Why does my hairdresser tell me that good shampoo can only be bought from them and that all other brands are washing up liquid?

[CuttedUpPear]

Apart from the obvious profit motive?
Which is a very driving motive, obviously.

But can it really be true that NO shampoo bought from Boots (& their ilk) is any good?

I spent more then I ever have before on getting the colour of my hair sorted professionally recently. The dark brown has faded a lot, mostly on the middle to ends, over 5 washes, so I went back to the hairdressers today to ask her to look at it.
Basically she told me that it's because my hair has bleach on the ends (from previous highlights) and also because I didn't buy Kerastase shampoo from them to use on it, I'd just used Clairol Colour Protect (which I'd thought was fine). The turning up of the nose she did, it was ridiculous!

I'm sceptical of this, Kerastase in particular as they're owned by Loreal and if you compare the ingredients of a Kerastase mask against the Loreal masks they're almost exactly the same with minor differences in starches.

Shampoos that have sulphates in them do use the same chemicals as are in washing up liquids which is why a lot of people are against them
as they can be harsh on hair. However there are lots of brands now that don't use them. Bodyshop Rainforest range as one example which was recommended by my hairdresser ( and is not expensive ). If you have curly/ dry hair it's better to use a shampoo that is sulphate free.

Also I think shampoos with salt in will fade the colour of your hair dye.

I heard on a beauty product review once that people should buy any old shampoo (as they are basically all the same), but fork out the extra for quality conditioner.

I'm always interested to know if it's true. I must say I do see a positive difference in my hair when I use salon expensive conditioner....

SLS free are meant to be better for your hair.

Kevin Murphy shampoos are amazing.

This is something I have always wondered. Some people absolutely swear by expensive shampoos and conditioners, say cheap ones ruined their hair. And others are the complete opposite.

My hairdresser is great, she never tries to push products on me. I have bought a few things from there - styling things as opposed to washing - and they are nice but never as nice as when I've just had it done!

Keratase has sodium laurel sulfate just like most shampoos and also washing up liquid. Meh

Twenty five years ago I was friends with a hairdresser and she told me that if she didn't sell £1k worth of product every month she got hauled in to see the boss. This was a bog-standard salon in a small Northern town, not some shiny up-scale city place.
The place I go now has never pushed products to clients but I do know they get good incentives from the sales reps.

I have known a few salons that have a range they sell, but just use cheap stuff from the hairdressing warehouse to wash your hair in-salon. If it was that essential, they'd be using it on your hair, surely?!

I looked online for the stuff they were trying to sell me, and buy it in the salon size bottles which saves money. Lasts for ages though you need the space for it.
It does seem to make a difference in my hair colour lasting, the specialised shampoo/conditioner from the supermarket didn't seem to work as well.

It seems I'm not the only sceptic then.

What I don't understand is, if the salon shampoos are so good, how come they have never become available in the retail marketplace?

I feel that it's another level of being ripped off by this hairdresser. Like the blow dry she gave me without pointing out that it was going to add £30 to the bill, even though I had told her I was going to be wearing a hat for the rest of the day as I was working outside and it was raining.

I realise now that I was naive about the whole process but that doesn't stop me feeling pissed off.

A lot of brands don't want to be sold in shops. Like kerastase.

It seemed a more high end brand if you can only buy it in salons. It also has the label of only being sold by professionals. I know the people who started look fantastic.com.

They had a salon and a website. They were allowed to sell it. Morrisons, for example, wouldn't be allowed.

They don't sell it in shops as a marketing ploy.

When you colour over bleach it doesn't fade quickly. I find it takes a good few goes before it lasts a while.

I really like herbal essences. My hair is dyed red. It does fade quicker when I use herbal essences though.

I don't buy that really expensive shampoo and conditioner is so load better than mid range. I do think it's better than cheap ones though. My hair dresser has his own brand which I use. It's much cheaper than the high end ones, but a bit more than ones you can buy in supermarkets and my colour does last longer.

The whole adding £30 on for a blow dry is weird.

I have only known that in places like express cuts. They charge a lot less and charge for each thing individually.

Most salons will quote you and the blow dry is in with that. I can't imagine my hairdresser doing my hair and then letting me walk out with wet hair. You can't even tell if it's ok until finished.

Yes I am sceptical about this claim that the colour faded because it was over bleach. In my experience (years of experimental hair colour as a teen/in my twenties) colour usually takes well over bleach.

If I were you I'd change hairdresser after the blow dry incident. And after it faded so quickly.

(I once used a salon that charged for a blow dry after colour, so I said I wouldn't pay thanks but please give me a hairdryer to do it myself. The manager couldn't let me walk out without looking good so did it for free anyway.)

Hold the phone-she charged you extra for blow dry? Mine is all in one price, I remember hairdressers a long time ago charging for conditioner, blow drying etc, but not now. I was going to say find a new hairdresser because of pushing the shampoo but definitely now.

cutted sorry I meant it does fade quickly. That's just my experience.

It takes well then fade where the bleach was. My blonde came through quite quickly.

It took 3 or 4 goes. Before it lasted 6 weeks.

If I want to due over bleach I do it at home a few times over a 6 weeks then go to the salon the next time it's due.

Wow. In a decent salon a cut includes a blow dry. Never go there again!

I have used every shampoo under the sun and some cheap ones are fabulous and some dear ones are crap.

We are all different and washing your hair is about smell, cleaning scalp and hair gently and being easily rinsed off so that there is no residue that may dull hair when dry.

Does your hair ever get filthy dirty? Probably not, so generally speaking a shampoo that cleans gently and smells nice is all you need whatever the price tag.

Shampoo cleans hair and it is the conditioner that is supposed to give your hair softness, shine, reduce static and make hair appear sleeker. That is where you may have to pay more for oils, chemicals etc

Personally, I save money on shampoo and spend a little more on conditioner.

Another thing is that shampoo isn't always used correctly, you only need a small amount and need to really larger it up through your hair and scalp as the motions of your fingers will serve to help the product work.

Rinse and then rinse again! Product residue is the main cause of people being disappointed in a shampoo but if they rinsed more thoroughly they would achieve a better result!

Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist who formulates hair products says that supermarket and salon products are basically the same, and that Pantene is the industry standard. You can tweak the basic formula to make the shampoo more conditioning, more drying (=volumizing) or more natural sounding (=sulphate free), but nobody has a holy grail secret ingredient.

For my fine hair, a €6 Wella shampoo from the supermarket is the best I've ever used. My hairdresser is trying to coax me into buying expensive salon shampoo with "UV protection from Hawaiian flowers" but it leaves my hair limp and dirty

Here is his take on Pantene, a bit long...

Aussie Colour Mate is fab for coloured hair. When I was dying my hair intense copper red it took ages to fade while using that, others faded it incredibly quickly (red is awful for that!)

The best shampoo I've found for my hair is L'Oreal Elvive anti-frizz. I've used expensive ones, cheap ones and everything in between (including the much lauded on here Rainforest stuff - which was completely crap).

It's a money spinner for the hairdresser - buy what suits you and stick to it.

The smell is nicer in expensive stuff, but that's about it..

I use cheap baby shampoo, as does DH and DS. I have mohicany short hair in my natural, graying colour, so can take or leave conditioner. I also cut my own and my family's hair with clippers and scissors. On the odd occasion I have gone to a hairdresser, they are appalled and fascinated at the same time..

I'm very sceptical about hair products. But the Phil smith stuff is amazing. And strangely cheap.