Salon or OTC shampoo

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Is truly Salon quality shampoo like Paul Mitchell better than say Pantene? I think Pantene is like the most popular shampoo brand amongst teens and adult women. Salon shampoos are so expensive! But I read that the sodium something in OTC shampoos can damage hair. But if that's so then a lot of girls and women would have bad hair.

I don't think so..The sodium something should be Sodium laureth sulfate and I heard it is bad for your hair too but it doesn't really show for me. Shampoo + conditioners + once in a very long time hair treatments keep my hair healthy enough.

I always buy the Salon brands. They are more expensive, but you don't have to use as much. Also I only wash my hair every three or four days. The Salon brands keep my hair looking nice for longer.

I've never been able to cope with the brands sold in supermarkets. I'll use them for a few months and my scalp will suddenly start to itch, almost like fire. I will now use only paraben and sulfate free shampoos and conditioners, which have never given me the same problems. A nice bonus is that my hair is thicker and healthier.

Salon brand shampoos & conditioners are also supposed to be free of the silicones that supermarket brands contain. The silicones coat your hair and make it difficult for other hair products such as dye to work on your hair. I had a hairdresser personally warn me off Pantene for that very reason, but then she could have been saying it to sell her salon shampoos to me (she didn't offer me any to buy though). I never paid attention to the sodium content until recently when I did a DIY keratin treatment at home, and they said using shampoo with sodium and sulfates in it makes the treatment not last as long.

I'm using a salon brand at the moment (De Lorenzo). I started using it a few months ago to see if a pricier shampoo & conditioner might calm my coarse hair. It didn't really make much difference to that but I could definitely tell the difference when I went back to an old supermarket brand shampoo once or twice . They made my hair feel terrible in comparison.

I saw that salon brands have some choices when it comes to itchy dry scalp or dandruff

Redken, Paul Mitchell Tea Tree. Paul Mitchel also has one with lavender mint. Also System Biolage has one. I thought maybe Goldwell or Sebastian...

i buy Tresemme, as it is the cheapest drugstore one available (it claims to have been a salon shampoo previously). i do not have any problem using OTC stuff on my hair.

I'm allergic to parabens, so most shampoos are out of the question, no matter whether they're OTC or salon. In fact, the more expensive and 'moisturising' shampoos are more likely to contain parabens. One that's OK for me to use is Alberto Balsam, which is a cheap OTC brand. I alternate this with some organic/natural shampoos (Lavera at the moment).

I have a mixed nationality (ancestors from 10+ countries), so I have to be careful what products I use in order to avoid frizzy or greasy hair. My hair takes a long time to get greasy, but some shampoos like Suave make it happen faster (often the day after I showered).

Pantene, Garnier, Redkin, and Bed Head are the ones that work best for me.

My hair does better with cheap, OTC shampoos. I mostly use Suave Professionals Shampoo in Rosemary Mint. However, on the hottest days of the summer, I find Bath and Body Work's Eucalyptus Shampoo to be very cooling.

Avena works well for me. Plus the scent is so mild as to not hurt my nose like some of the OTC kinds. I wish I could put up with them, because they're certainly less expensive. Someone left some OTC shampoo at my place after visiting and at least it isn't going to waste completely, as we use it to clean the potties.

I was talking about this with my hairdresser just a few weeks ago. She is now self employed, and doesn't sell shampoos, which is a good way for hairdressers to boost their income apparently. She said shampoos are all pretty similar, apart from the price, and it's really just down to personal preference.

I do think tea tree shampoos are good if you have a dry itchy scalp, and baby shampoo is good too. I just use whatever is on special offer in the supermarket.

You need a shampoo that cleanses your scalp well, however you ought to avoid shampoos with harsh chemicals like “sodium laurl sulfate” — this can be sort of a bleach, that once years of use might cause follicle miniaturization and will even be toxic if absorbed through your skin (though in tiny doses is safe).