How to Buy Professional Hair Products Without a License?

No matter how much you spend on hair products, it seems like you can’t get salon results at home. Could it be that they’re just better at it?

That could be the case since they are professionals, but I think it has something to do with their hair products that you can’t find anywhere. I wondered if I could get these products, and apparently, you can’t unless you have a license.

That’s just wrong, yet it’s the truth. Still, I wasn’t going to let this go and just stick to the products available to me.

Where do hairstylists get their products?

The first thing I had to find out is where salon professionals get their stuff.

I found out that salon professionals could get their products from big distributors or independent private label manufacturers.

Salons that get their stuff from big distributors probably have a contract with them and are getting their products at a discount. A salon that works with an independent manufacturer is probably paying more for the product.

I wondered why salons might pay more to work with a private manufacturer, and it deals with the exclusivity of the product. This company creates customized products for that salon.

It’s fascinating stuff, but these folks only work with professional salons, so regular people like me can’t establish a connection. I had to keep digging to find out if I could get these sorts of products without a license.

Does Saloncentric sell their stuff to regular people?

After more digging, I learned that SalonCentric was a big-time distributor.

You need to connect with them if you want to get tried and true professional beauty products, including the professional hair products we’re interested in.

The distributor also handles skincare, cosmetic, lip care, and nail care products, so they’ve got a handle on everything beauty-related.

SalonCentric has products from regions around the world. This is where many professionals go to pick up some of the products they use in their salons.

The company is in the states, and I wondered if I could contact them somehow or go to their store to get some of these products since I couldn’t just get in touch with the manufacturers themselves. I did consider it, but I wouldn’t even know where or how to start that communication.

Sadly, I found out that SalonCentric won’t sell products that contain the “professional only” product label. They’ll sell some stuff that you might find at Sally’s.

The people allowed to buy professional-grade products from this establishment must be licensed veterinarians or licensed nail technicians. They could also have a salon owner’s license.

Is it illegal to buy professional hair color?

I mean, of course, I had to ask this question as I was learning how challenging it is to get professional hair products. I was concerned that I was trying to do something illegal.

Imagine having to purchase your hair products from some shady character in a dark alley. Well, I didn’t want cops knocking on my door just because I wanted powerful hair products.

It seems you can buy these products legally from a private but professional cosmetologist, but only in three states that I know of. Those states include Texas, Ohio, and California.

It was annoying to find that out. I found the subject kind of interesting and intense. There’s a heated debate about this topic.

In essence, hair salon specialists want to keep these sorts of products exclusive to their profession. For one, they’re quite powerful, and if you don’t know how to use them properly, you could do some real damage to your hair.

On top of that, if these products were available to the public, some folks wouldn’t go to the salon often. If many people stop going to the salons, these people may go out of business. They’re scared of all the DIY enthusiasts out there, like me, and I get that.

The problem is that many cosmetologists are looking for ways to make a little extra money and stay afloat.

Some professional cosmetologists, especially the ones starting, need to make money somehow, and they’re mixing professional hair color and selling it directly to customers in the aforementioned states.

Established professionals don’t like this idea because it gives customers direct access at a discount. The practice jumped in popularity during the pandemic, and it will likely continue to spread. I don’t know what to root for because I do want access to these products.

Do you need a license to shop at Sally’s?

Everyone knows Sally’s, and everyone knows how great that company is. Sure, prices are a little high sometimes, but you can get so much stuff there. Some of their products are quite powerful, more powerful than the stuff you’d find in a regular department store.

The hair products there can be considered professional grade, and the reason they can sell them to you is that most folks working there are certified cosmetologists who are simply selling their products directly to you.

The problem I noticed is that you can’t find every professional hair product there.

On top of that, you can’t find professionally-mixed hair coloring products, the kind that professional hairstylists would mix for you specifically. All you find are mass-produced products, which isn’t what I wanted.

While mass-produced products will give you expected results every time; there are a few drawbacks.

If the company makes a change, you’ll have a hard time finding the product you got used to afterward. The company could also go under, and you’ll end up having that same issue. You won’t be able to find the exact hair product you’ve gotten used to.

One thing you should have if you’re going to Sally’s is their card. It’s just a discount card, but it gives you a few discounts though there is a charge to have this card that is $5 a year.

Having access to this store is wonderful though some in the country aren’t near a Sally’s.

The good thing is that Sally’s is online, but sometimes, it’s nice to go into a physical store.

What About Cosmoprof?

If you’re looking for professional hair products, you’re going to come across Cosmoprof.

It’s a well-known brand that is used by several salon professionals. It seems that this is one of those brands you can’t get your hands on unless you have a cosmetology license.

If you’re sitting there in despair, I get it. I felt the same way, but hopefully, that’ll change at some point. It seems like many professionals don’t want us to have access to their most prestigious and effective products.

Do hair care specialists get a commission for using certain products?

It’s all part of that debate I was talking about earlier. As mentioned earlier, hairstylists have reasons to prevent regular folks from obtaining professional hair care products.

One of those reasons is that they get a commission for using the hair care products they use.

Not only do these folks get these products at a discount since they buy these products in bulk, but they also receive a commission. If that wasn’t enough, they’re also encouraged to sell products to their customers, maybe not the professional-grade ones, but they’re still encouraged to sell these products.

You probably remember your hairstylist telling you to buy a particular product to maintain your new look.

They tell you that they recommend this product above all others and have that product in the salon. They don’t tell you that you can get an alternative product in your local department store.

Learning about the commission certainly made me think twice about the products I’ve purchased in my salon every so often. Is it the best product, or are they convincing me just to get the commission?

It seems that buying professional hair care products can be a bit of a challenge. So far, the best thing you can hope for is that you’re in a state where a cosmetologist can sell these products to you directly.

Well, hopefully, they can sell you personalized professional hair care products because you can buy semi-professional products in places like Sally’s.

Hopefully, some of the digging I did helps you figure out what you’ll be doing with your hair next. I settled on the fact that I’ll have to depend on my salon specialists for my hair care.