I loved reading all of your responses to this thread! As a stylist, I am constantly looking for ways to help my clients understand the difference between what I suggest to them and store bought products (pantene, prell etc.) There absolutely is a difference... an example concerning large store shampoo and hair color....
Drug store products are mass produced to accommodate the large volume of people they serve. Hair color and shampoo's are made to generally work on everyone. GENERALLY WORK ON EVERYONE. We all know that each of us have different necessities. SO...
Store bought Hair color listed as "light ash blonde" must be formulated to work on a natural blonde, a red head, a brunette even ethnic hair types.(darker coarser hair requires a different concentration of product to achieve a lighter shade) The strength of this color is strong enough to attempt to accommodate all of the mentioned hair types.
Salon color is formulated by your stylist to only use the strength of developer that your hair needs. A natural blonde that just wants to spruce things up a bit does not need the strength of developer that say a brunette would need to achieve the same result. Thus after time, your hair is broken down, split, dry and ... dead!
Shampoo... the same. The detergents alone in store bought products are excessive so that ANY type of hair is stripped to bare, giving an immediate feeling of clean. Most of us do not need a product that strong. Clean yes, but at the price of the integrity of your hair, which is important when chemically treating or even styling your hair.
Just a suggestion to try a month with a salon brand that is prescribed for you, then try your brand... I'd bet my license that even if you choose to ignore the result, you will certainly notice a difference
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