Drug Store VS. Professional Hair Products: The Match Is On!

Drug store and professional salon products will always go head to head. Put them in a ring and who will win? Whoever is winning your money! But, do you really know what your spending on? What is the difference between professional and drug or grocery store products besides the price? I'm here to let you in on the differences.

Take a professional and drug or grocery store brand conditioner and compare the labels. They may look fairly similar right? Well, they're not at all actually. Even if the labels read the same exact ingredients the actual amount is completely different. Aveda, Joico, Goldwell (to name a few) are professional salon products that have much higher amounts of proteins and moisturizers. These ingredients are what provides nutrients to your hair strands to keep them healthy. Pantene Pro V, Aveeno, Garnier Fructis (drug and grocery store brands) contain the very minimal amount of these ingredients to claim the benefits for your hair. Tricky huh?

Shampoos main difference is the lathering agent used. Sodium laureth sulfite is the most gentlest sudsing ingrediant for your hair and scalp. Ammonium laurel sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, or sodium laurel sulfate are all harsher lather ingredients. All sound close in name but that T and H makes a big difference. Professional products normally choose to use sodium lareth sulfite even though the lathering factor is less compared to the others. So don't judge a shampoo by the suds, read the ingredients!

Are you starting to see a trend here? Same goes for styling products. I am not saying drug and grocery store brands aren't effective products. They will do get the job done but don't expect quality. You have to also consider your hair type and what you do to it. Do you color your hair? Hi lites? Perm? Straighten? All chemically altered hair needs professional products to replace much needed nutrients to the hair to maintain it's health and shine. If you don't, drug and grocery store products may work fine for you.

Please make sure you are buying your professional salon products from a salon! You can now find professional brands at drug and grocery stores. This is called product diversion and has become a problem. The products make look the same on the bottles but in reality aren't. The contents inside have been altered. It's a complete scam and a huge waste of money! Professional products are only guaranteed when purchased from a licensed retailer, like a salon.

So which products are you placing your bets on? Consider your hair's health and make the right decision biased on that!