Does it pay to splurge on shampoo and conditioner?
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- When you head down the haircare aisle, it's easy to get overwhelmed. You can spend a few bucks or upwards of $50 on shampoo and conditioner alone.
With the help of the Upper Hand Salon, we wanted to see if the price of the products you use makes a difference on what your hair looks and feels like.
"What we're going to do is divide each model's right down the middle. On one side of the model's head, we are going one that's fairly expensive, and on the other side we're going to use something that's more affordable. Then we're going to have the models style out their hair and see if they can tell," said salon owner Rachel Gower.
The models have no idea which shampoo brand is being used on each side of their head. Because the testers have all different hair types, the experiment includes eight different shampoos and conditioners ranging in price from $5 to $62 each.
In each photo below, the left side is the more expensive products, and the right is the cheaper alternative.
Tester number one - Brittany Bass
"Brittany's hair is curly, tends to get frizzy and is also textured so she needs something that is going to smooth out her hair," Gower said.
The match up:
Loreal's Eversleek Intense Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner - $7 each
Carol's Daughter Shampoo and Conditioner - $20 each
The verdict:
Bass noticed that the less expensive shampoo felt drier. The side that used Loreal looked slightly more frizzy. The more expensive Carol's Daughter edged out the cheaper Loreal as Bass' favorite.
Tester number two - Lauren Zemanek
"Lauren has really thick hair and she likes for it to look smooth almost like she's had a Keratin treatment," Gower said.
The match up:
Suave Keratin Infusion - $5 each
Kerastase Antifrizz Shampoo - $39 and Conditioner - $62
The verdict:
Even before she finished styling her hair, Zemanek noticed a difference.
"Whenever I was blow drying it, this side I had to keep going over it smooth it out and this side I didn't," Zemanek said.
She picked Kerastase as the winner.
Tester number three - Nor Petite
Her colored hair is in need of a little TLC.
"Nor is naturally a brunette but she likes being a blonde, so with that come a lot of extra stress on the hair," Gower said.
The match up:
OGX or Organics - $8 each
Living Proof - $28 each
The verdict:
She flat ironed her hair so that both had a similar smooth finish. However, she said that days later, the cheaper side needed to be washed, while the expensive side lasted longer.
