I have wanted to write this blog for a while, and having worked on both professional and retail brands of colour I would like to approach this topic from an and/and rather than an either/or perspective. As a chemist my formulation approach is similar in the lab whether it is Professional or Retail colour. However as Professional Colourist my approach is very different.
Both Professional and Retail colour share the same chemistry; in 1907 French chemist Eugene Schueller took PPD (Paraphenylenediamine) and created the first hair colour for commercial purposes and that chemistry has changed little over the years. Why you may ask; well it works and if you want to learn more about the chemistry check out my earlier blog on Oxidative Colour. However, the technologies within the products have changed and evolved. I am happy to say and use the current hair colours available. Fortunately, today there are many dye-stuffs (yes! a real scientific term) available, several different alkalizer, different forms of H202 (developer), protective agents and conditioners which enable product manufactures to create many colouring options for us to use.
What makes Professional and Retail colour different, I am stating the obvious here; the user. Both products have been designed to meet specific criteria that is informed by the needs and context of the user.
Retail colours are designed for an untrained individual to easily and safely apply a colour to their own hair. The variety of colours available are based on market preferences and are limited so that the choice is simple for self-diagnosing. The dyestuff and alkalizer are the same as you would find in Professional products but the naming could be different as consumer expectations are different from Professional naming and number systems. There is a limited H202 strength, usually around 9% (30vol) to allow for imprecise applications, improving uniformity, covering white hair and 2-3 levels of lift. The Rheology (spreading) of the product when mixed is designed to move easily for a thorough self-application.
Professional colours are designed for a qualified Professional to use in a variety of different ways across a wide selection of clientele. The selection of colours available is enormous which tend to be limited to markets depending on preferences, habits and practices. The Professional is trained to not only assess the hair and scalp but also to analysis lifestyle, hair motivations, preferences and skin tone to offer the perfect colour combination for their client. The colours are coded for easy recognition and can be mixed to create endless multi-dimensional bespoke results for clients. There is a greater assortment of different dyestuff used throughout the Professional ranges to achieve the different tonal directions. The concentration range of the alkalizer is greater to make visible the variety of colours available and to enable High-Lift shades up to 5 levels of lift. Unlike in Retail the Professional H202 starts around 1.5% (5vol) up to 12% (40vol) to allow for varied lightening of the natural melanin and colour activation on different hair types and porosities. The Rheology is designed for precise application and techniques such as foil. Simply there are more options available in Professional products than you have in Retail products.
Technology advancements; can appear in either Professional or Retail first; this depends on an organisation’s strategy and where they can easily recover the development costs, or in the case of a very new technology it may be tested in a low risk brand first.
Dangerous ingredients; neither Retail or Professional colours are allowed to contain ingredients that are not safe; you can read more about ingredients in my INCI blog. Metallic-dyes/Metal-ions which are most commonly called out by Professionals if they were in the products would be as a result of the quality of ingredients rather than by design. During the chemical manufacturing process there can be by-product impurities. The higher quality more expensive ingredients then to have less of these impurities. I must point out that dangerous impurities are rare in the current marketplace, chemical manufacturers are required through regulations to conform to specific safety and quality criteria to guarantee their products are of a cosmetic/pharma quality. I would also advise that when you buy your colouring product Retail or Professional that you buy it from a reputable source; do watch out for copies; yes! there are counterfeit colouring products out there and no one has visibility on the contents.
Quality of ingredients; different chemical manufactures produce different qualities or grades of ingredients. Hair colour manufactures spend a lot of time and effort finding the right partners to supply them a consistent quality of their choice. Generally, a product made with higher quality ingredients will have a higher COG (cost of goods) that is normally passed onto the purchaser. This is where the big manufactures have an advantage, they have a lot of purchasing power and buy quality ingredients at a good price that can be used across both their Professional, Retail or Private Label brands; all benefiting in terms of quality at competitive prices.
Sensitivity & allergy; it would be unfair to say that you can be more sensitive to Retail colour versus Professional; anyone can be sensitive on any given day and sensations do vary on the scalp; e.g. liquids tend to have more of a smarting sensation than cream colours. More seriously but very rare, it can be possible over a period of time through regular contact develop an allergy, this is true for all hair colouring products. This is why it is necessary to skin test 48hours prior to applying a new colouring product to your or your client’s hair.
There are a lot of similarities between Retail and Professional colour the difference is in how the colour is used. I’d like to finish off with a baking analogy; Retail colour is like buying and preparing a Betty Crocker Chocolate Box Cake, it does the job and for some it does the job very well. Professional colour is like going to an artisan baker and having a Professional create your very own Chocolate Cake perfect for all occasions.
Caroline
