Typically "black" products for "white" hair
 

Hi!

I've been pretty much without products for the past two years now. I aim for chemical-free products if I do pick up the occasional bottle of clarifying shampoo, etc. My question is, is it a good idea to try a product by a company whose products are typically for "black" hair? I have thick 3a hair that is not particularly oily or dry, and is naturally pretty soft and smooth without product. I'd really like to try Nubian Heritage's Heat Protect Keratin Hair & Scalp Serum. I haven't straightened my hair in years and I want to be able to do so, but I know I need something to protect my hair. This is the only all-natural product I could find. There are also several other products I've been interested at Curlmart, but I'm wondering if these products are aimed towards thicker and drier hair, and as a result might make mine greasy or heavy. Has anyone had any experiences with this? I've used a bit of Argan oil and Jojoba oil on my ends and it seems to work fairly well, I'm just nervous about something I would be using in more copious amounts. Thanks!

You should use the products that work for your hair. For instance if your hair is dry you should use a moisturizer. It doesn't matter if its marketed towards black people or white people. Base your product decisions on the ingredients not the packaging. The checkout lady questioned me when I bought ufdcm but oh well. It works.

Thanks! That's really my gut, and I was so excited to find a product like this one, because most heat protectants contain a lot of nasty silicone, which is probably good for shielding against the heat, but I don't really want that gunk in my hair. I'm mainly just worried that the product is a little oil-heavy, but I guess there's no better way than to try it myself!

+1

I don't care whether a product comes from the ethnic section or not. I use what my hair likes which tends to be more natural ingredients. There are many white women on CT who use Shea Moisture for example and love it. and it is black owned company. I have never understood the point of people coming on CT with hair problems and telling us their racial makeup. Especially if they but don't tell us porosity, density, texture as in fine or coarse, or if they are protein sensitive. I don't respond to those threads because it is not like we can say "all people of x race should use y product." so I have no advice to offer.

+1,000,000

Hair comes in textures and properties not races. The whole ethnic product thing is just a marketing plan used to get certain people to buy products. If you have hair that craves moisture, try moisture restoring and conditioning products. Most products in the ethnic isle, us as ethnic curlies cant even use because they have alot of greases or not good ingredients.

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But many new brands are making products that really do help moisture craving ethnic hair, like shea moisture, kinky curly, curls, just to name a few and they dont say or put a black face on the package. It just says for curly haired people. The stores still put them in the "ethnic isle" though. Lol

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I shop in the "ethnic" section because I find that these products are usually the best for me. My hair needs more moisture than the other section has to offer but just be careful and read what the products are for (this goes for anything really). Also be careful of ingredients because I know a lot of stuff in the ethnic section are very oily and say stuff like "caution: hair is flammable" lol Scary! As long as you know your hair properties, just get what's good for your hair no matter who it is marketed to. I do like that the newer products like the Shea Moisture and Curls line don't put a face on the cover, it just says "For wavy, curly, kinky or coily hair" Well, that's me! lol :D

I agree. Putting faces on the covers of products just confuses people.

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My feelings EXACTLY.

I just remembered some white and curly friends of mine absolutely love Pantene R and N because it really moisturizes their hair. They told me everything they go to pay the checkout people shoot them strange looks. But they don't care one bit. I also recall someone on Curl Talk who is white saying she was upser because she was at Sally's asking about As I Am and the sales person told her it wasn't for her type of hair because she's white.

Its not gonna burn you....

Many hair products whether marketed towards white people or black people have similar ingredients. Use whatever works for your hair.

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I never thought of that!! Lol.

I think stores need to rename the "ethnic" section to the "curly" section. Because anyone with curly hair (Anglo, African American, Asian, or Hispanic) can benefit from using the products that are placed in the ethnic section. I knew someone who had curly hair (she was Caucasian) and her hair was very dry, but she would not purchase any of the products that were in the ethnic section because she said that they were for black people.

And isn't everyone "Ethnic"? LoL! That's always been weird to me.

But you're right. You all are. Products are products. When I was relaxed I would use all "black" products. As a natural I use Tresemme, gels, Loreal and lots of stuff marketed to white people. I mix them up! And my results are great. As many black products bomb in my hair as white products.

So basically, try them out! Your friends may think you're nuts, but your hair will look AWESOME! :)

Yeah, I was going to point that out. Everyone, regardless of race, has ethnicity. Due to a whole bunch of socio-political issues, white just got tagged the default in the U.S. But white is no less ethnic than brown or black.

Thanks for the input everyone! I had a feeling it wouldn't make a difference, and the feedback definitely confirmed it. Just bought a bottle :)

This thread reminds me of how my sis-in-law (who does not relax her hair but constantly heat straightens) commented about how healthy and thick my hair is and asked what conditioner I use. I told her I use Giovanni 50:50 with added oils and honey for DC and Suave or VO5 for a RO. She kind of wrinkled up her nose like something smelled bad and told me I use "white people's stuff" in my hair. I just laughed at her. She told me to see if I was still going to be laughing once those, "white girl products" take all my hair out. That just made me laugh even harder. People are something...

I'm colored blind when it comes to haircare products and I wish retailers would do the same because hair is hair. Has nothing to do with the race or ethnic make-up.


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