I disagree on shampoos. I used the kinds you can buy in the department store most of my life, but I tried the salon brands, and I really do see great improvement. I have seen reports that when you get salon-brand shampoos in Wal-mart and grocery stores and such, you may not be getting what you pay for. It might be a weaker/older product, for instance. I don't know if that's true, but it could be. I'm always skeptical of such claims, because I know companies are trying to make money.

I used to have bad split ends, no matter what shampoo I used. After using Paul Mitchell for several months, I stopped having major problems with split ends, and my hair looks great. I thought it looked good before, but there is a real difference. You have to use it for several months, though, because it takes a while to build up your hair.