Happy New Year! Hey all, I hope the new year has been a great start for you all! I am really excited about the New Year and my on again, off again, hair journey. My goal this year is to retain as much length as I can, for me and my 3 year old, as her journey started as soon as she was born. :) She loves her hair and I do my best to let her know, as often as possible, how beautiful her coils/curls/kinks are.
So on to my post. Throughout my hair journey of approximately 13 years (Wow), I have seen a lot, done a lot, and researched A LOT. It's amazing how products and techniques have come and gone, ingredients have continuously changed, some good, some not so good, and new products and tools seem to pop up every day in relation to the natural hair movement, etc.
But even with all of the changes, there is one thing that remains the same....Product Junky-Ism. It's almost comical how when someone posts a youtube video, or something on twitter or a blog, about how a certain store is discontinuing a certain line of products, and folks go running, lol! I'm serious because I have been there and saw that curl enhancing smoothie on clearance for $ 3.24, don't pick it up because I don't need it, I don't care how cheap it is, just to go back in that area and the shelf has been snatched clean.
With that being said, I am not a product junky and haven't ever been, but I have learned over the past decade that if you find something you REALLY love/like, make sure you have a back up. Because if you don't, you will look up one day and see that your favorite conditioner/shampoo/leave-in/deep conditioner/butter/cream has been discontinued, or the ingredients have been changed for the worst. Been there done that...WAY too many times to count. For example, my favorite butter of all time back in the day was Kemi Oyl Shea Butter Pomade. Without warning, it became harder and harder to find, and with no replacement, there I was, stuck. Eventually, after trying shea butter, mango butter, shealoe butter, avocado butter and Carol's daughter healthy hair butter, the last two became my faves. After CD became too expensive for s&h, avocado butter became my staple and is what I still use to this day. :)
Another example, good ol' original Creme of Nature shampoo. Need I say more? I use the new Argan oil, sulfate-free one, but I am considering switching from it as well, being that it is literally the ONLY product left in my bathroom that contains parabens. Yay for me! Another example, for those of you that remember Salon Selectives Loosely Defined, it was an awesome styler in the early 2000s and it was soooo cheap! After it was discontinued, naturals had a really hard time finding a replacement. Remember, all of this was before Miss Jessie's, Curls, Kinky-Curly, As I Am, Camille Rose, Jane Carter Solution, Shea Moisture, etc even hit the scene.
Today, we have SOOO many options, but that can lead to some serious product junky-ism and empty pockets. Many of the products on the market today are awesome, but expensive. I mean, some of these prices are jaw-dropping! It discourages a lot of folk. Folk that don't know that straight up water and vaseline/blue magic, good ol' school grease, will do the trick. :) Seriously, it will work, but I wouldn't use that either, not on a regular basis, just because I know what works for me. Unfortunately, there are those still on the hunt and their bathroom closets, drawers and cabinets are running over.
With all that being said, I've learned, throughout this journey, that that there is nothing wrong with doing something nice for yourself, every now and again, even if that means splurging a little on a hair or body product.
The key is once you find something that works, stick with it, but again, there is nothing wrong with a little back up. :)
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