Two weeks ago, Allure published an article explaining why natural hair influencers are trading in their Black-owned haircare products for salon brands like Redken, Amika, and others not marketed specifically for textured hair.
“There’s a shift happening online,” the article read. “Black women are posting about ‘life-changing’ results they’ve gotten from brands I wouldn’t usually associate with being the best option for our hair type.”
In response, a number of other content creators, including Jalana Torres, author of “The Beauty Of” Substack, called out the current perception problem Black-owned brands are facing in the haircare market.
“I am noticing the conversation around this article, in particular, has turned into ‘I used to shop traditionally Black-owned beauty brands and now I’m switching to more salon-grade because Black-owned beauty brands are not science-backed’,” Torres said in a TikTok video. “And to that, I would say, that is not true.”
However, in most responses, terms like “salon-quality,” “salon-grade,” “science-backed,” and “professional,” are all used almost interchangeably. So, with all the discourse, there’s still one question left unanswered: What do these terms even mean?
What The Law Says
Legally, they mean nothing. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) none of these terms are regulated. “There really isn’t a standardized scientific or regulatory definition of ‘salon-quality’ or ‘salon-grade’,” Brandy Welch, a pharmacist who creates educational hair content, tells ESSENCE.
Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), a hair product is simply regulated as a “cosmetic,” regardless of whether it’s sold in a drugstore or high-end salon. That means there are no legally enforced chemical or performance thresholds a product must meet to earn a “salon” label, including for products labeled “professional-use only.”
Instead, “these terms are used to communicate that a product offers the type of performance, formulation, or experience consumers associate with products used in salons,” Welch says. But, while none of these terms hold federal weight, the industry still has some restrictions on how they’re used.
What The Industry Says
“Professional-use only” vs. “professional”
Products sold as “professional-use only” or “salon-exclusive” means they should only be sold to licensed cosmetologists. However, these products are restricted through contractual or business policies as opposed to criminal law.
Welch points out “professional” can describe products marketed toward hairstylists or distributed through professional channels, including restricted selling, “but it doesn’t automatically indicate the formulation is scientifically superior to a mass-market product,” she says. Instead, professional-use products, like high-volume developers and keratin treatments, are restricted solely because they have highly concentrated chemical formulas which can cause burns, breakage, and other risks if used incorrectly, especially by a general consumer.
However, some haircare products deemed “professional,” like those in Avlon’s KeraCare Professional line, are still available to the general consumer because they are less concentrated, like shampoos and conditioners, but often used in tandem with “professional-use only” products.
“Salon-quality” vs. “salon-grade”
There’s a fine line between the terms “salon-quality” and “salon-grade” because they aren’t legally defined.
According to Angel Johnson, hairstylist and Design Essentials educator, “‘Salon-quality,’ by definition, is a high standard of professional performance, formulations, and results by a trained cosmetologist,” she says. “Salon-quality differs from terms like ‘salon-grade,’ ‘science-backed,’ and ‘professional’ hair care because these terms are claims on products used by stylists but often available to the general consumer.”
However, others argue “salon-quality” and “salon-grade” are used as marketing terms to denote salon-like results. “I don’t necessarily think salon-quality is about where you bought the product,” says Aaron Tracey Whitaker, master hairstylist and Design Essentials educator. “It’s about the standard that product can perform at.”
In reality, with the rising cost of hair appointments, consumers are being sold salon-adjacent terms to feel like they’re getting a salon experience at home. Instead of buying into “salon-quality” or “salon-grade” claims, it’s important to do your research. “I want to know what the product is designed to do, who it’s designed for, and most importantly, whether it performs the way it claims,” Whitaker says.
“Science-backed” vs. “natural”
Then, there’s the most infamous of the terms: “Science-backed.” “‘Science-backed’ sounds reputable,” Johnson says. However, simply cocktailing more than one ingredient into a bottle is technically science. That’s why “‘science-backed’ is not, by itself, a regulated standard of efficacy,” Welch says. But, “ideally, it means there is scientific rationale or evidence supporting the ingredients, formulation, or claims being made.”
By that standard, every haircare product on the market developed by a cosmetic chemist can be considered science-backed, Black-owned or not. According to Welch, that’s why there’s more important questions at hand: What science? Was the finished formula tested? Was it an ingredient study? How large was the study? Was there a control? Was it independently conducted?
“Those distinctions matter much more than the words on the bottle,” she says. Similarly, “I think there’s some miseducation around the word ‘natural,’ particularly when we start connecting it to Black haircare,” Whitaker points out, especially since popular Black-owned brands, from Mielle to Briogeo, Carol’s Daughter to Design Essentials, were all formulated by chemists and therefore “science-backed.”
What These Terms Say About Black-Owned Haircare Brands
Despite the discourse, these terms say much less about Black-owned haircare than they lead on. “They can communicate something meaningful about a brand’s positioning, but they are largely marketing terminology rather than formal categories of cosmetic products,” Welch says.
In fact, using a brand marketed as “science-backed” or “salon-quality” over one pushed as “natural,” and vice versa, has very little validity at all. “If we’re talking about ingredients, there’s nothing about using naturally derived ingredients that automatically diminishes the quality or performance of a product,” Whitaker says. Similarly, using synthetic ingredients doesn’t immediately mean you’re harming your hair.
Instead, “it means consumers shouldn’t assume ‘salon-quality,’ ‘professional,’ or even ‘science-backed’ automatically equals better,” Welch says. Especially given that there are many salon-quality, Black-owned hair care brands (think: Cécred and Design Essentials.) Whitaker agrees: “Black-owned describes ownership,” he says. “It doesn’t have to define the consumer.”
Author: India Espy-Jones
Read the original article on Essence.
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