Professional salon conditioners, what's worth the ££ for coloured hair?

[ewanhoozami]

I've just had my hair coloured at my local salon. Forgot to ask the colourist what shampoo and conditioners are really good, although I remember her telling me "never buy anything from Boots"

So what will keep my newly-streaked (ash, highlighted and steel grey) long fine hair feeling all swooshy?

I'm prepared to pay for something decent after subjecting my barnet to years of pound shop Alberto Balsam

What products do the salon use?

I've got highlights and my colourist recommended the Joico K Pak colour shampoo and conditioner also the Colour Protect by Joico, but mainly because I've got Joico colour on my hair.

I get them from eBay coz they're much cheaper there than the salon. I know I'm, a cheapskate, but every little bit helps .

Seems to extend the life of the colour so it's probably worth it. They're nice to use anyway.

I can't remember the name of the salon one, I didn't recognise the brand.
Good tip on trying ebay!

Kerastase, that was this stuff. Is it worth the money?

Has a v good reputation but def ££.

Rush Shop/Shop Rush (I can't work out which way the name goes - it appears differently in different places!) do a lot of deals on Kerastase. If you sign up for their email updates, they seem to have special offers on it all the time.

Personally, I like Philip Kingsley products.

Aveda is really good for coloured hair.

I love the Alterna Bamboo range, I use the volume one but they also dp a colour one. Seriously the best shampoo and conditioner I have ever used and I have tried a lot!

Yes IMO. Always use Kerastase or Pureology another salon line. Think they are worth it and never get Boots stuff. But my hair is short so they last ages .

Also second Aveda

I use the stuff the salon sells these days, have done for the past 5 years or so since I started taking my hair seriously after it started looking B awful. I might be able to get it cheaper elsewhere, but doing what I'm told by the hairdresser and using recommended products has made a huge (good) difference, so I'm happy to buy from her. I use matrix color treated shampoo and conditioner, the shampoo bottle lasts ages, I don't need much.

The whole Pureology line is for coloured hair, I use Strength Cure and my hair has never looked as good...... It is quite ££ but a bottle of shampoo and conditioner lasts me for 5/6 months because you only need a blob the size of a 5p piece!

Sebastian multi-ignite conditioner for coloured hair is fab. It's a mousse that you leave on for a couple of minutes. It makes your hair feel great and rinses out thoroughly. I can't bear conditioner that feels heavy and weighs your hair down.

I love Pureology and ditched a 15 year Kerastase habit for it. It is expensive, but as a PP said, you need the tinest amounts.

Surya Brasil colour fixation conditioners (they do a normal one or a leave in one) or their restorative colour lock hair mask. Lovelula do them.

RexoveringPerfectionist, oooh! I've just added some Pureology to my Amazon basket because of you. I love Kerastase.

I was a Pureology fan and used it for years but have been convinced away by the Alterna Bamboo. Way better, for my hair at least.

Will look at Alterna but atm I'm really happy with the Pureology one. The conditioner smells so minty and fresh. Hope you like it HellKitty. I was trying to avoid silicone and sulphates etc and for years was too afraid to ditch the Kerastase as I thought my hair would become unmanageable. My hair btw is medium thickness but I have so much of it. Colourists have to knock up 2 or even 3 batches of colour. It's not curly or straight, more kinky. I have also just discovered Liz Earle hair oil which has been a game changer for my hair.

I like Redken

PS what type of hair do you have foolssilver?

Alterna!!! I love it :). I use caviar moisture. It's cheaper on amazon than in the salon.

Load of bollox that cheap Boots stuff isn't worth it... some ranges better than others the Garnier range (with coconut etc is good).

Bedhead do a nice Oatmeal and Honey one, Kerastase do nice ones, All Soft is great.

Main thing is don't straighten the hair too much, use weekly deep conditioner, dry naturally where possible etc... you can't go far wrong.

I have quite thick long hair, pretty much normal now after years of being super dry and damaged. Pureology worked wonders then but I think it is now too much for my hair. It definitely helped fix it but now it is fixed I feel that it makes ny hair limp and greasy with quite a lot of build up.

Re Boots vs salon brands, I do think it depends what your hair is like. My friend is a hairdresser. She buys from Boot, whatever is on offer at the time. Her hair always looks stunning but I think she has quite "easy" hair in terms of weight/amount/thickness etc.

Can't imagine why your hairdresser is trying to encourage you not to buy from Boots

Having said that, I have occasionally had some of my salon's Wella SP colour saving conditioner stuff and it is very nice. You only need a little bit each time too, so it's quite cost effective in the long run.