American Board of Certified Haircolorists         Newsletter Special Edition

December 2011

In This Issue
2012 ABCH Exam Dates
Pureology Challenge Result
Don't Kill the Messenger
Lowlights from the Editor

2011 Certification Exams are Complete.

 

   96 NEW board certified haircolorists in 2011! 

1583 TOTAL Board Certified Haircolorists!  

 

     Register online     or   take the practice exam

           www.haircolorist.com

Announcing 2012 ABCH Exam Dates 
        Chicago March 4Denver April 15,  Los Angeles June 24Dallas July 15  
 
     Boston
August 19, Seattle September 9Washington DC October 7,  Atlanta November 11 

      8 examination plus the Energizing Summit will make for a full year.  Be a part of it!

 

Pureology Challenge Results

 

Every Pureology shampoo carries the label pictured here with the Pureology Promise: Longer lasting hair color or your money back.They made the claim, so we challenged it. We tested colored swatches with 30 different shampoos, 23 professional brands, 5 over the counter brands, and 2 liquid dish soaps.  
Here is a description of the comparison procedure: 
Yak hair was used because the hair was the most consistent hair that can be found in lots this large.  According to the supplier of the hair, the Yak hair is very consistent in tone and porosity but most importantly, it responds to haircolor in the same manner as human hair.  
  1. The Yak hair swatches were colored and allowed to process for two hours to "soak in" as much as possible.  
  2. Next the hair was soaked in the shampoo for two hours at a time. It was not agitated, only left to soak.  
  3. At the conclusion of the "soak," the shampoo was rinsed off using the power of the sprayed water as the only manipulation to remove the shampoo.  
  4. The hair was brushed out and left to dry undisturbed. 
  5. This procedure (steps 1-4) was repeated five times.  
  6. The swatches were placed in order from light to dark separately by five different individuals  without knowledge of shampoo used. These results were averaged to achieve final results.
  7. The swatches were then grouped as compared to the Pureology swatch:                    Better Than Pureology, Similar to Pureology, and Worse Than Pureology.          The dollar amount listed reflects the price per ounce of each shampoo.
The results were surprisingly close among the top four shampoos that caused the least amount of hair color fadage: Back to Basics, Farouk CHI, Keratin Complex, and Aquage. 
  • Over half of the shampoos performed better than Pureology, three of which were over-the-counter brands.
  • Ten shampoos performed similarly to Pureology, with one over-the counter brand and one liquid dish soap in this category. 
  • While there is a marked difference from the best performers to the worst performers, there was very little difference in the majority of the mid-range performers (which included Pureology.) 
Purchase color copies of the three Pureology Challenge pages for $10, shipping included.

PLEASE NOTE: the actual color results differ slightly from the depiction below. 
View the results live at the 2012 Energizing Summit on June 10-11. 
 
Better Than Pureology
__________________________________________________________________________
Similar to Pureology
___________________________________________________________

Worse Than Pureology

 

Pureology Challenge Reveals 
Some Astonishing Results

Don't kill the messenger 
if you don't like the results of the challenge.

Product Claims...you can say "we have the best moisturizing shampoo" or "the most effective conditioner," but those statements are difficult to prove. Claiming your shampoo guarantees longer lasting haircolors is quantifiable so you had better be right. Here is a message to ALL MANUFACTURERS: We love our clients! They make our house payments, car payments and feed our children. We like to sell our clients products that work. Clients trust their stylists, who in turn, must trust the manufacturers. They have the technology to make shampoos that are the best possible. Please do not sell us on this "sulfate-free quality" if it doesn't stand up to testing or comparisons. Just give us products that work. 

The results in each group were very close.  We are put them into three groups: Better than Pureology, Similar to Pureology, and Worse Than Pureology

Haircolorists, please don't make excuses for your favorite shampoo.  All of the shampoos were treated in an identical manner. This is only a comparison to see what shampoo removed the least amount of haircolor. We did not evaluate the fragrance, how they felt on your hands or how the hair felt afterwards.  We tested durability of haircolor, that's it.  

Yak hair swatch was tinted using the identical haircolor product and processed for a uniform time. Each swatch was then left to soak using the designated shampoo for two hours.  The shampoo was rinsed off, and left to dry, the process was repeated 5 times.  ALL OF THE SWATCHES WERE TREATED IDENTICALLY. 

Analysis of these results indicate that Pureology tested only average among the test group brands; specifically, 1/2 of the 30 shampoos tested performed better than Pureology. Manufacturers need to watch the product claims they make in print...ABCH is watching and testing!

Lowlights from the Editor 

 

CORRECTION:  Please excuse the title of the recent December newsletter! Correct title: Thank You Atlanta!

Next issue: New Aquage label brags about their #1 performance in an earlier ABCH haircolor challenge, Trending- Harajuku hair is the new punk, and introducing our 2012 Summit educators. 

Write to me...I want to share your ideas and dreams! 

[email protected] USE subject line: ABCH    

Certifiably yours, Mary