“It’s very easy to get lost in the sea of natural hair products.”
It is Montgomery’s opinion that once women who struggle with product junkyism realize exactly what they put in their hair isn’t necessarily the best for their hair, they will stop buying new products. But for all women that is not the problem.
Prater, who not only shops for products and tools for her hair, but also her daughter’s curly locks, credits her addiction also to habit.
“On a normal day when I just want to get out the house [I got to Ulta] because it just makes me feel good,” she said. “I leave feeling really good. It’s not until I leave that I have buyer’s remorse.”
So what’s a girl to do?
“You have to exercise restraint,” Norman said.
While she admits she is a product junkie, she claims to know when to put her credit card away.
“It’s very easy to get lost in the sea of natural hair products, but that’s why I put myself on a monthly spending limit, so I don’t go overboard,” Norman said.
For those who are tired of holding the title “product junkie,” but still struggle with the thought of not having the next best thing for natural hair, there are other options to choose from.
LolaGreensHair.com is a site where you can buy and sell gently used natural hair products for a fraction of the retail price. There you can get your fix without the full amount of guilt of buying an expensive product that you may not like. NaturallyCurly’s CurlTalk also has swap boards.
You can also turn to other naturals for help by attending natural hair meet-ups in your area. Some meet-ups will feature a product swap, where attendees bring in products they didn’t find useful. Attendees can then choose from products other people brought in. This way you’re not paying to try another product and also giving away a product that would have otherwise contributed to your unused collection.
If all else fails, you can always get help from someone you live with to help you break your addiction. For Prater, that is her husband.
“He helps me try to keep my spending on track, Prater says. “He tells me stop buying things and I think that helps me.”
