and they had a different Ph!!!! the Ph obviously affects your hair..so how do you explain the dramatic difference in Ph between an salon store products and the exact same product in a market?!! also the label on the salon products even specifically say that they are only gauranteed if SOLD IN A PROFFESSIONAL SALON!! i would argue that everyone should just buy the product from the salon rather than pay basically the same price for the product with a risk of it not “being as effective”.
I have been a customer to salons and chains and have never noticed a difference. However, I was buying strictly at salons for a long time and then a hairdresser was extreemley pushy about me buying this and that and what it would do for my dry, damaged hair. Needless to say I did not buy anything and I found a new salon. At this salon the hairdresser told me that my hair was in very good condition and actually asked me what I used – I’m a Redken fan. I decided to try one more hairdresser while out of town and she also asked about my choice of product because my hair was so ’silky’. About a year ago my wages at my job dropped quite a bit and I have been buying from a chain in some cases but have not noticed an old bottle. I still prefer to buy from a salon when I can because I know that they make a wage off of it and I really enjoy helping out people if I can. My hairdresser recently told me that if I was experiencing the economy trouble that I should check out Target. That is what is important to me – honesty and a caring relationship with my hairdresser – I will never buy from a chain again!
I am a Paul Mitchell Stylist and I personally have seen Paul Mitchell product at a major drugstore that was not the product it claimed to be. One of Paul Mitchell’s conditioners is a creamy blue. When I opened the bottle it was a white conditioner in the bottle. There are companies out there that manufacture products to look like major brands if you look carefully you can find the differences.
One reason why PM, Matrix, Redken, etc. are all more expensive than the leading products sold at your local store is that they “target” different “types” of hair, hair “problems, i.e damage from thermal styling, lightening, perming, etc. They typically have a lower pH level that is closer to the natural pH of hair and skin, which is generally between 4.5 and 5.5. If you don’t have sensitive skin, then really, don’t blow your money. If it gets you clean and doesn’t irritate you, go for the cheaper one.
I went to a product knowledge class for Paul Mitchell products and the guy running it told us that he picked up a bottle of Awapuhi Moisture Mist from PM at the local drug store (because it’s not supposed to be there in the first place) and he sent it to a lab and it tested as pure acetone. Spray THAT on your skin! MM Mmm mmmm!
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