Natural Hair Products -Let’s Get Real

Finding the right natural hair products is a task that can create madness and frustration for any Naturalista. For would-be Transitioners, the idea of changing hair products can feel like divorcing your best friend. This alone may stop someone from transitioning altogether. But it doesn’t need to be full of that much drama, my Queens. Read on for some simple advice.

Listen to your tresses

Your hair and scalp will tell you whether the products you’ve selected are a good match or not. If you’ve just washed and styled and your hair feels limp, dry, stiff, or insert-your-undesirable-adjective-here, there’s a good chance a product you’ve used is the culprit. There are other variables that also come into play, but hair tells the truth, 100% of the time. You just need to understand your hair’s dialect.

Simpler is better

It’s important to only use the minimum number and amount of products that your hair needs. Layer upon layer of products does not translate into health and manageability. In fact, too many layers of products can create flakes, itchy scalp, and buildup. This can also prevent good things like air and moisture from getting into the hair strands, resulting in dryness. You may have a good product, but more is not necessarily better.

Ingredients matter

For all you non-scientists, it can be intimidating to read the label. Fear not—you don’t have to be a chemist to learn some basic information about a product. There are some ingredients to definitely avoid—like mineral oil and petrolatum. The most important ingredient? Water! Make sure it is in the top five ingredients. As a matter of fact, the top five will usually account for 90% of what is in the product, the rest on that list are very small amounts.

Is ’Natural’ Better?

Not necessarily. Coconut oil and shea butter are natural but my hair hates them, and she has been thanking me everyday since I gave them up.

There is no ‘Holy Grail’

I hate to break it to you, but no natural hair product works great 100% of the time. Every product on the market performs in the context of environment, climate, humidity, and weather. So what works for one person in Arizona, will not work the same for another in Florida. So stop trolling YouTube for the ‘perfect product’. It doesn’t exist. And just because that YouTuber’s hair looks great, doesn’t mean that yours will with the same product.

Technique is King

Applying the right amount of product with the right handling techniques is a better indicator of how your hair can look and feel with any product. I would say technique is at least 50% of the great hair equation. It does take practice! Be patient with yourself and be consistent. Just like anything, this is the only way to learn.

The best way to diminish the intimidation as you step into the natural hair products aisle is to be informed! If you have a basic understanding of ingredients you have the ability to choose your products with confidence! I will be teaching this in my upcoming course, but in the meantime, I will be publishing a free ingredient cheat sheet offered only to my subscribers.

Would you like some easy guidelines for your product shopping? Download my free guide, “Product Ingredient Top Tips”!