Drugstore brand to Salon brand hair care?

[Tpsyduck]

Which do you think does the best for your hair?

Having used both, I personally like drugstore brands best myself because they seem to work for me as well as the salon brands at a fraction of the price.

For EX: My big salon brand is Biolage, and Suave has thier S/C set version Proffesionals Biobasics. So, I tried them to compare and I loved the Suave Biobasics! The smell is quite similar, and the results I get, about the same, if not better for me. I was really surprised, but happily surprised!

There are several other DS brands I like too over salon stuff, You?

 

[Aquilah]

So far my best bet has been salon brands, with the only exception being Garnier Fructis. However, it's not 100% as good for me as the salon brands have been.

 

[luxotika]

I have been told that the chemical composition of drug store brand shampoos and conditioners are shoddy. I find that salon products work better, IMO. They seem to last longer too, since I feel that I don't have to use as much of them.

 

[luvmylittleboy]

I also find salon brands work better w/my hair.

 

[monniej]

the only time i used salon brand products they left my hair super dry and straw like. maybe the stylist just didn't use the right products, but i wasn't impressed. i prefer pantene pro v products. they work just fine and you can't beat the price.

 

[LilDee]

I use Rusk - calm

shampoo and conditioner.. it's a salon brand.. and it works better on my hair than anything i've tried before...

but than again.. i get them for wholesale price the the cost of it isn't that significant to me..

 

[SierraWren]

I've only very recently begun using salon products on my hair, and find them slightly better than drugstore products I'd been using...but I haven't tried many of either

 

[ivette]

i've used both salon and drugstore brands. i like both. in some i see differences, in others i don't.

sierra, which ones have u used??

 

[xkatiex]

Salon brands all the way

x

 

[Brownshugaz]

i don't have a choice but to use drugstore brands. I use a lot of conditioner so I use the suave humectant for my washes and the 2minute recovery is amazing. if i could afford salon quality i would go for kenra or elucence

 

[butterflyblue]

I am very partial to a few "salon" brands- TIGI, PUREOLOGY, SEXY HAIR AND BIOLAGE. But, I do really love DOVE shampoo and conditioner, and Brilliant Brunette drug store" line.

 

[babydoll1209]

currently I have redken and it's good so far, i tried tigi, paul michel before but erm...they were not for me. TREsseme from drugstores is working just right to me too.

 

[girl_geek]

The only salon products I've tried were Paul Mitchel's Super Skinny Serum, and Straight Sexy Hair's straightening balm and Smooth and Seal spray. I tried these hoping they could make my hair straight with a blowdryer, rather than using a flatiron. However, the Super Skinny Serum actually left my hair curlier than any drugstore straightening product I've tried (such as Frizz Ease or L'Oreal Hot Straight) -- and this was the product that was highly recommended by the Trade Secrets employee! So I returned it, and tried the two Straight Sexy Hair products I mentioned above. The balm also didn't work any better than the drugstore products, and the Smooth and Seal seemed to do nothing (even when I used way more than the Trade Secrets employee suggested). Ugh, what a waste of money, $15 for a product that works as well as a $3 drugstore product?!

Yeah, I will never use salon products again unless many people tell me they've found a miracle product! (Like, I would consider investing in a Chi flat iron someday since I hear it's so much better than cheapo flat irons. But I can't think of any other products I'd want to spend the money on!)

But this is coming from the girl who has still never bought a Mac e/s -- why pay $13 for a single e/s when I am in love with my $3 Milani (or $5 Milani quad) shadows?

 

[4getmeNot]

i think that salon products work better, but i can't afford to use them regularly. i have used some of Suave's copies, like the Matrix Sleek shampoo look alike, and i was pleased with the results. if you have the $ to spend on the salon stuff, i say go for it. if not, they're plenty drugstore alternatives.

 

[ldivastar7]

There is a big differences in Salon and department store products.

For one department store brands are deluded down and don't use quality ingredients. They do this so you have to by more product more often. If a salon product didn't work well for you it wasn't the correct product for your hair type or you were not correctly informed on how to use the product.

Since I became a stylist and worked for one of the salon product companies and saw how it was made and the difference in quality. I haven't used OTC products since. Like anything you get what you pay for.

 

[Princess6828]

I don't really see a huge difference between the two. I rotate between using d/s and salon brands. They did like all kinds of studies though and found out that Suave products really do work as well. That's what I usually use.

 

[girl_geek]

Originally Posted by ldivastar7 There is a big differences in Salon and department store products. For one department store brands are deluded down and don't use quality ingredients. They do this so you have to by more product more often. If a salon product didn't work well for you it wasn't the correct product for your hair type or you were not correctly informed on how to use the product.

Since I became a stylist and worked for one of the salon product companies and saw how it was made and the difference in quality. I haven't used OTC products since. Like anything you get what you pay for.

That may be true in general, but I think that with every product (be it makeup, hair products, clothing, etc.), there are going to be some expensive products that aren't that great and some inexpensive products that are jewels! As for the salon hair products I've tried, after talking to the store employee and reading all the directions on the containers, I'm pretty sure they were for my hair type and I was using them correctly. (Heck, I even tried using them in different ways just to see if it would make a difference -- I really wanted to make the products work after spending that kind of money!) I'm sure there are some good salon products out there, I just haven't found them! lol
But just like everything else, price not always equal quality. My favorite eyeshadows ever are the $3 Milani shadows, even though I'll readily admit that *most* drugstore eyeshadows aren't worth the money. CoverGirl Professional Loose Powder (only $5) kept my oily skin matte longer than any $30 department store brand powder I've tried. And I've had inexpensive clothes and shoes that lasted longer or were a better quality that more expensive items I had. Heck, one of my favorite skirts is from Wal-Mart and looks just as good as anything in the mall! So it just depends.... in general you probably do get what you pay for, but definitely not always!

 

[LVA]

I've used Head and Shoulders, Garnier Fructis, Pantene Pro V , Tresemme, Nexxus, ... hmm ... too many to list , but i think i've tried almost all the d/s brand out there and i prefer salon hair care.

 

[girlnextdoor]

I heard that there is little difference between drug store and salon shampoos & conditioners but salon styling products are much better. I have no idea how true that is since I don't use a lot of styling products. I think that may be true about the shampoos & conditioners because I've found both good and bad from each. I think it more has to do with company making the product rather than drug store vs salon.

I also read an article where they tested drug store hair masks and salon hair masks to see which were more effective. The top two hair masks were drug store masks. The 3rd ranking mask was salon brand. I went out and bought one of the drug store brands that ranked in the top 2 (Neutrogena Triple Moisture) and it is excellent.

 

[KimC2005]

I switch between drugstore brands and salon brands. I don't really see that there is much difference.