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Check out the labels. The high-end shampoos and gels are meant for salon-sale only. Yet, they're turning up in drug stores and supermarkets across the country. Google "Diversion of the hair care industry" and slews of information on the subject is available.
I am sure most of you have seen the Paul Mitchell commercials stating, "Paul Mitchell Products are only guaranteed through salons". Most professional lines are fighting to keep diversion from happening to the hair care industry. From ISO, CHI, Matrix, and many others are taking a stance to keep professional products in the American salons.
Diversion is what happens when products are manufactured and sold exclusively from salons. Salon employees and distributors, re-sell them to wholesalers who then make deals with drugstores and supermarkets, "We call it a gray market." Some product diversion is black market knock off products. Things like knockoff designer hand bags sold as the real thing are examples of this.
Some products according to a NBC article on the subject is coming in from China, “we see products being out-dated and, sold in bottles that should have been sold two-years-ago."
John Paul Dejoria owner of Paul Mitchell products launched a multi-million-dollar campaign to educate consumers, "If you find any of our products in any drug store or supermarket, it is either counterfeit, black/gray market, stolen or extremely old."
Dejoria bought Paul Mitchell products at well-known drug stores and supermarkets from coast-to-coast and then tested them in his company labs, "The bacteria count was too numerous to even count. That's how bad it was." Paul Mitchell has become very active in the fight and has made diversion action kits you can download from their professional site.
I own and work in a salon so I have been very avid on the fight of diversion. I have done some of my own research into these stores who are carrying salon only products. I have visited several drug stores and found diverted products from Paul Mitchell, Redken, Sebastian’s, and the list goes on. Some carrying old packaging and has been out of date for several years. I also did price comparison. The average sale for most products were up to 2 dollars more the companies salon suggested retail prices. This was on supposedly discounted products.
Diversion can be reported directly to the product companies. You can also visit any of your favorite hair care line websites and find out their tactics on fighting diversion.