If you have ever had your hair professionally colored, you have hopefully been given the rundown on the importance of maintaining your color through proper hair care. I can suggest professional products until my face turns blue, reciting the benefits like it’s the pledge of allegiance, wholeheartedly meaning every bit of it. And yet...why is it that so many clients choose to purchase elsewhere, or worse, not at all?
There is a grave misunderstanding that hair stylists are product pushing capitalists --like used cars salesmen with better style and less split ends. This may shock some, but the reality is we are not trying to coerce you into driving the car off the lot so we can roll around in the money; rather, we are giving you the information and tools necessary to preserve what we just spent the last three hours achieving. I want everyone to refrain from the mindset of: “Now that I have the hair I wanted, I surely don’t need to spend any more on products.” Please understand we only want what is best for you. That $300 spent on a seamless balayage can be down the drain as soon as you suds up that waxy, sulfate-fueled shampoo you’ve been conditioned to purchasing your whole virgin hair life. Next thing you know you’re back in the salon chair weeks, if not months, earlier than you initially intended, as the color we worked so hard to achieve was not properly taken care of. So really, how much do you actually save by not paying the price of professional-grade products?
Read on to see a breakdown of some of the biggest mistakes you may be making with your shampoo selection as well as my own carefully curated list of the best professional quality shampoos at every price point.
“I know I shouldn’t be using this drug store shampoo, but it is the only thing that makes my hair healthy and shiny.”
False. Unfortunately, that product is really doing the complete opposite. That Pantene commercial shine you have always wanted to achieve is actually the product of silicone building up on the hair. While this may give off reflection for your strands, they are actually suffocating under layers of harmful ingredients. These silicones can raise a multitude of problems for lightening services, and can even result in a chemical reaction that causes the hair to melt off. The real secret to shiny healthy hair starts from the inside --but that is a topic for a whole different article. In the meantime, create your shine through hydrating professional quality products, frequent trims, and a properly smoothed cuticle.
“My shampoo at home is definitely sulfate-free, it says color safe right on the bottle.”
This one is tricky. Many drug store brands of hair care have evolved into genius marketing machines. They know the hot button terms to look for: color safe, sulfate free; however, when it comes to such products, they are often eliminating one area of concern while creating an entirely different one. Maintaining a balanced pH is crucial for hair health. The higher the pH level, the more abrasive a shampoo is on your hair and scalps natural oils (and in turn, your color). If you are using a product dubbed color safe that has not been recommended to you by your stylist, consider researching other important factors that play into the condition of your hair such as this.
“Yeah yeah, you’re just trying to sell me something.”
I hate this mindset. It makes me sad, because ultimately...if this really was the case, why wouldn’t you want to help your stylist profit off of their own service more? I digress! I can earnestly tell you, the prospect of making more money off of you is not the reason for your post-service product recommendations. Quite frankly most of us are actually not even in the position to be profiting off of in-salon purchases. We want you to love your hair for the long run.
If any of the aforementioned reasonings sounded a little familiar to you, know that you are not alone. I remember sitting in my stylist’s chair when I was in college, hearing all of the expensive recommendations I was given and thinking to myself, “That cannot be necessary.” The bright yellow shade of Hulk Hogan blonde that my strands quickly transitioned into proved me wrong. I was ignorant, and that is totally fine --that is unless you refuse to learn from these mistakes. We are spending so much money on our hair services...so why are we not continuing that special care at home? The longevity of your color and the condition of your strands will seriously thank you. Invest in your products, please!
My favorite professional quality shampoos for chemically serviced hair at any price point
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