Have You Insulted Your Stylist Lately?

One of the leading problems in our industry is call diversion. Diversion is where professional salon products are bought up by grocery stores and the like, to be sold at usually a tad bit more than what it would have been sold for in the actual salon. So the number one way you can insult your hairstylist would be to ask the question non of us like to hear.

"Can I find that at the grocery store?"

Here is the reason why you should NOT purchase your hair care products at the grocery store.

1. A lot of products found in stores, online, and any other non professional retailer there is a very strong chance that it is a counterfeit product. It is not hard for someone or a company to hire a chemist to do an analysis on the substance and percentage of each ingredient used and replicate it, shady packaging companies will reproduce the fake packaging just to make ends meet.
2. The product may have outlived its shelf life. Most beauty products, hair care, skin care, and make up have a shelf life of 2 years on the shelf. Once opened the shelf life is reduced to about 6 months. If you have any old products around your house, under the bathroom since, etc., the first beauty tip of today is... throw it away if its more than 6 months old.
3. You do not have a professional talking you through the proper usage of this product. Do you know  the proper way to shampoo? Condition? Which order to use your beauty products? Chances are you think you do, because of habit and it has worked so far, but why is it you can not replicate the condition of your hair you leave the salon with?
4. A stylist can work with your budget, there are many different price points for the different products carried in the salon. As a stylist we have had to build our careers from the cutting mat up. We have sat all day in a salon making no money and scraping by just barely before our careers have taken off. We understand what it is like to be on a budget, but we can find something in a reasonable price range and if you properly know how to use the product you can make it last so that it isn't a financial burden. I can not stress enough how much hair product is WASTED because the client has not yet been educated on proper product usage... yes, ladies and gentleman, even the shampoo and conditioner.
5. Using a cheap alternative, like that Suave Salon crap, or Herbal Essences (the worst), or Pantene Pro V (or as I like to call it silicone in a bottle). Here is the thing, all of those products are just now coming out with the "color safe" shampoos, "color safe" shampoo has been around for at least 10 years, it was just never advertised. Professional Products are always color safe. Color is the number one leading service that helps keep this beauty industry thriving. Reason why these "store bought alternatives" are not as good is this; the ingredients used in Professional Products are very refined and the formulation for these products are majority INGREDIENTS and partially FILLERS (every product needs fillers, even the vegan/organic/all natural products). The Store Bought Alternative is mainly Fillers and less Ingredients. Hence why you do not get the same result, the shine and silk you are experiencing is usually a complex build up of silicone in the product to fake healthy hair. Oh and just a heads up, the minute we wet your hair to shampoo it before a service or while we have our hands in it during the consultation, we CAN SMELL THE PRODUCT and WE DO KNOW WHAT IT IS.
6. You can not return the product to the grocery store if it hasn't worked for you. If the grocery store allows you to return the product you should be seriously concerned, because they are most likely putting it back on the shelf... ew. With your stylist we are here to guarantee you the best possible results we can.

The beauty industry relies on its retail to be able to create and advertise new ideas to bring to you in the name of trends. With the industry retail average sitting between 13%-15% it funds the side of beauty that we can not create in the salon... your awareness, our education, and ultimately your overall look. Majority of salons also offer their stylist a commission on all retail products sold (My salon personally does not, but I still find retailing to my client very important because I want my client to have healthy shiny hair with color and a cut that will last). If you rather buy from the grocery store (who usually mark up the product an additional $2-$5 per product) than you are basically telling your stylist you would rather hinder their money making potential. 


Again the extra money pays for their advanced education, new tools, new products to try... and in the end that benefits you. By purchasing retail through your stylist you are actually investing in your hair. An investment that will not only pay out immediately by the quality of your hair, but in the future as well, by the up to date style suited and tailored to your personal liking.


You may think that you are getting a lot more out of your Store Bought Alternative, but truth is pay attention to how much you have to glob in your hand to get it to work (its compensation for not enough ingredients) and all it is doing is damaging your hair, so in reality you are paying less money for more of a product that is going to damage your hair, which will mean more split ends, and faded color, and more cost to your service per visit and visits more frequently. If you have just read this, you'll realize you haven't been saving yourself any money, you've actually been losing it.


-JS of Caviar Culture, "Stay Beautiful."