When you decide to take the plunge and go au natural, it can seem like any and every all natural product is fair game. After all it is all natural. So when you come across a cream for the skin or a pomade for cuticles, it’s only natural to wonder what it can do for your hair.
Recently on the CurlTalk forum, one of the members wondered if she could use Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream as a pomade on her hair since the ingredients are all natural and look good. Since it contains no ingredients on the “no no list,” it won’t make your hair fall out in clumps, and the chances of you going from shoulder length to TWA because of it are slim to none. But that doesn’t mean you should put anything and everything on your hair just because the ingredients seem yummy. Find out if this product is suitable for your hair. A quick glance at the ingredients list should tell you all you need to know.
For example, the ingredients list for the cuticle cream are: Sweet almond oil, Beeswax, Lemon peel oil, Cocoa seed butter, Candelilla wax, Tocopherol, Sunflower seed oil, Rosemary leaf extract, Soybean oil, Beta-carotene, Canola oil and vegetable oil.
In general when deciding if a product can be used in your hair here are some things to keep in mind:
- Your hair’s porosity. I have said it time and time again, one of the most important things to consider when purchasing products and creating a hair regimen is porosity. If your hair has low porosity, then using this product with heavy oils, butters and waxes like vegetable oil, shea butter and beeswax will only leave your hair oily and greasy.
- The suitability of your product for the task you want it to perform. In this case, if the product will be used for flyaways and slicking edges, then it should get the job done depending on how curly your edges are. However, as an all over sealer, for example, it may be too heavy. Likewise, if you need a heavy duty curl definer for your tresses, a thin, watery product will do nothing for your curls. If you need an all over oil, a thick oil may be too much and may be better suited for a hot oil treatment. Lastly, take into consideration that if you have fine hair, the stickiness of the pomade can cause hair breakage, especially if used for taming edges. It may do a wonderful job of holding the hair down, but it can also create a lot of stress on the hairline and rip it out. The thickness of the pomades in conjunction with brushing or pulling the hair back can result in thinned out edges over time.
- Your wash schedule. Candellila wax and beeswax are two heavy waxes that have the ability to build up on the hair very quickly. So for those of you ladies who are avid co-washers or who cringe at the mere thought of using a sulfate shampoo, steer clear of these two because you will have to use at least a low poo shampoo to get these waxes out. If you wash your hair often and use sulfate shampoos, then feel free to go ahead with these kinds of products if they work for you. If you only co-wash, also beware of butters, heavy oils and waxes.
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Final Thoughts
Before going all in with a product and using it on your whole head try it on a small patch of hair first. You want to ensure that the product mixes well with the other products in your regimen, dries clear, doesn’t dry out your hair and most important of all, actually works in terms of definition, moisture, shine and whatever else you use it for.
Also, I probably don’t need to tell you that you should never try out a new product when you have plans for a big event or when you have somewhere to go. You want to leave yourself the wiggle room of washing your hair if you need to.
As always remember to have love peace and curly haired bliss.
