The age-old debate of drugstore shampoo versus professional salon products is making its latest round on TikTok and Instagram. With many users detailing how their favorite shampoos and conditioners from the grocery store perform better than many high-priced salon alternatives.
While we’ll leave the winner of that debate up to you, we want to offer some solid insight about the quality of your products and how it impacts more than just your hair.
Recently, we’ve been diving into the topic of ingredients. Specifically detailing common ingredients —Parabens, Phthalates etc.— in your products and what you should know about them. And while we always want the best for your hair, we hope that these guides also offer the information for you to make the best decisions for your overall health. Something we’d like you to consider, are you getting quality ingredients? Or just a shiny finish?
The Trending Debate:
In recent #hairtoks we see many users quoting the effectiveness of non-salon hair products and how higher-end hair products left their hair feeling dry and unmanageable.
The truth is that, there are products on the market that abstain from the inclusion of things like Sulfates, Parabens and Pthlatlates etc, that are great for your budget. But the issue we take with these creators are statements like “Give me the sulfates and parabens if my hair is going to look like this.” Not to mention the majority of Drug Store brands are tested on animals and do not include “clean ingredients.”, if that is a priority for you.
In addition to this they are also including the notion that they feel like the price just isn’t worth it.
Whether it’s milk or milk cleansers, with the state of regulations we live in a time where it’s up to the consumer to do their due-diligence of looking at the ingredients inside our products and how they can impact us. And while the price-tag and smooth slip of a grocery-store shampoo feels like it’s the better option, sometimes it’s not all what it seems like on the surface.
In addition to the lower price, you are getting formulas that have been “downgraded.” For example, formulas are not always owned by the brands. And in some cases, what was peak technology years ago, is no longer the case today. In these cases we it is cheaper to remove the high end ingredients and use chemical replacements in their place.
With the addition of more silicones, and more chemicals, you need to be mindful of the impact on your skin. The next time you shower, pay attention to where your shampoo and conditioner runs as you wash. Because, it's all over your body. And with your skin being your biggest organ, it's absorbing anything and everything you wash with. For this reason alone, it's never been more important to look at the labels and investigate the ingredients you're putting on your body. With multiple reports, investigations, documentaries–and, dare we say TikToks–detailing the horror of exposing our bodies to harmful chemicals that are known carcinogens, this isn't the time to care less about what's in your products. That isn't to say that all salon-quality products are perfect, you've still got to read the labels and do the diligence.
Salon-Quality Started In The Salon
Salon-quality products were formulated to be sold at the salon with recommendations from your stylist to address specific hair needs. However, with many consumers, and now brands, turning their efforts to online sales, the in-person experience is being left at the wayside and there’s a big chance you’re using the products incorrectly, or not to the manufactures recommendation or intention. One of the biggest reasons hair will feel dry or brittle is because you rely too heavily on products with protein versus ones for moisture and repeated heat styling without proper thermal protection.
Protein vs Moisture
Products that offer strength and bond-building need to be coupled with products that give hydration and moisture. If you’ve followed the movement towards Hair Cycling, you’ll know why this is true. Think retinol with moisturizer and alternating your products to achieve glass skin versus a more matte finish. Similar to your skin, your diet or even your workouts, you need to rotate in and out products and active ingredients to get the most from your haircare. Using only one type of shampoo and conditioner is like never doing leg-day, you’ll be left seriously unbalanced.
Achieving healthy, beautiful hair requires a delicate balance of these two essential elements: moisture and protein. Each plays a unique role in nurturing and repairing your strands, working together to create resilient, manageable, and soft hair. Understanding how these elements interact is key to creating a care routine that meets your hair's specific needs.
Choosing Products Wisely
There are a few different ways to choose hair products. You can choose a product for your hair type or choose a product for your style. Sometimes, you might even find formulas that do both.
The reason why this needs to be stated is that, with the ability to buy anything online, you might be selecting a product that won’t help you to achieve the goal in mind. If you have curly hair that you want to wear curly, you’ll use a different shampoo and conditioner than if you want to wear it straight. Or sometimes, wearing hair curly means you need a smoothing product to manage frizz.. And if you’ve just had a color or highlight appointment, you’ll need to cycle in different formulas based on the state of your hair.
Your Options
While we always recommend you buy salon-quality products in the salon, we understand that sometimes it’s just easier to click “buy” from home. If that’s the case, we’re highlighting some of our favorite formulas. While they aren’t perfect for everyone (you’ll need to dig a bit deeper for an individual choice) they are a great start. As much as we all want to be in the Oribe category, sometimes it’s just not feasible. But there are professional brands with clean ingredients and are cruelty free for a more attainable price point.
- privé: A women-led company with small batch, natural ingredients. In addition to that, they donate 1% of all sales to help women in need to Project Beauty Share.
- Aloxxi: A brand designed to meet the need and expectations of the professional stylists and a woman-led brand. Their newly reformulated E7 range offers natural ingredients and high performance results.
- Biotop Professional: A brand created to empower the professional stylist, with products easy enough to use for those of us looking for incredible shine at home. Using superfoods like quinoa, keratin and kale, they offer a purely pH-balanced haircare, scientifically sound formulas and our professional heritage empowered by salon expertise.
Apps That Can Help
Another way to see what you are really getting in regards to ingredients and quality are clean/dirty apps. There are several apps that let you scan the barcode and will rate the product based on a range of factors but all taking into account the impact on your heath. These apps are built to empower you with the knowledge and understanding of those crazy long ingredients that sound like gobby gook. Think Dirty App, On Skin or the Yuka app. All of these are an easy way to see exactly what you getting into and what the impact of the ingredients are.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that Bangstyle will collect a small share of the sale from any purchase you make from the products we recommend.