Confessions of a Product Junkie
2010 is winding down and yesterday I got my hair straightened for the new year. Woo-hoo!
Despite the fact that people tend to think my hair is fake or assume I got a relaxer and start scolding me for it, I enjoy rocking straight hair occasionally because it’s a nice change of pace. But when I don’t have my curly coif I miss walking umbrella-free in light rain and most of all I miss playing around with products.
Avid readers might remember that this summer I decided to try out several different natural hair care products and write reviews of them. Well, I got hooked. Now I’m always looking for new products to try and I tend to change my regimen each month. This makes answering the question, “What do you use on your hair?” a bit difficult to answer because I could go on for an hour. Sometimes I use Kinky Curly Curling Custard. Other times I use Hair Milk Lite by Carol’s Daughter. I’m also a fan of the Leave-In Conditioner by Mixed Chicks. When I’m broke and need to opt for drug store brands I buy Garnier Fructis Anti-Humidity Smoothing Milk or Leave-In Conditioner.
Some folks may say it’s silly to keep trying different products, that once you find something that works you should just stick with it. But I disagree. We product junkies are at an advantage. If you swear by only one smoothing milk what will you do if that product is discontinued or if you use your last dollop of leave-in while you’re out of town and can’t get your hands on a new bottle? We product junkies never have that problem. If Whole Foods is out of Kinky Custard I can run to Sephora and grab some Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk. Looks like I finally have an addiction that’s actually good for me.
I’m really eager to try a product by Miss Jessie’s but they are so expensive I can’t do too much experimenting. So any readers who are curly girls and have had success with this line, please send me some recommendations.
I learned years ago my hair needed me to stop switching it up and go for cheap product. I haven’t used shampoo in maybe 6 years. I use ONLY Pantene conditioner (“For Women of Color” – none of the other products are moisturizing enough), and I only use L’Oreal gels. I start with Mega on the day I “clean” my hair, then use Melting for a few days. In between “cleanings” every 3 days or so, I only spritz, gel up my hands, and re-twirl where I need to. I miss all the old products, but my hair looks better than it has in years. btw – if you’ve not yet read it, there’s a book called “Curly Girl” by Lorraine Massey that’s awesome. It helps you identify your curl pattern, then what to do to care for your hair once you figure that out. This sounds ridiculous when I say this, but that book changed my life.
I haven’t read Curly Girl but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’m going to add it to my books to read in 2011. I know a few curly girls who have stopped using shampoo. I tried it but the result was an itchy scalp. Not sure why it didn’t work for me. I also tried Pantene’s Women of Color line and that didn’t work for me either. It surprisingly left my hair dry. I’m glad you found what works for you and how lucky for you that your magic products are inexpensive! Thanks for reading the blog and I’m looking forward to reading that book.
I do, for the record, have to scrub my scalp really well when I condition it. I use about 1/2 a bottle of conditioner each time, and then dig my nails into my scalp to make sure it’s getting all of the itchy stuff out…
That books sounds interesting. I tried the Pantene for Women of Color when it first came out and it just doesnt work for me. Aussie and Pantene for Curly hair are awesome conditioners.
I have read about the no shampooing thing also and I’m like Javacia my scalp gets too itchy and also my hair tends to build up way too much residue. I shampoo only about once a week and cowash the other times.