Sebastian used to be at the top of the game, way back when, and was one of my very favorite brands.  Shaper hairspray was *da bomb.*  But, they quit innovating, and fell behind.  You could always find Sebastian at your grocery and drug stores, and to me, that was a huge sign of defeat for a brand that was very exclusive to salons, and has always been a strong fighter against diversion.

Sebastian was purchased as part of a deal by Procter & Gamble around 2003, and while it has taken them a while to revamp, revamp they have done.  The new Sebastian Professional line builds on their classic products and introduces a lot of new ones – 30 products in fact, designed to build, sculpt and hold any hairstyle you could possibly come up with.  Take some time to check out their web site, and if you’re in the salon anytime soon, ask them for a demo of the new Sebastian – I bet its going to be good stuff!

Read more about diversion, why you don’t want to buy diverted products, what Sebastian is doing to prevent it, and how you can help – here.

Image: Sebastian Professional

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Is it true that Paul Mitchell products (and other ‘designer’ hair products) sold at grocery stores and big discount stores are NOT the same formulas that sell in beauty salons? Or is that all hype?

This is called diversion, and is a major problem within the industry. Most of the time the product is authentic, but it is occasionally is counterfeit (flea markets, mostly). The most likely problem with these products is that they are old, but the effects of that are negligible. Really, from an ethics standpoint, you shouldn’t buy these products from anywhere but a licensed salon – by supporting diversion you are undercutting your favorite salon, and they need your business to survive. Wouldn’t you hate life if all you had to choose from were large chain salons? I know I would. There is a huge black market on salon products that you wouldn’t believe, and when you see these in your grocery stores, you can also be fairly sure that the store owner is using shady methods to get these products, which makes me wonder where else they are cutting corners or getting stuff under the radar (meat? eww). You will most likely not save much money if any, and the manufacturer will not stand behind the products when purchased that way either. There is a short, but sweet, article on diversion here, if you want to read a lttle more about it.

Great question, Gail. BTW, I do love your questions, please feel free to email them to me at christina@b5media.com, or leave them in the comments. I will do the best I can to get them answered for you!

Post from: eBeautyDaily