Goldwell Vs. Redken: Is Goldwell Better Than Redken?

This post was most recently updated on March 22nd, 2023

Hair heroes come in all sizes. Sometimes it is that simple product from a very small company that revives your color-treated, fizzy, dry, coarse and/or fly-away hair from a living nightmare. Maybe you are perfectly happy with your drug-store bought hair styling, hair care or hair color product. But if you are going to talk about Goldwell Vs. Redken:

You should know that both are giants in the hair care industry who have been around for decades, specialising in a multitudes of services that have helped stylists and customers alike.

Today, in our Goldwell Vs. Redken review we will be looking at;

the origin of the two companies,
their product lines and featured products,
and a list of pros and cons concerning both among other important things.

We will be exploring the questions such as: Is Goldwell better than Redken? Which is more eco-friendly, offering vegan and vegetarian options? Which company’s products are safer with sulfate free, ammonia free, formaldehyde free options?

Let’s first look at a couple of similarities both companies have:

Both companies have been around for 50+ years.

Both have a focus on the hair stylist as a customer/ partner as opposed to simply selling products to users at home.

Both have a massive array of products in each product line. They have products for hair care, hair styling and hair color.

Both use patented technology to design and develop their products.

Well known for their hair color products in the hairstylist world. Works in partnership with many reputed salons all over the world.

Well known for their shampoos and conditioners by the home user. Now they have DIY hair color, hair styling and hair care products to enhance the home hair experience.

Now let’s take a look at a few ways in which they differ:

Founded in 1948 by Hans Erich Dotter in Germany. Houston, USA is a massive market for them as of today.

Motto:
Closer to stylist. Closer to hair.

Parent company is Kao Corporation.

Comparatively, more known for their hair color products.

Patented technology includes IntraLipid Technology, Coenzyme technology, etc.

Founded in 1960 by Jheri Redding in the USA with the help of Paula Kent, the actress. Current headquarters are in New York.

Motto:
Always reach for products that blow you away!

Parent company is L’Oréal.

Comparatively, more known for their hair care products.

Patented technology includes ODS2 (Oil Delivery System) Technology, Protein Extract Technology, etc.

Now’s let’s look at the two companies in detail including the cool selling points that makes them unique!

Table of Contents

Goldwell

At Goldwell:

The stylist is the King.

Since its origins in Germany, they have designed, developed and manufactured their product lines to provide professional products and services to hair stylists. While today, they have customizable products for a salon as well as a home experience, at Goldwell’s core, the stylist still reigns high.

In fact:

Even their 2014 company remodeling gives priority to this core value.

Product Lines

While the Goldwell company has diversified into education and skincare, their core hair care lines are for:

Hair Color
Hair Care
Hair Styling
Hair Smoothing

Hair Color

Bold, Beautiful and Brilliant.

That is one way to describe Goldwell’s collections for permanent and semi/ demi permanent hair color.

In fact:

Check out these bold, beautiful and brilliant tones from two of their latest collections:

**Go Beyond – Editorial Collection 2020**

Their permanent and demi permanent collections come with various benefits such as durability, brilliance, patented technology, evenness and gentle chemical formula.
There are three main permanent hair color lines: Topchic, Elumen and Nectaya whose differences are detailed in the unique selling points section. Elumen is one of their permanent hair lines while Elumen Play is one of their demi-permanent color lines.

Topchic

Elumen

Nectaya

Hair Care

Whether you have undergone a color treatment, a keratin treatment, a perming session or are exposed to intense sun rays and pollution on a daily basis – hair pampering is a necessity to maintain healthy hair.

Goldwell has designed an array of shampoos, conditioners, treatments, masks, and serums to maintain healthy hair. Kerasilk, Dualsenses, Elumen and Elixir are various assortments they have to cater to their customers’ demands.

Kerasilk

Dualsenses

Elixir

Kerasilk is further subdivided into five systems: Kerasilk Color, Kerasilk Repower, Kerasilk Reconstruct, Kerasilk Revitalize and Kerasilk Control depending on your hair’s specific need. The first four are part of the hair care line while the last one (Kerasilk Control) is part of the hair smoothing line.

Hair Styling

Their hair styling products are customizable. They have assortments for:

Ultra Volume
Just Smooth
Curls and Waves
Creative Texture
Perfect Hold

Ultra Volume

Just Smooth

Curls and Waves

Creative Texture

Products from different assortments can be mixed and matched with the recommendation of the stylist you are using for your perfect hair look this season.

Perfect Hold

Hair Smoothing

Goldwell’s Hair Smoothing line has Kerasilk Control to smoothen the rough edges of your hair when your hair is having off-days. This system is for people with really frustrating hair that needs a little love to shine better. Moreover, Kerasilk’s Keratin Hair Smoothing treatment is a formaldehyde free treatment.

Featured Products

Here we have featured some of Goldwell’s best selling products.

Goldwell Kerasilk Control Shampoo

Goldwell Kerasilk Control Conditioner

Goldwell Kerasilk Control Intensive Smoothing Mask

Goldwell Dualsenses Color Brilliance Shampoo

Goldwell Dualsenses Color Brilliance Conditioner

Goldwell Dualsenses Rich Repair Restoring Shampoo

Unique Selling Points

Kao Salon Academy – Goldwell has a partnership with Kao Salon Academy. You can also get access to the Kao Salon Virtual Education if you want to make a career as a hairstylist. Their website carries extensive information about hair care and hair health while offering stylist programs worldwide to those interested.

Topchic, their first permanent hair color system covers grey 100% and is very gentle on hair because they use their patented coenzyme technology and creamy-smooth lotion with IntraLipid.

Elumen offers non-oxidative hair color options. This means it works as a direct dye without adverse chemical processes. When oxidation does not occur that means your hair does not go through oxidative stress that causes hair loss and hair breakage.

Nectaya offers ammonia free hair color options. This means your hair’s pH value does not rise to alarming levels during the coloring process which can lead to hair vulnerability.

Colorance, which is what Goldwell calls one of their demi permanent color options, works as a direct dye that goes on wet hair at home or at the salon. It can be used to highlight hair, apply undertones and enhance, refresh or correct colored hair. Colorance can even be used to cover grey hair or add a shine to natural hair, if that is what you desire.

Kerasilk, their hair care system for silk like hair is developed with engineered keratin and lightweight silk for optimum protection, beauty and strength.
Colorance Salon Services – Color Balancing, Color Perming and Mini Coloring.

Redken

Gentle but high performance products.

Redken came to be with the vision of Paula Kent, the American actress who wanted to see gentle but high performance products on the market as she was suffering from various allergic reactions to bleaching back in the 1950s in the Hollywood scene.

Even today, they have an array of products designed with patented technology for damaged, sensitive and polluted hair.