I've never used a hairball product. My two cats groom themselves equally but my orange cat (Trevor) tends to bring up a hairball about once a month while my white cat (Andy) has never brought up a hairball at all. Trevor's coat has a much more dense undercoat than Andy's so I am assuming he is taking more in. I brush them both about every other day (they love it!) so maybe that helps. When I do brush, I always get much more hair from Trevor.