Daily I have the conversation with clients about their hair care between appointments, and so many peoples regime includes the use of shop bought products... of course they are generally cheaper, and who am I to judge in the current economical client. But what I want to explore is the question of....do professional products really make a difference?
Price.... Yes the shampoo you buy at the supermarket might be on offer, and the oil the came from the chemist will be cheaper, and really if that is your budget its great that you are using something on the hair. Anything you use will benefit condition, and if you are willing to invest a little more into your hairs insurance AFTER your appointment you will see a benefit... TRUST ME ! Professional products do have a higher price tag...but why, and the simple answer is the quality and quantity of the ingredients.
Ingredients.... Take a shampoo for example, anything you buy is fundamentally going to have the same ingredients and these tend to be water, cleaning agent and sometimes a conditioning agent, however take a look at the quantity of these elements.... a lot ( of what I have looked at) in shampoos will have a HIGH % of water in them ( around 45-60%)....giving you that crazy foaming ability we all crave, however the % of cleaning agent ( the actual thing that does the job) will be lower. To keep cost low, manufactures are bulking out the product with water.
In a professional product ( take Paul Mitchell because this is what I know) The water (Aqua) content is 11% and the rest of the bottle is made up with cleaning agents, flower botanicals, and herbal extracts, plus oil elements or colour protect molecules ( depending on which line your looking at ) and few to no alcohols, then in order to get you foam, you ADD water from the tap.
Coloured Hair.... I do often think about longevity of colour on my clients, and there are lots of factors that can effect the colour between appointments. However to get the optimum I really do believe in using the Paul Mitchell range to insure your Paul Mitchell colour. Firstly the technology and molecules in the products are supportive of one another, they are made that way to give you the best possible finish.
Low quality cleansers in the shop bought products can actually be so harsh to hair it will strip the colour causing premature fading of the colour molecules, and drying of the hair shaft and cuticle. Professional Products have the molecular ability to attach to the hair and to soften and moisturise the cuticle whilst protecting and therefore prolonging your colour.
Tried and tested...... In the long run you may potentially end up spending more. I've looked at clients who buy shampoo and conditioners from me, and what I use at home....
Maybe once every 8 weeks they will spend, on a Shampoo (300ml) and conditioner (300ml) : £26.25.
Over the 8 weeks that costs them £3.28 each week.
To test this out I bought a well known supermarket brand Shampoo (400ml) and conditioner ( 400ml) Also for coloured hair at £9.98 total.
Bearing in mind these were BIGGER bottles, by week 5 this had gone, so I would need to replace with another £9.98 taking my total spend to £19.96. (to be honest I did not buy again but lets assume that lasted me another 5 weeks)
Ok..... I admit defeat, the Paul Mitchell, over the time frame did cost me more..... BUT it was £6.29 extra spent well (in my opinion), because I did not feel like I wanted to change my products because my hair was used to it - (hair cannot get used to something- what you actually feel here is a build up of low grade silicone, which is what gives you that initial draw to the product. ) AND I know that I'm using quality product to protect the hair and colour, because the molecular technology is the same.
I'm absolutely not here to judge anyone who buys the shop stuff, and I'm not into pushy sales, but I do believe there is more to it than price when it comes to hair care, and I'm ALWAYS happy to advise whatever you hair regime.
