Buyer Beware: Watch Where You Buy Your Salon Products

Did you know that when high end, professional hair products are sold outside of salons – even in major retailers, drug stores or grocery stores – that the product is no longer regulated by their manufacturer?

When professional salon productsare sold outside of salons, they’re called “diverted products.”  This process of selling “diverted products” is not only bad for the manufacturer that’s losing the money, but it’s also bad for you, the consumer.

What does this mean for you?

Well, it means that there’s a very strong chance that when you buy your professional hair products at the local drug store, they’re more than likely either diluted, counterfeit or past their expiration. Basically, if the product your buying is no longer regulated, it also means that there are no health or hygiene standards set in place.

Back in June 2003, FOX News reported that counterfeit hair care products independently analyzed were found to have dangerously high levels of toxic bacteria and other impurities—enough to make a person sick and require medical attention.  More recently, a local Southwest Florida ABC7 undercover special report in conjunction with Paul Mitchell Systems, tested a batch of “diverted product” from several neighborhood grocery stores.  Paul Mitchell Systems’ laboratory tests found “dangerously high levels of bacteria and other impurities that can be dangers to consumers.”

Basically, if you buy salon-only products outside of a salon, there is no guarantee that the product is authentic, that the contents haven’t been altered or that the product hasn’t expired.  So buyer beware, the few dollars that you’re saving could cost you in the end.