Moving or relocating with natural hair can be daunting, particularly when it comes to finding a new products that meet your curly hair needs. When I relocated from the United States to Australia earlier this year, my first resort was to hoard hair products. As I wasn’t too sure how the natural hair product market would be in the land down under, I purchased several of my Holy Grail products in bulk, because prior to my arrival, I did not know any Australian natural hair bloggers or vloggers or Australian-made curly hair products. Additionally, all my friends and family here had warned me about “something in the water” that weakens your hair. Yikes! Being that I love my curly hair, I used my precious US-bought products sparingly. But as time would have it, my product stash diminished and I began the hunt to restock some old favorites and find some new treasures.
As a naturalista in Australia, you could opt to buy online, try locally made, organic hair products, or build a D.I.Y product stash. Let’s dig into the first two options – if you’d like to read some DIY recipes, click here.
House Of Beauty World
This online store stocks hundreds of hair products, such as SheaMoisture and Cantu. They ship internationally to Australia at affordable rates. You can find the following deep conditioner and oils on their site.
- Cantu Argan Oil Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream
- Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque
- Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Extra Moisture Transitioning Milk
- Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque
- ApHogee Two Step Protein Treatment
- Tropical Isle Living Jamaican Black Castor Oil
- Olde Jamaica African Shea Butter
iHerb
This affordable online store stocks an even wider variety of hair goodies. I’ve also heard that they ship out products quite fast. Trust me, being that Australia is a remote continent in the South Pacific, this is a huge plus!
- Giovanni Smooth as Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo
- Aubrey Organics GPB Protein Deep Conditioner
- Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose Conditioner Moisture Intensive
K-Mart & Target
If you’re looking for combs, brushes, hair ties, bobby pins and hair accessories, you’re bound to find plenty here. K-Mart & Target also stock a wide variety of internationally known electronic styling tools like blow-dryers and curling wands.
Coles and Woolworths
If you like to add glycerin, honey, apple cider vinegar, or aloe vera juice to your hair products, you’ll find plenty here. If you’re after organic extra virgin oils like coconut oil, olive oil, and sweet almond oil, you’ll find these in the food aisle. (Thank goodness for nutritional food items that are just as great for our hair!”>
Boutique stores
There are several boutique stores on Swanston Street in Melbourne with hidden gems, so feel free to roam. It’s perfectly fine to be a tourist in your new found home!
Happy African Variety Store at Dandenong, Melbourne
If you’re looking for braiding hair, afro wigs, and weaving hair, check out this store. You’re bound to meet a fellow naturalista.
4 My Curls
This online shop carries curl favorites such as Aunt Jackie’s, Bounce Curl, Cantu, Curl Junkie, Curls, Jessicurl and SheaMoisture. You can also buy sample sizes to test out the products before you commit to the full size.
Afro Puffs
This online shop was opened by Tomasina Boone, former Advertising Beauty Director of Essence Magazine and Associate Publisher of Hype Hair Magazine. You’ll find Holy Grail brands like Mixed Chicks, SheaMoisture, tgin, The Mane Choice, ECO Styler, and and Miss Jessie’s.
Are you a naturalista in Australia? Where do you buy your hair products? Leave us a note down below and let’s help each other out!