Finding the right haircare products can be a daunting task, given the vast array of options available in the market. With various brands and products catering to different needs and budgets, it's often best to rely on professional recommendations, especially after investing in expensive hair treatments or wanting to maintain vibrant colored hair. Hairdressers often suggest professional haircare products to preserve the effects of treatments and enhance hair health.
The difference between drugstore and professional products lies in the formulation. Professional haircare products, similar to professional skincare products, contain higher concentrations of active ingredients and utilize advanced technologies to deliver more effective and faster results.
This article compiles a list of top professional haircare brands and products recommended by stylists, offering insights into their unique features and benefits.
Professional haircare products are formulated with higher levels of active ingredients and breakthrough technologies to deliver faster and more effective results compared to drugstore alternatives.
Olaplex has become one of the best professional haircare brands due to its comprehensive hair repair and damage prevention capabilities. These products can restore even severely damaged hair resulting from coloring and heat styling. The brand's products work with all hair and scalp types. Olaplex No.1 and No.2 are exclusive for salon use, while the others are available for personal use.
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The Olaplex No. 3 is a favorite among consumers. This bond builder contains a patented formula that repairs even the most severely damaged hair. It is not a conditioner.
Since its inception in 1964, Kérastase has offered a wide range of products. The company claims to be among the first to offer actual hair care products such as scalp shampoos and serums. Their “Genesis” line combats hair loss, with the Serum Fortifiant Anti-Chute as one of its main products. Kérastase is a pioneer in the hair serum market.
The Discipline Oleo-Relax Advanced Hair Oil is a popular Kerastase hair serum and oil. Its formulation works well as a heat protectant, handling up to 450 degrees of heat from styling tools, while nourishing the hair and giving it a soft, silky, and smooth texture.
Redken combines protein and moisture technology to develop effective hair care, with protein serving as the foundation of all their products.
The Redken One United All-In-One Leave-In Conditioner is a multi-benefit product. The Acidic Bonding Concentrate Shampoo, a sulfate-free shampoo formulated with 7% bonding care complex plus citric acid, is designed for over-processed, colored, and extremely damaged hair. The professional haircare brand has patented technology.
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K18 developed their patented K18PEPTIDE technology after more than a decade of intensive research. It repairs all kinds of hair damage by mending the polypeptide chains that make up your hair. They improve each individual hair strand down to its very core to ensure that your hair stays strong and beautiful. The K18 Leave-in Hair Mask revives, repairs and restores damaged hair quickly in just 4 minutes. The results are more visible on highly damaged hair.
L’Oréal Professional Paris has a large number of brands. L’Oréal is now a haircare staple, offering luxurious hair treatments and resolving any hair problems. They now provide care for all types and ranges of hair, having fully expanded their business internationally.
L’Oreal Professionnel Vitamino Color Shampoo is recommended by hairdressers after coloring hair. The antioxidant formula preserves and protects the vibrance of your hair color while boosting shine and softness. The Absolut Repair Hair Mask is a protein-rich hair mask that reverses and repairs damage and is great for medium to thick hair types as it’s moisturizing.
Carmen Tal, the company’s founder, discovered a Moroccan oil hair treatment. The Original Moroccanoil Treatment, fortified with Argan Oil and Linseed Extract, conditions detangles, and smoothens frizz and flyaways. All hair types can use it, but those with medium to thick, curly, and wavy hair types can benefit the most. They have a lighter formula that’s apt for fine or colored hair. Both add shine and are great to use before styling your hair.
Wella Professionals offers high-quality hair colors and color maintenance products. The Fusion Range with innovative Silksteel technology, a mixture of amino acids and lipids that quickly heals hair fibers at the deepest levels, is a great pick to reduce hair breakage. The luxurious hair mask repairs and protects hair from mechanical damage.
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Matrix formulates its products to assist hairdressers in caring for various hair types. They’ve incorporated pre-bonded strengthening and repair technology into all of their formulations, protecting hair from potential damage caused by the previous coloration process.
While the Matrix Biolage Line has excellent deep nourishing hair masks, the Total Results Line has great color care products. They have neutralizing shampoos that eliminate dullness and bring life to lifeless hair and also volumizing and smoothing shampoos that cater to different hair types.
Schwarzkopf Professional offers color, care, and styling options. The Osis+ Upload Volume Cream is widely used by stylists to hold hairstyles in place. The BC Bonacure Peptide Repair Rescue Range is excellent for damaged hair, as it replenishes the hair follicles, increases resilience, and reduces hair fall due to breakage by upto 95%.
Pureology’s 100% vegan products and dedication to safe color treatment have had a significant impact on the hair color industry. They claim that their formulations are completely sulfate-free, extremely strong, and free of any potentially harmful ingredients. To provide the best possible care and recovery for the hair, they offer each of their clients a completely customizable routine.
Pureology Professional’s Range Of Shampoos is well-loved by stylists. They have various sulfate-free, vegan shampoos that cater to different hair types and textures and are great for colored hair.
Haircare is an essential part of consumers' everyday beauty routines, and the amount of money they will spend on hair products reflects this. To date, the US haircare market value stands at $16.73B, and is forecast to grow at a CAGR rate of 3.49%. To investigate the haircare brands, trends, and influencers capturing consumer interest, Cosmetify analyzed annual google searches, YoY search differences, and social media posts of popular haircare brands stored in its database. The 2024 Cosmetify Haircare Report outlined the findings, naming Kérastase as the most popular haircare brand, Color Wow’s Dream Coat Anti-Humidity Hair Spray as the most popular haircare product, and Chris Appleton as the most popular haircare influencer.
The most popular haircare brands show that consumers are dipping between long-standing, trusted brands such as Kérastase, and more indie-focused, “brands of the moment” like Gisou. The brand quickly gained consumer attention, being named the number-one trafficked haircare brand on Sephora.com in June 2023, and number-one haircare brand at Sephora in July 2023. The list shows Olaplex’s dominance in the haircare category, despite a decrease in searches for some products, the brand still stands strong enough to hold three places in the top ten. Olaplex’s success in the past year is sure to have been influenced by its innovative marketing efforts, including its Oladupe product at the end of last year.
British hair stylist Chris Appleton is the most searched influencer overall, more than doubling his search volume from the previous year. Tessa Paey has seen her annual searches almost quadruple, giving her the most growth within the top 10 influencers. The influencer is popular for her artistic flair, and the educational elements of her videos. Paey has an impressive Instagram engagement rate of 6.48% and a YouTube engagement of 6.28%. The most followed influencer, Brad Mondo, solidifies his place in the top 10, coming third.
The list also suggests an opportunity for haircare brands tackling lice, as it would appear that consumers are undereducated around the issue, and are still seeking out effective education and solutions.
From '90s icon Jennifer Aniston whose Friends character Rachel Green is constantly cited as styling inspiration on social media, to royal figures such as the Princess of Wales, the most popular celebrity hairstyles suggest that consumers are looking for variation among their searches.
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