Lauren’s on the lookout: I’ve been wanting to try Kerastase hair products for quite some time now, but they are so overpriced. What about these products make it so such more expensive than most others? Are there any cheaper shampoos, conditioner and masks that perform similarly but for a cheaper price?
The Right Brain responds:
In case you haven’t read our post on “Who’s Who in the Cosmetic Industry,” Kerastase is owned by cosmetic giant L’Oreal who markets a variety of brands at different prices. Like many large companies, L’Oreal spends a lot resources developing the best possible formulas and then use those formulas across different brands. Why is Kerastase so expensive? Can you say “brand image?” You’re paying for a different fragrance, packaging and advertising but not necessarily a different formula.
High Cost
For example, look at Kerastase Nutritive Oleo-Relax Smoothing Hair Masque. A 5 ounce jar sells for $50.00 and it contains the following ingredients:
Water, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Potato Starch Modified, Cetyl Esters, Isopropyl Alcohol, Elaeis Guinneensis Oil, Shorea Robusta / Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, prevervatives, fragrance, blah blah blah.
Low Cost
Now consider L’Oreal Vive Pro Smooth Intense Conditioning Treatment. A 6.8 ounce tube will set you back $4.99. The ingredients are remarkable similar:
Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Potato Starch Modified, Cetyl Esters, Isopropyl Alcohol, and more blah blah blah.
Chemically speaking, these are nearly identical. They’re based on the same fatty alcohol blend and rely on behentrimonium chloride and amodimethicone for conditioning. And the potato starch is an interesting choice of thickener/emulsifier. Functionally speaking, we’d be amazed if a consumer could tell any difference between these two products.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Does this mean ALL Kerastase formulas are the same as the cheaper L’Oreal versions? Not necessarily, but we’d take a close look at each product before spending that much cash.
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If you are looking for high performance products that truly work look at Colure True Color Care. The website is http://www.colurehaircare.com. The company has been in business for three years and has created the latest high performance molecular nano technology products at a very reasonable price point. There really is nothing on the market quite like.
I never ever liked those shampoos from the supermarket and if I did my opinion would change a few washes latter…. No to mention styling products that always used to make my hair dull or even frizzy. Then I started to try salon brands… And felt the difference… From lóreal professionel to wella sp, Sharwzkopf and Tigi all of them performed much better than Pantente and Elvive (being Pantene and Elvive the only supermarket brands I could stand to begi with)… But I was never too impressed though… Perhaps my hopes are too high, perhaps my hair is too picky… I just know then one day I discovered Kerastase and got hooked. The products perfom great and never fail you. The fragances are awesome… I can’t believe Kerastase products are similar to Elvive one’s…. No, they’re not…. They’re so much better.. BMW motors has series 1, series 2, series 5… And although all the cars have the same “ingredients list” the quality and luxury of them are wide different.
And of course Kerastase has almost exclusive products like intensive masks for fine hair, color shampoo for fine hair, medium hair, and think hair…. You have so much choice… That doesn’t happens with supermarket brands that tend to irritate my scalp and weigh my hair down sometimes with wierdo kind of frizz…..
Check out Surface Hair Care products. http://www.SurfaceHair.com Surface is a high performance, salon exclusive hair care that completely respects personal health and the earth. Surface is Sulfate free, Gluten free, paraben free, no dyes or synthetic fragrances or phthalates, all natural botanical extracts. Also free of PVP\VA’s (plastics). All natural sugars and cornstarches for styling. Palm and Coconut Oil for cleansing and Babassu Oil for hydration. Sourced from the “Tree of Life” amazing for your skin. Quite simply the best hair care products available today.
Beauty Brains, the original post was more than reasonable. Kerastase is definitely overpriced but some of your statements in the comments are condescending.
Kerastase is worth every penny and the said part is how stupid the person is who wrote this blog. No one gives a shit if L’Oreal has other lines that are cheaper and have almost the same stuff in them. Point blank $5 L’Oreal does nothing for your hair and Kerastase makes it lightweight shiny soft and beautiful. Huge difference from the cheaper L’Oreal lines. This person who wrote “Kerastase Kills Your Cash” probabley has never even tried Kerastase. Kerastase makes your hair all anyone could ever ask for. Its gorgeous hair thanks to Kerastase
I have used various products and am constantly trying to find a cheaper comparable product. But eacht ime I keep going back to Kerastase because I have not yet found another prodect that makes my hair look and feel the way Kerastase has. As long as I can squeeze it out of my descretionary funds I will.
Amber, Ive tried Kerastase and didnt really make a significant difference compared to other products. Now i learn about ingredients to keep the cash on my pocket cause the formula is similar to cheaper products, but im not gonna call you stupid just cause you have a different opinion….
This blog is about beauty science so scientifical facts are presented cause is the only way to analyze this in an objective way, if we want to buy the product or like it is another thing. Its clear that you dont get it so keep your insults for the next time you are in front of the mirror.
This is the first time I’ve commented on a hair product online maybe any product. I was of the exact same belief about drugstore vs “salon grade” products… Then I tried a Kerastase shampoo and a high-end treatment by Schwarzkopf. The entire debate rests on a single issue: hair type. If you have manageable, normal or short hair there is little or no need to look further than a supermarket. If like me however, you have long, dry, frizzy, highlighted hair-not to mention, male hair-then the “high-grade” product is a godsend. I think it all comes down to formula or composition and quantities of the various polymers, alcohols etc. I would take a blind test any day…as long as I didn’t have a date that evening ; )
Does kerestase products work well on African American hair as well?
okay…so i have read the posts and can only comment on my personal experience. i have used expensive hair care products ever since I started earning my own money. i have tried the best of the best, fekkai, ojon, aveda, alterna, goldwell, morrocan oil and the list goes on and on. while i felt that they all provided superior results to drugstore brands, i must say that kerastase has them ALL beat hands down. although i believe in finding a good bargain, i don’t believe in sacrificing quality. if you love the luxury products but don’t like the accompanying high prices, try discounted sites like folica.com. Not only are the prices reduced below what you will find at the salon, you don’t pay tax, you get free shipping on orders of $50 and they run specials quite often. Currently it is take $20 off of your purchase of $100 or more.
in my search for great hair on the cheap, i have found one supermarket item that out performs any deep conditioning masque i have tried. the next time you are in the organic food section, buy food grade extra virgin coconut oil. 30 ounces cost $20 and it works wonders. its natural, smells great and will cost a fraction of the brand name masques. work it into dry hair and leave it in overnight. careful not to use too much or it will be tough to wash out…
when it comes to daily shampoo and conditioner though, kerastase takes the cake!
good article ………follow it ……will be back….
Some of the comments are so funny . . . like Elizabeth who says “I love their products but when they screw the ‘little’ people that want good products by making them pay outrageous prices for Kertatase when the ingredients are the same…”
Well, shame on Mercedes and BMW for not sellings their cars at Chevy prices to the “little people”! I mean isn’t sheet metal just sheet metal and don’t all cars get you from point A to point B the same?
You can find brand name TVs and computers at Costco that look just like the ones at retail stores for much cheaper. Why? Because the manufacturers make special, lower priced merchandise for Costco. It’s perfectly good merchandise but it’s not equal to the regular merchandise sold at non-discount stores. Just as you can shop at outlets and see merchandise that’s never been sold at the regular retail stores – it’s all specially made lower priced merchandise just for the outlet stores.
As to the ingredients on the label, all things are not equal.
Take olive oil for instance. Olive oil is olive oil, correct? Yet you have the more expensive cold pressed virgin olive oil, cold pressed olive oil, and olive oil – all of which looks the same and smells the same but does not taste the same because they are not the same. Yet they would all be listed as OLIVE OIL.
It’s a bit like repairing your car and using OEM parts or after market parts. They look the same, they do the same job, but there’s a huge price difference. Why? Because they aren’t the same.
This applies to the sourcing of materials that go into Kerastase vs Pantene as well.
As for the person who used Loreal haircolor, had a reaction, and swore off Loreal as a bad product – how idiotic. It’s like blaming the food for your allergy. It just happens to be a product you can’t use – read the label.
As to illegal actions by cosmetic companies, get real! Only an idiot would believe that the shampoo, hair color, or makeup will work miracles. The products do what they promise, make you look a little nicer, not work miracles.
Why does filet mignon cost more than ground beef, it’s just beef? Why does lobster cost more than cod, it’s just seafood.
It’s called economics 101 – supply and demand.
Congratulations on having one of the most sophisticated blogs Ive come across in some time! Its just incredible how much you can take away from something simply because of how visually beautiful it is. Youve put together a great blog space –great layout. This is definitely a must-see blog!
I quote: “What you fail to realize is the power of your mind to convince you there are differences where there may be none.”
Looks like you have already made up your mind that everyone who buys kerastase is foolish enough to believe there’s a difference.
I once bought a kerastase product against greassy hair which i really did not like. So i was convinced that kerastase really did not make a difference. I tried many other brands after that, but my hair condition (dry frizzy hair with no shine) did not improve at all. Then my hairdresser used the kerastase masquintense on my hair. I was stunned that my hair finally had some shine again, it looked more healthy and it much less dry. And this effect lasted about 3 weeks.
Because of the price of the product, i searched online to find a cheaper alternative. On a beauty forum, there was someone who compared the ingredients of the kerastase mask with one from l’oreal professional that was much cheaper. Apart from a few ingredients, it looked like very similar masks. So, I bought the L’oreal professional mask, and i expected big things from it, but I didn’t notice any difference, not even after using twice a week for a month.
So I finally gave in an bought the very expensive kerastase mask. Well, it made a huge difference! I immediately noticed that my hair had the same shiny and healthy look that it had when my hairdresser first used this mask on my hair. My friends – who didn’t know i’d bought a kerastase mask – asked my what i had done to make my hair look so healthy again. Now I have been using the product 6 month and my haircondition has improved so much.
In the end, Kerastase is not that expensive either. You can really use small amounts because the products are so concentrated. I have long hair and I use the mask twice a week. In the beginning I really used a lot (because my hair was looking terrible back then) and a week ago, I had to buy a new one. So, I would only have to buy 2 masks a year. And i know this one works, so i don’t have to try out new treatments every two months.
So, I didn’t have any expectations from kerastase and i was convinced that the cheaper mask was exactly the same, but i was wrong.
What I did learn is that you need a product that suits your hair and not all kerastase products work wonders on my hair. I once used the bain divalent, everyone told me how good it was, but it didn’t work for me. If i want to buy something new from kerastase, i first ask my hairdresser to use it on me, so i can decide weather or not it suits my hair before spending a lot of money on it.
Alicia: if you have thick dry frizzy hair, the oleo relax range is perfect for you. I asked my hairdresser to use it on me because i have dry frizzy hair (he used a special in salon treatment, not the mask or shampoo), but it didn’t work for me because i have fine hair. It took away a lot of volume. For my hair, the masquintense for fine hair is still the best.
It’s mostly a psychological but it also helps that in practice, Kerastase products work, they are high quality, they are reliably functional, and a safe bet for anyone who isn’t sure what to buy. They ARE grossly overpriced for what they in reality actually do, and often if you search you will find a product at a fraction of the cost that is just as effective, but thats allot of work and you won’t necessarily FEEL better about using it. Kerastase is a luxury brand, when you buy Kerastase you are not just buying a product, you are buying a psychological experience, you are buying the feeling of using the best (which it is!) the feeling of treating yourself, the feeling of indulging, the feeling of luxury and exclusivity, and you even enjoy the feeling of spending your money on it for the simple fact that YOU are using Kerastase, “the best” “the most expensive” “the haircare of the stars” because if you use it, you too can be a star (of your own little world.) Yes, you may find a product for allot less that does basically the same thing, but wheres the fun in that? I use Kerastase and I love it, I know it’s going to work, but much more than that, it makes me feel FEEL beautiful and I’m just not going to get that feeling using something from the 99cent store. Who can put a price on that?
Oh yeah… Kerastase =]
I have been dying my hair religiously since i was 14 years old, but I’d never gone blonde, so at the age of 26 I decided to give it a go with my fab new hairdresser. I’d been dying my hair red for the past 6 years so i knew this was going to be one hell of a long shot, but so lovely was my hairdresser, and so confident she could do it, she offered to dye it back free of charge, with treatments and cuts to get it back to how it was. I had 2 lots of colour removers then the highest % of peroxide that could be put on, my hair was blonde with a slight hint of yellow for which i would have to have my hair bleached monthly to finally remove (it only took 3 months for me to have my highly desired white blonde hair!) As you can imagine, my hair was a mess after the first dye job and on my second visit said to my hairdresser i desperately need something to calm it down. I used bain de force shampoo, anti usure conditioner, ciment thermique & oleo relax serum and my god, myu bleached mad hair became a silken tumble. Now my hairdresser was honest, she told me after using the one bottle of shampoo to return to using my cheap stuff, shampoo is shampoo, it’s what you condtion it with that works. She also told me not to religiously use the anti-usure, again alternate it with cheap stuff otherwise you get protein bulid up in your hair, which actually makes it feel worse than it did before (i know, i tried!) so my one bottle of shampoo lasted 8months! That worked out at £1.50 a month, pretty much how much i spend on my cheap stuff! Ciment thermique may be a bit more expensive, that lasted me a year, you do the math! The Oleo Serum, i use one pump everytime i was, it’s lasted 2 years, so yeah it might cost more to outlay, but it last a helluva long time! So cost wise, probably better than all’s those cheap bottles that you never finish lining up along your bathroom shlef…..
Understanding that Kérastase is a remarkable haircare product is not difficult. It isn’t fruitful to take the role of a chemist and assume things about the contents of a product from merely reading the label. It is such a cop-out to claim the ‘power of the mind’ in tricking one into believing something. This isn’t religion dear, and my faith in the product is far from blind.
It is a fantastic product line, unmatched by brands even more expensive than it. Fekkai or Ojon do not even come close. With Kérastase, you get every cents’ worth of product. While I used it, my hair was INCREDIBLE. I could even heat style and managed to wear haircuts and styles I once wouldn’t dream of with my thick, frizz-prone, middle-eastern hair. I even had a large mass of my hair bleached once, a huge no-no (!), but it still looked fantastic, months later!! I know there’s an ebay seller out of France who sells large volumes of various Kérastase lines at discount, for those wanting a more manageable price for it.
I am back in school and have downgraded to cheaper haircare products, and it really shows . . . I can’t WAIT to use the brand again. I don’t even bother getting interesting haircuts anymore because it just isn’t worth it without the shine and sleekness.
This article is absolutely spot on. When I needed a blow dry serum, I went to the local drugstore and picked up L’Oreal Elvive (Elseve) Anti-Frizz Serum in the UK. After returning to the US, I was struck by how similar the Kerastase Oleo serum bottle was to my “cheap” bottle of Elvive Anti-Frizz Serum. Lo and behold, I found that L’Oreal owns the Kerastase brand as well as the Elvive (Elseve) line. The bottles are near identical: orange, see-through pumps. Both are designed for blowdrying hair and heat styling protection. There was hardly any difference between the two products’ ingredient lists; all loaded up with silicones and fragrance. The Elvive Anti-Frizz Serum is Kerastase Oleo serum but cheaper. I find it truly amazing how much people credit products based on brand recognition and price, when in reality there is no difference in ingredients or performance just status.
OK, I realized that some people here doesn’t have money to spend for Kerastase products so they whine on how expensive they are. I hope some of these people will stop being so bitter with their trailer park trash way of life.
While I agree that the prices are pretty outrageous, i saw most of your comments had to do with L’Oreal products and i’d just like to point out that L’Oreal owns Kerastase. Maybe it’s the other way around, but either way, they are affiliated with one another. And i have heard there is a difference between the two (drugstore and dept. store) from a stylist.
this will probably put a end to all the comments . !!!!
worked for l’oreal . and yes we had one big batch , which we would some weeks make vive” then the same batch would go into the Kerestae. athoe the Kerestate we were ordered to add more fragrance. when idiots think they are getting better results that is because of the brand name ! and the bottle, and the price you paid, that your mind makes little differences up , probably to justify it to your self, considering you just got ripped off.. sorry guys.. and also hair is a dead skin cell don’t forget. and once hair is wrecked its wrecked there is no repairing broken hair. u can smooth it over with silicon based products to make it appear smoother, but you cant make new cells grow on the hair surface lol! and if we had a shampoo that could do that im sure we would have a cure for cancer already ! come on guys! luxury brands are sold to middle class hoping to feel part of the richer world.. when really the rich are rich from you idiots believing their false dreams..
but if you are intelligent or have a soul .. give that money to charity
stop chasing rainbows have some common sense, and think about it, hair is dead skin cells… duh ! and if you enjoy wasting your money on expensive brands cause you like the way they make you feel.. then go for it
a question: of all the Kerastase items on the market, which of them shall I use: naturally curly (not too tini curls) hair, uncolored, silver, healthy. I wash and air dry. Thank you
I am a hairstylist and have worked in a salon that used redken and kerastase products. Kerastase is by far the best product line I have ever used. The difference between the name brand and the store brAnd is that one is more concentrated with the stuff you want, and the other has much more alcohol… Which damages the hair. Quit being cheap and invest in good hair products, you WILL see the difference.
I recently contacted (by phone..no salon nearby) Kerastase asking for a recommendation. I was actually told by a Kerastase consultant that I should try Redkin instead.!?
I have fine,yet abundant bleached blonde hair that is dry/extremely dry. I also have curl. My hair has been described as course. I shampoo my hair every 2 or 3 days (or as needed). When I shampoo I do blow dry and use a curling iron to style when I will be leaving the house. Otherwise when I will be home for the day I air dry.
Any recommendations??
Thx
Kim
I’ve spent the last 8 years, trying to find a combination of shampoo, conditioner and a leave in product to tame my coarse, wavy hair and keep it in good enough condition to grow below my shoulders… supermarket own brands, organic SLS free formulas, shampoo bars, high street brands and designer brands – All of them left my hair or scalp in poor condition by the 4th or 5th use or were just useless from the outset…
Having to rotate constantly and having loads of half empty bottles and tubes lying around was getting on my nerves so in November I decided to try a tub of kerastase masquinetense for thick hair (£20) and a leave in conditioner/heat protector (£15.00).
Whilst I agree that I will be paying for the brand name, 3 months later, I still have half the tub and bottle left so when you work it out, £20.00 divided by 6 months works out at 3.33 per month – about the price of a bottle of high street conditioner.
I also dont need my hair trimming as often either as i dont seem to get as many split ends so it also saves me money there.
Speculate on the ingredients as much as you like – but if the stuff works, it works.
I now have just 3 bottles on my shelf rather than 10 and 2 of them will only need replacing twice a year. This must be better for the environment and your pocket than being a life long product junkie?
ok for all the people saying that kerastase is a waist well your wrong i get my hair done at a high end salon and every one uses it and their hair is so soft so healthy looking its unbelievable that someone’s hair could even look like that all the time i asked my hair stylist and i said that whats the difference cause loreal has hundreds of different product lines and she said their is more time spent making these products and real lab scientist are creating and mixing better higher end ingredients so their for thats why it cost more cause of time and cost more to make. you may compare a sheap bottle to kerastase but sheaper bottled shampoo strips the moisture out if your hair and washes out hair color thats why you spend a lot buying better products cause they dont do that this is a brand that you haft to try it for your self you cant compare it to somthing really cheap and say this has the same stuffe in it im going to take it back have you guys every heard of you get for what you pay for
There is something better than Kerastase and it is a supermarket product…
I began using Kerastase Bain Satin and Conditioner in 1989/1990 and all through college/university I scrimped and saved just so I could afford it. Without it my hair is lanky and soft and once it gets past my shoulders the ends get very dry. This past summer I forgot to bring shampoo and conditioner on vacation so I used my partner’s GARNIER FRUCTIS (for dry and damaged hair). The first day my hair was amazing, I put it down to just using a different shampoo but I used it for the rest of the week and was quite amazed my hair was so good. When we got back home I used my Kerastase and my hair didn’t feel as good. So I began using GARNIER FRUCTIS every other wash. Three months later I can’t even imagine reaching for the Kerastase. I guess I’ll use the 1/3 that’s left in the bottle every now and then. The amazing thing about this is that I have told all my friends and they’ve all tried it too…and…they have all converted. Everyone has commented on how soft, shiny and nice my hair cut is, I’ve never had this kind of feedback.
Obviously Garnier have made a decision to release a good supermarket product; because I have over the years tried (I should say never willingly, ie, at parent’s house, friend’s, hotels, boyfriends) supermarket shampoos and conditioners and they have all been disgusting. I now find Kerastase too heavy compared to GARNIER FRUCTIS. Even if you decide to just use every third or fourth wash you should try it — it’s really, really good. Goodbye Kerastase, I’ve got better things to do with my $200 a year.