Ever Wonder if Your Hair Products are the Real Stuff??

[Hairsnob]

It may be me just being paranoid ...... but is anybody else leery about "where" they purchase their products?

Many years ago I saw a news story about counterfeit hair products (mainly Paul Mitchell) and them being sold in stores and not salons. The story was horrifying, mentioning how some of the counterfeit products even contained mold when tested and most of them had ingredients that were nothing like the original. I remember using grease (YEARS AGO....UGGHH!!) and I'd feel like ants were crawling on my scalp so I tried practically every brand out there so I just stopped using grease completely (thank god). GREASE....EEEK!!

The basis of the news story was that if something is a product that is only "supposed" to be sold in salons then do NOT buy it from a discount store or whatever because it's "definitely" counterfeit and can be unsafe. I dont' know if this was a scare tactic or what but that's what they said. Of course we all know that our neighborhood BSS's have anything you can name. They even showed you ways you might be able to spot a counterfeit and how some of the bottles were crooked and the ingredients were tested and nowhere near what they should be.

So what were we to do?? I myself said okay, well I'll only buy the majority of my products at stores like Walmart, Target, the supermarket, Trade Secrets or whatever since I figured no way would they sell counterfeit products. (There were no Sally's around me at the time). At that time I was using mainly using Paul Mitchell products and I would buy it from Trade Secrets only, figuring they were a salon so I was okay. I even stopped going to the hairdresser because my hairdresser was using supplies from the BSS's.

However, there was and still is no other option to buy my relaxer or color rinse so they are the only things I buy from the neighborhood BSS's (although I just found out that Sally's sells my Precise). I remember years ago when I used to go to the salon I was one of the itchy scalp women who seemed to be allergic to anything my hairdresser used and would leave the salon with a scalp dryer than the Sahara and would end up washing my hair days later. So of course I contributed that to them purchasing their products from the neighborhood BSS's (I saw the stickers on the bottles) or them just not rinsing my scalp good enough.

So now it's years later and I have the internet to buy my products from. This opens up another can of worms for me (being the paranoid person that I am). I often wonder if the products I'm buying on-line are real or fake because who knows and we don't even know if the supposedly credible stores products are real??? I recently ordered some Via hair rinse on-line because for a while my neighborhood BSS stopped carrying the black and I loved how it lathered up. I bought it online and it was like water... all four bottles!! It did still color my hair but it wasn't the same. I don't know if they changed the formula or if it was fake????

Sorry for the long rant but was just wondering if you all ever thought about whether or not you're getting the "real" products and wondering how much of your stuff is purchased at the local BSS.

......As I sit and check the USPS tracking website for the status of another on-line hair product to arrive...... Hope it's the real stuff!!

 

[MonPetite]

I think you're speaking of "diverted product". There have been numerous net wars about this issue. The Beauty Brains, cosmetic scientists with a blog, have put to rest my concerns about it.

When I think about it in general terms, chains like Target, Wal-mart, etc. can't afford to sell products that could make customers go blind, their hair fall out, etc. as their image is everything and they have millions to loose.

Stylists will swear its not safe, but I've seen plenty a dusty bottle in a salon, while I was still dependent on them for my various hair styling needs. Add to that, they have a vested interest in you buying from their salon, which I understand, but shows me their opinion is almost always going to be quite biased.

The companies want profit, plain and simple. Whether it is through Meijer or Trade Secret.

As for the internet...it does seem a bit "Wild West". Your best bet is to do research. If people are scammed or burned by a product THEY WILL TALK ABOUT IT online.

That's a gift and a curse of The Web. Everyone feels far more free to complain about things in tones and language they probably wouldn't use in real life -giving you a bit of an edge in which companies are worth your hair earned cash.

Of course...that also means people will be opinionated about things that don't concern them as well, as many a blogger has learned.

If you peruse the net, arguments will be in the extreme but a few put the entire industry/profit/product game into perspective when dealing about it, like the one I read on Beauty Brains, which made me take their argument (that and they were formerly a part of the industry) far more seriously.

I must note, I have yet to buy "diverted" product. However, I have my eye on some Rusk products at my local Meijer that will be getting reviewed in the future.

HTH.

 

[Hairsnob]

Thanks for pointing me to that beauty brain website. I did a search on the diverted product and read that article. It seems they say what we both said about the larger chains being more credible and not apt to take risks on bad products. But they did still say the thing about the smaller stores and that's the part that scares me. You might see a lot of products in the larger stores but some of them you just have to end up getting in the smaller stores. Like a certain relaxer of course.

I guess it's just taking chances like anything else you buy. I think I've been lucky for the most part on ordering and buying though. But occasionally when a product doesn't seem the same it makes you wonder. But you're right, I'm glad we have reviews to read on-line and we have to trust that when we buy things.

Thanks for the insight!!

 

[Caramel Hottie UK]

I get the same way too. being in the uk there are certain products that i can only get online, ebay seems to be the cheapest for me but I cant help but wonder if i am getting the real deal.

 

[chebaby]

i prchased a couple of paul mitchell products from a bss as well as salons. i didnt see any difference but i understand that they are only supposed to be sold in salons.