When I first jumped on the natural train, I did my research. When I start something, I go hard. So I looked through thread after thread on several different forums, and within a few days, I knew all the lingo from TWA to co-wash.
I wanted big, beautiful natural hair and I wanted it bad. I rid myself of my shampoos, got a TON of conditioner and carefully looked through my stash to trash anything with petrolatum and mineral oil. When I was through I was down to just conditioner. I needed more products.
When I was done making my list and checking it twice, I had almost every popular product on it with a budget that didn’t quite match. I may not have tried everything, but two years later I have sampled quite a few products and while I have been smitten with some, I have loathed others.
I’ve done the all-natural thing and to be quite honest, I think natural hair products are overrated. Now before you get all upset please reread the sentence before this one where I said and I quote, “I THINK.” That means it’s my opinion, and since this is the month of revelations, I’ll tell you in detail exactly why I hold this opinion.
Hair Products Are Almost All The Same
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike all-natural products, I just refuse to get swept up in the hype surrounding them.
I have on many occasions expressed my disdain for shea, and only of late have companies expanded their butter repertoire to include other butters (yay, more butters for me to hate”>. But seriously, you don’t have to hate butters to hate the repetitiveness of natural hair products. Sometimes in one product line you get a moisturizer, styler and sealant with ingredient lists that almost mimic each other with different ratios.
I totally get that there are only so many inexpensive, all-natural ingredients that are good for the hair to work with, but variety is the spice of life, and right now it’s all a bit bland. When I was new to naturalness, I went on my hunt for my holy grail all-natural hair products. My hair usually responded two ways to the products: it either loved or hated it. I mean when most moisturizers are shea based and most stylers use aloe vera or flax seed for hold, if you like one you pretty much like them all, and vice versa.
They’re Hard to Get
Apart from a few companies, most product lines are affordable. They may not be as dirt cheap as the stuff from the beauty supply store, but considering it doesn’t have the gunk and goop, the prices are pretty darn good. The issue is really with availability. Most companies are only internet based or found in select stores in select cities, mostly in the US.
That means for the unlucky few who can’t get it locally, they have to pay shipping fees that might cost more than the product itself. Having shopped online twice for products, I can’t go through that experience again. I kept placing items in the basket then deleting them after constantly checking the shipping costs. I’m no mathematician, but $11 plus shipping for an 8 oz. bottle is great, but when you have a tight budget, $11 for 16 oz. of product from down the road minus the shipping is a heck of a lot better.
Natural Hair Products Aren’t For Everyone
Since this month is all about confessions, I’m just going to say it: my hair loves silicones. The kicker is, though, that I’m not the only one.
While the idea of all-natural is great in theory, the truth is, modern day science is a beautiful thing. My hair is always left soft, shiny, moisturized and split-end free with silicones because they are created to do just that. I know what my hair likes, and while it doesn’t fall off when I use the all-natural stuff, it just looks better with the stuff from the BSS.
Now I’m just going to sit here and wait patiently for the mob of women who will swear up and down that their hair has never been better since going au natural and that silicones are the devils creation, and to that I will simply say, “To each her own.”
Final Thoughts
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike all-natural hair products, I just refuse to get swept up in the hype surrounding them.
I like the premise of going full throttle with the all-natural thing and not just stopping with the relaxers, but ridding ourselves of all chemicals. However, I am more concerned with what is going into my body than what is lying on my hair. I first have to rid myself of my junk food and snacking habits before I go on a mission to eradicate sulfates and silicones from my regimen. The future health of my hair is directly related to what I eat today, while the current health of my hair can be aided with ingredients that those all-natural products just don’t include.
Of course, I know many of you will take issue with this article, but it still felt good to confess. I mean, come on, I can’t be the only one! If there are any women out there who share my feelings, then leave me a comment below.
And, as always, remember to have love, peace and curly haired bliss.
