Salon products vs supermarket products

Another hair question from me!

When I got my hair cut recently, I was convinced to buy a $24 bottle of shampoo. I will admit its quite nice- its taken all my scalp itchiness away, and that's no mean feat. But I honestly don't see any other difference in my actual hair between using it and using good old Sunsilk. And I just cannot afford to keep buying it!

Do you use salon products? Do you think they are worth it? Or are there any good supermarket products? Or perhaps more 'natural' products which work well?

I am a chemical free girl & I have happened upon a product I just love... It's called I LOVE MY HAIR!!!
Do you remember the singer Toni Childs? Well she had a health crisis and long story short she developed these products. They are yummy and so nice to use. 5% of the profits go to Womens issues - its all organic and has a heart to it which I like. I use the coconut and black vanilla. Trust me if you use it once you won't go back!

Sounds nice, where do you get it?

ooh i was thinking the same thing. Where can i get me sum :)

I get mine from an organic supermarket. If you google it you might be able to find stockists where you live. They also do a wicked body wash in coconut & vanilla - to die for!

Oooh Inanna, I want to try that purely because of the scent!

FWIW, I have waist-length, colour-treated hair and the absolute best product I have found for my hair (and trust me, I've tried just about everything there is), is Herbal Essences. The one in the hot pink bottles for coloured hair. Although I did just purchase a bottle of their 'Long-Term Relationship' conditioner just for giggles and it seems pretty nice, too - with either conditioner, my hair ends up beautifully silky, smooth and soft where even $40 bottles of shampoo and conditioner leave it so-so. It's at the pricier end of supermarket hair care but I don't at all mind paying $7 a bottle when I think of previous instances where I've paid up to $40!
I also use a $5 chamomile extract hair treatment from Priceline and it's better than some $20 tubs of 'designer' stuff. The brand-names tend to strip the colour right out of my hair (even when they're supposed to be used on coloured hair!) but the chamomile no-name one does an amazing job and leaves my hair feeling really healthy. I only have to use it once a month.

I pay around $18-20 for a bottle each of shampoo and conditioner from the salon and it usually lasts me around 6 months. When I was using supermarket products I found them to be more detergent like and I was using more of it so spending about the same as I am now anyway. I either go between Keune or Goldwell and find they work really well on my hair. I don't know what the supermarket products are like these days as I haven't used them in years. I have tried some organic shampoo/conditioner but found my hair didn't really feel clean with them. So now I stick to the salon ones.

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When I was using supermarket products I found them to be more detergent like and I was using more of it so spending about the same as I am now anyway.

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I agree with Eluned. I used to buy supermarket products but i found i would need to use sooo much of it that in the end i was paying as much if not more than if i used salon products. Iv found a product that i really like and i can buy it in the gallon so although its expensive as an initial outlay i prob wont need to buy it again for a year. I only need to use a tiny amount and my hair feels so lush and lovely.

Supermarket shampoo & conditioners are full of chemicals that are no good for your hair long term. Yes, it'll feel lovely at the time, but it really is damaging your hair. A hairdresser can tell if you're using a cheap shampoo & condition, especially when they go to colour your hair. The colour may not hold if you're using cheap stuff in it. I love my hair, so I don't mind paying that little bit extra for it to be healthy. FWIW, my shampoo & condition will usually last 6-9 months, which is from my hairdressers.

I have been told by some hairdressers never to use pantene as its basically full of silicon, which makes your hair look nice, but does awful things to it.

And the hairdresser that cut off all my hair has coloured hair and told me she uses herbal essences after I asked what she uses.

I used to shwarzcof (sp!) but don't like the new formula :\, and the conditioner I'm using is the super cheap fruit essences or whatever its called. And its not bad! Their shampoo is pretty good too, imo.

^ It's true, the first thing they tell you at 'hairdressing school' (lol Tafe) is that Pantene is the invention of the devil and must not be allowed near your strands if you value them at all. My MIL used to use it and was always complaining that her hairdresser must be crap because she had to keep getting her colour redone so frequently, once I found out she was using Pantene and told her how bad it is, she switched brands and sent her hairdresser flowers because lo and behold, the colour was suddenly awesome and much longer-lasting than before :)