Dollar Store Danger: Don’t get Burned by Cheap Products

In my recent forays into a few major “dollar store” outlets I noticed a fair number of products that appear to be imported knock-offs of U.S. products. Now, I’m all about fair trade and competition, but it seems to me that these importers aren’t doing a very good job of translating claims.

Case in point. You may recall Thermasilk, a Helene Curtis hair care brand that was quite popular several years ago. (I believe it’s still sold in some markets.) Thermasilk’s claim to fame was that it was “heat activated” to condition hair, especially during heat styling. Take a look at the primary claim on the dollar store knock off:

Now we could debate the exact meaning of heat activated in the context of hair conditioning but to me, “temperature controlled” certainly doesn’t imply the same benefit as “heat activated.”

And if the company selling this cheap knock off didn’t bother to get the claims language right, I’d be surprised if  they bothered to properly formulate and test the product to ensure it delivers any special temperature related benefit . Sure it only costs $1 but you get what you pay for!