In your opinion, is expensive, professional salon-quality shampoo better than your average drugstore/supermarket quality shampoo?

Graham Webb and Bumble and bumble are both really amazingly good. They are a serious increase in quality, kicking the ass of all drugstore brands. It is also much more expensive, and if Pantene gives you really good hair, and you’re currently living paycheck to paycheck, it’s probably not worth it for you. But if you have problems with your hair, or are really invested in your hair (I see my hair as my best feature), then it might be worth it for you to get some good stuff. Just make sure to shop around and get the good deals – often, you can get the larger containers for less if you know where to look.

I have had 3 different hair dressers tell me to not use Pantene as it coats the hair. I’m not sure what that means, but I assumed it meant that it kind of makes it gunky. I use professional quality, (Paul Mitchel) but only buy it in a very large bottle when it is on sale and I have a coupon, so in the end, it is cheaper than most drugstore shampoo. I have fine hair, so I need something to give it body.

@chyna It leaves lots of buildup and other crap that weighs it down and makes it look greasier than it really is.

I used to buy expensive brands and never found anything that worked. I now use Samy products exclusively. They are especially good for volume and body.

His products used to just be sold on TV shows…...but he is now in the UK on the shelves….so he would now be considered drugstore. SAMY products are the only thing I use and. I need a lot of body and volume. They are inexpensive but he doesn’t use chemicals and additives that will harm you either. Samy’s products are out of Miami and in most retail shops in the USA unless something has changed recently. I think that with the cost of high end shampoos and the recession….this is a good buy that isn’t just another drugstore shampoo. (Bottle of shampoo is about $4 or £4 ).

I wash my hair once a week with bar soap. I might consider using shampoo if I had two hairs.

I’ve always read that the most important thing is balanced ph until recently. I’ve started washing my hair with Dr. Bronners to stay away from chemicals. I still use Biolage Matrix conditioner because I like it.

there is a big difference in quality but thanks to the new economy I’m using infusium. it’s alright.

The only time I’ve ever used a shampoo and noticed a difference right away is when I used Ion’s Hard Water Shampoo.

I have high iron content in my water, and Ion took the yucky rust out of my hair in about three washes, and it didn’t come back the whole time I used that bottle.

I’d love to keep buying it, but there are other things I need to spend money on. It’s about $10 for a liter bottle.

I do have a bias toward salon products. :) It’s not so much about the look of the hair to me, but the care and the feel. I have very curly/thick hair that needs hydration and different treatment than drugstore brands. I love the smell of Fructis, but it does NOTHING for my hair. :( And I’ve tried plenty of Herbal Essences, but still no change. :/ I use the salon brands my hair stylist gives me, and it works wonders. :] (It’s seriously like he’s a magician or something?)

Everyone’s hair is different, though, so it depends what works for them!

IMHO, no. I use Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo, because it gets my hair really clean, which I figure is its job. I do kick it up a notch (a very tiny notch) on the conditioner, because that does seem to make a difference in how my hair feels/looks… but it’s still a drugstore brand. Whenever I’ve been persuaded to buy product at the salon, it has been some kind of ‘finishing’ product. For instance, I love Paul Mitchell’s Super Skinny Serum, and haven’t found a drug store brand that does as good a job at smoothing and de-frizzing hair without making it look oily.

In my opinion, yes the salon products have been better as far as the finish my hair takes after blowing or ironing.

i use a variety of different shampoos, none more expensive than the average brand you can pick up at supermarket. Citris Shine, Freeman brand, Fructis, Neutragina, etc. One that i like is 365, which is the generic Whole Foods brand. I like the lavender one, the smell is great, the price is right. On occasion if i get a good price i’ll buy a professional quality shampoo. One difference i find, being a person that is into smells, is that the pro quality often has more unusual smells, not so flowery but unique and sophisticated scents.