By: J. Christian of J. Christian Studio in Hockessin, DE

I had just finished the final touches on a beautiful head of vibrant, deep color when my client started asking questions about how to best prevent fading and add longevity. She was clearly interested in protecting her investment and getting the most out of her visit to my chair. She’s not alone here. In today’s economy, I’m hearing this question more frequently as we notice clients scheduling their next visit out an extra week or so.

My response is now, has always been and will always be….use Professional Salon products RECOMMENDED by your stylist for your particular hair texture and fashion.

I make this recommendation not because I own a salon and sell salon products; I make this recommendation in the best interest of my clients, based on cold hard facts about the ultimate effects of salon products versus other products purchased at a grocery market, pharmacy or other outlet.

All products are not the same! This great misconception is so often perpetuated by marketing gurus and media machines. We buy into the hype and buy what they tell us where they tell us to. They lead us to believe we’re being taken advantage of if we pay more than their bottom barrel prices.

In the early 80’s I was fortunate to work as an educator for a well-known, very successful product company. The owner of that company used the analogy of chocolate chip cookies to help consumers better understand the benefit of using salon products. Yes….I said chocolate chip cookies. You might say all chocolate chip cookies are the same right?

Not necessarily. Store bought, mass produced cookies have 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup of brown sugar, about 50 chocolate chips and come in usually one size. All in all, not a bad cookie.

But if you want a better cookie, you would add more or better ingredients. Perhaps imported vanilla, gourmet chocolate chips or even triple the chocolate chips. You’d take out the preservatives and the fillers. You get the idea. This is the same when it comes to salon products.

Here are some perfect examples; let’s start with shampoo. First non professional shampoos use too much detergent in order to get the soap to lather up in any kind of water. Why? You won’t think it’s working if there’s no bubbles right? This isn’t necessarily true; the absence of lather doesn’t mean your hair is not being cleaned. These products also contain Sulfates, Parabeens and other things that will pull or fade color even though they claim they are safe for color treated hair.

Non professional conditioners are the worst. Most often they are a conglomeration of ingredients thrown together to give the illusion of silky smooth hair. Illusion is the key word there.

Professional conditioners contain proteins and extracts that nourish the hair keratins, repair the hair and won’t weigh the hair down with polymers and oils that attach to the color molecules in the hair and fade or pull color.

Professional products contain higher concentration levels of the ingredients, the non professional products are watered down requiring you to use more to get a similar effect as the professional product. Why would you need a gallon of shampoo in you shower?

When used properly, professional products recommended by your stylist will assure that your color will last longer compared to that store bought product. Please keep in mind that even permanent color will fade but you should see approximately 4 weeks of vibrancy in the tone depending on frequency of shampooing and other products used.

Professional salon products are guaranteed. You don’t like it, return it to the salon. Store bought products are harder to return, so much so in fact that many people just end up storing them in some cabinet in the bathroom, throwing them out or worse placing them in the guest bathroom!

As a client, you put a lot of effort, time and money into your hair, skin, nails. Why use products that will work counter to your goal of maintaining your investment, use professional products and get your money’s worth.

J. Christian Studio, where hair and art perform, is located at 7465 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, DE. For more information or to schedule an appointment, contact J. Christian Studio at 302-235-2306.

www.jchristianstudio.com

J. Christian is a Master Artist with more than 30 years experience in the beauty industry. Together with his wife Marcy they own and operate J. Christian Studio an upscale salon located in Hockessin, DE. As an International Platform Artist and Master Educator for Sexy Hair Concepts, J. Christian travels here and abroad teaching other Stylists about hair fashion. He regularly teaches at the Institute of Courage, a hair academy established by Michael O’Rourke, founder of Sexy Hair Concepts located in the Topanga Canyon just outside Los Angeles as well as at the Paul Mitchell School in Delaware.