Ingredients in Action
Both products contain panthenol (a conditioner) and glycerin (a humectant), but the cheaper product claims its silk fibers are responsible for smoothing. Lightweight silicones and cetearyl alcohol -- a fatty alcohol common in conditioners -- in the pricier version supposedly give you a straighter style.
And the Winner Is �
Both fight frizz and flyaways to keep your hair straighter. But cetearyl alcohol adds additional slipperiness, which makes it easier to glide a brush through your hair as you hit it with a hot blow-dryer.
Ingredients in Action
The less expensive spray contains vitamins, silicones and a UV protector. The higher-priced product has tourmaline, antioxidants, silicones and UVA and UVB filters.
And the Winner Is �
Because of the sun filters in these shiners, your color is less likely to go flat. Plus, the extra protection gives your hair radiant shine -- and it smells nice. But the aerosol formula means you get better coverage with the expensive product, and it's loaded with additional moisturizing ingredients.
Ingredients in Action
Natural fruit extracts and silicones in the budget spray protect your hair and hold your style. The pricier spray's new "Heat Dispersion Technology" distributes heat evenly across the hair so sections of your strands don't weaken more than others; it also contains style-holding polymers.
And the Winner Is �
Both sprays prep your hair to take the heat by sealing the cuticle. But the less expensive spray is more moisturizing because it's alcohol-free.
Ingredients in Action
Powder in the thrifty brand absorbs excess oil, as do rice and oat starch in the costlier spray.
And the Winner Is �
Both products will clean and add volume to a heavy, oily mop, but what about the less-than-fresh scent of dirty hair? The pricier "shampoo" has a crisp, lemon-y scent to mask any odor.
Ingredients in Action
The shampoos contain a similar combo of nettle, wheat proteins and panthenol. Nettle removes product buildup to keep your hair from going flat. Protein fattens hair strands from the inside out to add volume. Panthenol is a moisturizing agent.
And the Winner Is �
The expensive version is mostly natural, but the cheaper formula contains organic ingredients -- so it's better for your hair and the environment.
Hair products are like fraternal twins -- similar in ingredients, but very different on the surface. We asked Lesley Bride, senior scientist at Procter & Gamble Beauty, and Fritz Clay, owner of Hair Play Salon in San Francisco, to compare similar products and say which are so close, you might as well save -- and which are worth the splurge. The results will surprise you.
