The Best Professional Hair Product Brands

& what hair product not to use

Let’s say you’re at the grocery store picking up a few things when you remember that you’re out of the hair product that you bought from your stylist. The drug-store lines can’t be that bad, right?

Are professional hair product brands really that much better than what you can buy at Walmart? Well, the answer is yes drugstore hair brands really are that bad, and yes professional lines really are SO much better.

Now, before I tell you what you should be using, let me first explain the importance of using quality hair product over drugstore product.

Why NOT to use drugstore hair product

Cheap hair product contains silicone, sulfates, and alcohol that creates build-up, causes your hair color to fade quickly, and will dry your hair out. Using professional hair product is actually MUCH more important than you probably think.

Not only do cheap products contain harsh chemicals that are bad for your hair, they are also watered down so you need to use twice as much as a professional product!

We as hairstylists are not just trying to make a buck off of you, we take pride in our work (your hair) and want it to be maintained and well taken care of. We want you to keep your hair in its best condition and this is possible by using the right hair product.

If you are paying $100+ for a color service, don’t ruin it by using cheap hair product. That would be like going to a fancy gourmet restaurant and dousing your entree with Great Value ketchup. The chef would be incredibly insulted, as is your stylist when you use cheap products!

And for the record, Sally’s hair products are NOT considered professional grade, they aren’t any better than the drugstore brands. I know, this is shocking to some!

Drugstore shampoo vs. professional shampoo experiment

Don’t believe me? Check out this video below to see the difference between professional hair product vs. drugstore product.

I didn’t like how in this video you couldn’t see the extensions afterwards to see a difference in the hair, so I performed this experiment myself to show a better example.

To begin I took four I-tip extensions, each with a highlight piece and a lowlight piece and colored them red with Pravana direct dye.

I then shampooed 3 of them with “color-safe” shampoos that I bought at Walmart, and one with Pureology Hydrate Shampoo. These were my results:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3KTZ1hApRj/

These are each supposed to look like the extension on the right! The Pureology one didn’t fade at all, while the Walmart shampoos turned pinkish!

From left to right: Dove, Herbal Essences, Suave, and Pureology.

What hair product brand should I use?

As a consumer it can be incredibly overwhelming to know what products to use. To make choosing a little easier for you, I’ve listed my absolute favorite hair products from each of my favorite brands. Bookmark this page to reference back to it next time you need a new product!

***Since I’m sharing the hair products that I love to use with you guys, my posts may include affiliate links to these products. If you take action and purchase a product through clicking one of my links, I’ll make some commission money from it at no extra cost to you. This enables me to be able to continue giving you awesome hair tips, so thanks! ***

The Best Hair Product Brands

For me it’s impossible to pick one line that I can fully commit to. One day I’ll make my own hair product line, but until that day comes these are my favorite go-to’s. Feel free to check out their websites to learn more about each company and pick a favorite of your own!

Aquage carries some incomparable hair styling products. For example, the Sea Extend line carries the best products for frizzy hair and has won many awards. They work amazing at smoothing and protecting unruly and curly hair. These hair products all block against humidity and protect from heat damage. They also make some killer products for achieving volume, I have yet to find a root lifter that works as well as their Uplifting Foam!

Aquage Favorites

• Uplifting Foam – This is my all time favorite mousse/root-lifter. Use half a golf-ball sized fluff, apply to your root area and style. If you apply too much or all throughout your hair, you can actually weigh it down! It works best before you blow-dry.
• Beyond Shine – A thermal heat protectant and humidity resistant spray that increases shine and iron performance. Spray generously 8-10 inches away from hair before ironing.
• Sea Salt Texturizing Spray – Creates that “beachy” soft-textured look. Spray to damp hair and dry with fingers or diffuser. You can even just spray it into dry hair and scrunch to give it some “ummph”.
• Defining Gel – This is my absolute favorite hair product for curls. Use about a quarter sized glob on wet hair to define your curls and eliminate frizz. The hair can then be blowdried with a diffuser or air-dried. I mix this with the silkening oil treatment for the perfect curly hair concoction.

Best Hair Product For Frizzy Hair – Sea Extend Line

• Silkening Shampoo and Conditioner – Perfect for fragile, color treated, or curly hair. These help to smooth down the hair, reduce frizz, and my favorite aspect, protect against humidity! This shampoo and conditioner can also be inter-mixed with other shampoos as well such as purple shampoo!
• Silkening Oil Treatment – While this product has the term “treatment” in the name, I don’t consider it a treatment because you leave it in your hair and not rinse out. It’s used for blow-drying, anti-frizz, anti-humidity, heat protection, and works wonders as a smoothing serum. It even cuts your blow-dry time down! I use this product on 90% of my clients before blow drying, but this is also a go-to for curly hair. Apply 1 pump evenly and blow it out or let it air dry.

Pravana not only makes hair styling products, but they are also my favorite line for hair color as well. Since they manufacture color, they really know what the hair needs to preserve the color as long as possible. They have the best blonding line (purple shampoo & other products) of any other brand I have ever tried. And their leave-in conditioner has SO many uses.

Pravana Favorites

• Intense Therapy Treat Masque – This treatment does wonders for repairing damaged hair. Depending on the severity of the damage, I would use this at least once a week if not more.
• Intense Therapy leave-in – This is a light weight detangler, leave-in conditioner, UV and heat protectant, is humidity resistant, and lowers the dryness caused by chlorine. Talk about jack of all trades! Spray a couple squirts when hair is damp, comb through and style.

Best Hair Product For Blonde Hair – The Perfect Blonde Line

• Purple toning kit – IF YOU WANT ASHY BLONDE OR SILVER HAIR THEN THIS IS A MUST! This kit contains everything in this section combined together. You will get best results if they are all used together. I promise this makes the world of a difference for blondes.
• Purple Shampoo and Purple Conditioner – This is a concentrated product. If you’re already platinum and don’t want to be silver then just add a little bit to your regular shampoo or use it every other time. The shampoo can be used on its own but the conditioner really helps to soften the hair and seal the cuticle. They work best when used together.
• Leave-in Conditioner – This should be used after every wash to detangle, smooth, and protect your hair. It will not weight your hair down, and the purple tone will enhance your blonde or silver hair. This is the same leave-in conditioner as the Intense Therapy listed above, except this one is PURPLE!
• Masque – This masque is the same as the intense therapy treat masque above except in purple for blondes! It continues to neutralize those unwanted yellow tones to keep your blonde or silver hair as icy as possible while repairing damaged and broken bonds.

Based out of Brooklyn New York, Amika has worked their way very close to my heart. They have the best dry shampoo on the market, and they carry my favorite texture spray as well. Amika also makes 90% of the tools I use in my salon. Check out my post here if you’d like to see some of their tools that I recommend!

Amika Favorites

• Perk Up Dry Shampoo – Heaven in a can. The best dry shampoo on the market. Doesn’t leave a residue, absorbs oils, and smells great. Spray at your root area, rub in with your fingers, and style. Literally life changing!
• The Shield – This is a heat-activated spray that protects your hair from heat tools and humidity. Spray on the hair section by section as you iron.
• Un.Done Texture Spray – This is my all time favorite texture spray. As Amika says, it’s “sexy-in-a-bottle” and they aren’t lying. It adds volume and texture to give you the ultimate “un-done” look. I like to use it after curling my hair, I flip my head upside down and spray it in while messing up with my fingers.

Olaplex is my go-to brand when it comes to damaged hair. It’s easy to use because the products are named numerically in the order they are used. 1 and 2 are for use by professionals only during the coloring process, so the list for you starts at no. 3.

Best Hair Product For Damaged Hair

• No. 3 – This hair product is a bond repairing conditioning treatment. Use this on wet hair BEFORE you shampoo and condition, it’s not a regular conditioner and is a chemical. You need to follow it with a shampoo AND conditioner. Leave it in for a MINIMUM of 10 minutes, then shampoo and condition it out. I recommend using this at least once a week.
• No. (Shampoo) 4 only and (Conditioner) 5 only – These can be used regularly especially if you have chemically damaged hair. As a blonde, I like to mix this shampoo with my purple shampoo to get the benefits of both.
• No. 4 Purple – This purple shampoo is actually currently the strongest on the market. If you leave it on it can tint your hair purple. That being said, it is AMAZING at toning down unwanted yellow tones. Be sure to follow this with the no. 5 conditioner as well as a hair mask. Since it is such a strong toning shampoo, you need to add extra moisture so that your hair doesn’t feel too try.
• No. 6 – Leave-in conditioner and styling treatment. This repairing leave-in conditioner hydrates, eliminates frizz, and protects the hair from heat. Use this after your shower, it works well with blow-drying but can be used on air-dried hair as well!

When it comes to color safe shampoos and conditioners that also smell amazing, there is no other brand that compares to this one. They make a number of other shampoos and styling products that I haven’t listed here, but these are just some of my favorites that I’ve selected for you!

Best Shampoo For Color Treated Hair

• Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner – Replenishes lost moisture in your hair and smells AMAZING. All of my clients ask me what I’m using on them when I use this. I keep it at my backbar and actually use it on 90% of my clients!
• Pure Volume Shampoo and Conditioner – Volumizing shampoo and conditioner that won’t weigh hair down. This is more of a volumizer and not as much of a thickener. I love this for fine hair, but it can also be used on heavy or coarse hair that has a tendency to get weighed down!

If you’re looking for a coloring shampoo or conditioner, then look no further because this is your brand. If your hair is lighter in color, add semi-permanent color by shampooing it right in. They are semi-permanent and will begin to fade when you stop using them. I love sending these home with reds or vivid colors that fade quickly. They also make great toners for blondes! No more ice cold showers!

Celeb Luxury Favorites

Gem Lites Coloring Shampoos and Coloring Conditioners

These are amazing for maintaining hair color. The Gem lites have more-so natural not as bright color tones. Can be used as color fades to refresh and push off going into the salon. Can even be used to completely change your hair color from light to dark. Although, keep in mind they are semi-permanent so when you stop using them they will fade. Check both the colorwash and colorditioners because they have different colors for each!

• Celeb Luxury Gem Lites Colorwash Tones from silver, blondes, copper, red, and browns.
• Celeb Luxury Gem Lites Colorditioner Tones from silver, blondes, copper, red, and browns. I like to use this as a deep conditioning treatment and color service all in one!

Viral Coloring Shampoos and Coloring Conditioners

The viral line carries bright and vivid colors like magenta, purple, and turquoise. These typically require a significantly light blonde in order to show up. But keep in mind they are semi-permanent so when you stop using they will fade. Check both the colorwash and colorditioners because they have different colors for each!

• Celeb Luxury Viral Colorwash Tones from silver, pinks, purples, blue, and more. Mix them together to make your own color!
• Celeb Luxury Viral Colorditioner Tones from silver, pinks, purples, blue, and more. I like to use this as a deep conditioning treatment and color service all in one!

Conclusion

To conclude, the brands above all make plenty of other great hair products that I haven’t listed here. These are just some of my favorites that I’ve gotten to know and love over the years.

Aside from my favs, there are tons of other kickass brands out there that some stylist prefer over these, it is all just personal preference! A few others that I wanted to include are Redken, Joico, IGK, Kenra, Matrix, Sebastian, Paul Mitchell, and Schwarzkopf. I highly suggest checking out their sites as well and testing what works best for you.

If you aren’t sure if you’ll love the product, just buy the small size to begin with so you aren’t stuck with an entire container of product that sits in your cabinet for years!

For a more direct list of links to purchase product, visit my retail page that contains everything I recommend here (and more) without the descriptions.

If you have any further questions for me on this topic, be sure to leave them for me in the comment section. Subscribe below to Have A Good Hair Day!

last updated: 02/13/2023