We all want flawless, commercial-ready hair, but on the quest to achieve it comes mass confusion: Should you splurge on a luxury formula or opt for whatever is on sale at your local drugstore? While there are certainly beauty products that are worth the splurge, we also know that affordable picks can deliver quality results. So when it comes to hair products, which side are you on? Is a drugstore shampoo going to revitalize, protect color, and reverse damage as good as one with a $25-plus price tag?
On our hunt for answers, we picked the brains of two experts: Laura Luciani, education and technical marketer at Davines cosmetics laboratory and Kristina Barricelli, professional hairstylist. Read on to find out what makes a pricier shampoo so costly, and if it's worth the splurge.
Meet the Expert
- Laura Luciani is the education and technical marketing manager at Davines. She is based in Parma, Italy.
- Kristina Barricelli is a professional stylist and former Hairdo brand ambassador.
Ingredients
Let's get the obvious out of the way: ingredients. In the most simplified of categories, there are surfactants that cleanse the hair, actives that provide the results a shampoo promises (like repairing, volumizing, or smoothing), and fragrances that give a product its signature scent. More often than not, drugstore shampoos contain more water and fillers versus more hair-nourishing ingredients like oils and vitamins.
Barricelli says that the selection of ingredients plays a big role in the outcome of your hair's results, noting that "it's the more expensive ingredients that target the real issues on the inside." Luciani adds to this, explaining that in the case of the Italian brand Davines, they choose natural and safe ingredients when formulating, hence their heftier price tag. "Lipids and oils that nourish the hair are always naturally derived, and the preservatives we use to protect the safety of our consumers are Ecocert approved."
Cleansing Power
Surfactants are what cleanse hair of buildup and oil, but sometimes too much of a good thing can lead to damage in the end. Don't get us wrong, we love a rich lather and soft-to-the-touch strands post-conditioner, but how clean is our hair really getting?
According to Barricelli, that dry feeling after shampooing is actually okay because hair is thoroughly washed and ready to soak up the nutrients from the conditioner that's applied afterward. Luciani echoes this sentiment by noting that two-in-one shampoo-conditioner hybrids aren't a good idea because shampoo and conditioner each serve a different purpose.
