If you’ve ever indulged yourself to
a trip to the spa or a makeover at a department store, then you’ve experienced
product push. While barefaced, and possibly bare everything else, you are
vulnerable. The white coated consultant is happy to share her expertise on what
would make your skin more vibrant and youthful. While she works you over both
physically and psychologically, you listen to the dream she reveals full of sun-filled
days where you and your amazing model beautiful face gather admiring glances.
It is a good dream.
You are especially susceptible if crow’s
feet have been showing up in your mirror, or you’re single, or both. This
product with a mysterious ingredient is the answer. You’re ready to become all
you can be until she puts a bottle in your hand. You flip it over, and see the exorbitant
price. This is no issue to some women; they buy it anyhow.
Would you buy the same product if
you could get it for half the price? Maybe. Salons mark up the product to make
money, of course. Does anyone really have to pay ninety dollars for tanning lotion?
Same lotion can be purchased on Amazon for only sixteen dollars.
After having a facial, the
consultant, showed me amazingly expensive products she used. I could not afford
that chunk of my budget dedicated to my face. Instead, I jumped on Ebay and found the same
products at 75% less, which made them more do-able.
Your hairdresser might only use
Paul Mitchell products. I will be the first to tell you they are good. He may
tell you Paul Mitchell is a salon-only item. Not true, anymore, Ulta, Amazon,
and Ebay sell them. Ulta has a huge product sale once a year that you’ll want
to watch for. In addition, they put out coupons about every two weeks also.
Even without the coupons or sale, the product is usually cheaper than at the
salon.
Watch for sales of bulk items of a
product you like. Four years later, I am still using the large containers of
Redkin hair product I bought on sale. It really was a bargain.
The best thing I did for my hair
was to install a water softener. Suddenly, I had amazingly soft hair. Makes me
wonder if all hair salons have water softeners? With a water softener, you don’t
have to use as much shampoo or soap, another money saver.
Figure out what the active ingredient is in this expensive product
your salon is hawking. The consultant will tell you. In my case, it was vitamin
C. There are several products on the market with vitamin C at a much lower
price. I can try out the products to see
if they work. I did that inadvertently with a night cream. I picked up a cream
on the clearance table instead of my usual well know brand, which was ten times
more expensive. Surprise, I like the cheaper Mirra brand better.
Another thing about the product
push, besides the general expense, if you don’t use it the way they do in the
salon you will not get the same results. If they used five products on your
face, but you can only afford one, it won’t yield the same results. You must
use products on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day. Keep in mind, your salon
probably does have a water softener; if you don’t, your hair will never look as
nice no matter how expensive the product is.
Item cost sometimes sways us. The
belief being that the more expensive item will work better. A scientific study
of night creams publicized by NPR revealed the expensive creams actually did
less than Oil of Olay and Avon. One $500 cream that actually included gold did
more harm than good. Your skin doesn’t need gold on it or in it. (Even products
like Oil of Olay Regenerist are cheaper online.) I am a fan of Amazon for
toiletries. Online merchants have sales too. When shopping online, always go
for the free shipping. You aren’t saving money, if it is made up in shipping
and handling costs.
Salon products are like new cars; the salon
employee can’t allow you to walk out without buying. Ever wonder why? You’ll
start to think about how expensive the item is, and how little you get. You’ll
consider your budget. You might even get online and see if you can find it
cheaper elsewhere.
The best and cheapest thing you can
use for your skin is sunscreen. That bottle of spf100 isn’t really five times
better than the cheaper bottle of spf20, but that’s another blog. Be strong,
resist the product push, and do your homework.
