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.