Should you shop convenient or smart?

Have you ever been in a situation when you’ve run out of your favorite hair product, realized you had the option of picking it up at the salon, ordering it online or picking it up at your local drug store? We live in a world where we want things now, not tomorrow, not next week. This is when convenience comes into play! However, is purchasing your Hair Care products on sites like Amazon or at a local store really worth it?

Let’s look at theFacts.

Sites like Amazon have taken over the world! You can buy millions of Brands, Products, food and clothing and have it all by tomorrow morning. Great deal! However, how authentic or fresh are these products?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge lover of Amazon and I pretty much have a package from them daily on my front porch, but there are some things they sell that you should be weary about. Amazon has many different distributors that they use, some legit and others not. There have been many tests that have shown that many hair and skin care products have been known to be “watered down” or “old”. This is because many distributors find older products, add water to make them look fresh and sell them as brand new! These distributors also have multitudes of stock on hand at all times. Most of which sit for long periods of time and can cause the products to settle at the bottom of the bottles.

In a bind years ago, I purchased one of my favorite skin care products from Amazon. I was so excited to receive my product, so I opened it up immediately. I squirted a drop into my hand and the first thing I noticed was the color and scent. This product always smelled of oranges and was completely clear, but the product now sitting in my hand was yellow and smelled of chemicals. This was not my product!

Amazon is not the only place you will find these old or fake products! Many “Professional” Hair Care Products can also be found at your local drug, grocery and department stores. When I worked for Toni & Guy, their TIGI Hair Care Company actually had individuals that had the job of taking their “old” or “fake” products out of local stores aside from Toni & Guy’s. or Professional Only Stores. They were completely Salon Exclusive, which means that their TIGI Hair Care line were only to be sold in their stores. After I discovered this I began to pay attention to products at all my local stores. I walked into a CVS Store and found products by TIGI that were old, settled and had been discontinued for years! Costco also carried to liter sized Shampoos and Conditioners that had been discontinued for over 15 years! The bottles had settled product on the bottom and were discontinued because they were linked with hair breakage! Gross, right?

okay… so where should I purchase my hair products?

To be one hundred percent true with you, your Hairstylist. Hairstylist’s are trained and licensed to know what is best and good for your hair type. There is much so more to this though!

Most Hairstylist’s today are small business owners. Long gone are the days of Commission Stylists or Corporate Stylists! Those Stylists used to get an hourly paycheck and a commission off of the amount of services they sold… it’s not like that anymore!

Many Stylists now are booth rental stylists [run a chair in a larger salon], own their own suites, and some even own much larger salons! Within these Small Businesses Hairstylists purchase their own color, hair products, salon supplies, cleaning supplies, supply hospitality, pay their assistants, etc. Purchasing products from your Small Business Hairstylist helps support them and allows them to continue to give you the service and amenities you love so much!

Stylists also research their product lines before they bring them into the salon. They know what ingredients are in the products they carry, they know that their products are 100% backed up by the company they purchase from and they believe in them. When you purchase from a Hairstylist you are telling them that you trust them and I promise you they are doing a little happy dance behind the scenes!

in conclusion…

Before you choose convenience over local businesses, think about your Hairstylist. A online website, drug store or grocery store has not been there for you through all the exciting events in your life, the hard times or even the struggles. Your Stylist loves you as their guest, they love the relationship they have built with you and support you in all you do! Support your Hairstylist and know that you are receiving Hair Products that are the real thing with a full warranty, what more could you want!

Thank you for reading and feel free to share your thoughts below!

xoxo,

Shelby Alexandra