Girl, what you be puttin’ in your hair?

Let me preface this entry by stating that I do not work for nor am here to endorse any of the products I’m describing. I’m just telling you what I’ve tried and what I liked and disliked about it. That’s the beauty of this new blog era. Say what the fuck you want, right?

With that said, here we go…

If there’s a product out there that claims to tame, I have tried it. Ok, maybe not all of them, but a lot of them. I’ve been eyeing the Carol’s Daughter stuff but just haven’t taken the plunge because I’m not convinced that expensive “grease” is going to do wonders for me other than make my hair smell good. Don’t get me wrong, I use some salon grade products, but that’s my reason for not being so excited about trying out any more of the fancy stuff, even if Jada Pinkett-Smith is ’bout it-’bout it. So, I just brought down my basket of hair products (I should take a picture so you can see how many different things I have in there) and I can tell you a bit about what I’ve tried.

STARTING OUT

When I first started out, my hairdresser back in NC suggested that I use John Frieda’s frizz-ease hair serum (extra hold) then the mousse (Corrective Styling Mousse) from the same product line. I like Frizz-Ease but it used to cost $4.99 for that tiny ass bottle and now they sell the same bottle for $7.99. I guess people caught on. The mousse thing was ok, but not totally right for my hair. Mr. Greek recently explained that nappy hair (I inserted “nappy” when he really said something like “hair as curly as yours”) does not respond well to mousse and that cremes or gels are better. For me, I had long found out that I don’t like how mousse feels when dry and it sometimes leaves some caked on gook (my technical terminology).

OLE FAITHFUL

From the start to this very day, I have been using Smooth ‘N Shine’s Hair Polisher- Extra Strength. It’s like 4 bucks and you can find it just about everywhere (big box discount retailers, grocery stores, drug stores, etc…). It’s that product line like Dark’N Lovely that you’re bound to find when there’s even a modest “black section” in the store which is important for someone like me who keeps moving further and further away from my identity population. The hair polisher is one of the last things I’ll put on my hair to soften the affect of the gel and give a little shine.

I also always have a bottle of Matrix Biolage Shine Renewal handy. I don’t use it all the time anymore, but it’s good to have in my hair product collection when I want some light moisturizer. I first bought it at Trade Secret when this lady who worked there said she always sprays a little in her son’s hair before she picks it. It comes in a spray pump and, again, you can find it just about anywhere- especially since salon grade products are starting to be sold in regular retail stores.

I also keep that black plastic container of Pro Style protein gel that every black woman must own. It works when I want to just slick my nappy shit back and not be bothered. I must admit that I haven’t used it in a while now. Disgusting as it has always looked, it works.

WHAT THE HELL AM I USING NOW?

Pantene has come out with that Relaxed & Natural line that I find to be great. If you were to sum up most of what I use now, it would be this line. They have long figured out how to deal with the nappy headed population even before this product line came out. I remember in college (that was like 15 yrs ago) that one of my roommates used to always use Pantene’s shampoo and conditioner. You know how us girls (well…not me…but lots of girls I guess) often riffle through and fondle people’s stuff when you’re in the dorm since everything you own is on blast in those tiny ass rooms…even more tiny at my HBCU…but don’t get me started… Pantene users in college used to always get “ooh girl! You use Pantene? That’s real nice.” <insert Baltimore accent…especially saying real…I can’t figure out how to spell it phonetically…hee-hee!>. That’s back in the days of Sulfur 8 and Pink Oil Moisturizer (I admit that I break that one out every now and then) and that gigantic blue can of moisturizing spray you got from the beauty supply shop.

I digress…

Even my high siddity (sp??) hair stylist I used to use in DC even said Pantene was a good inexpensive product to use. With that said, I now use their Daily Oil Creme Moisturizer as my first layer and sometimes I’ll add a little of their Breakage Defense Conditioner (even though I know conditioners should not be left in our hair). First of all, the creme moisturizer smells fantastic. So much so, that for the longest time I would be in a room at work and people would be saying “what smells so good?” I eventually figured out (or maybe a co-worker did) that it was my hair. Hey, whatever it takes to get some white girl love at work. I will never be a carbon copy of them with blonde hair (Who made that a standard for white women? I feel bad for them; it’s not always a good choice) and low rise pants that don’t seem offended by their flat asses as opposed to when I try to rock that style of pants.

I started using TRESemme Curl Care’s Defining Gel- Bouncy Curls- extra hold. I found it at Walmart and love it. Unfortunately, I now have a guilty conscious when I walk in Walmart and buy stuff (those of you who really know me, understand what I mean). So, I’ve had to try something else out lately. Lo’ and behold, Pantene Pro-V has Curl Defining- Scrunching Gel (extra hold). It works well and I can find it at lots of places.

SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONERS

Mr. High Siddity DC Stylist got me into Kenra’s shampoo and conditioners from back when I was still rockin’ relaxed hair. To be honest, I bought a booty load of it when one of those Trade Secret stores was going out of business in my last hometown of Cary, NC. It was at a great discount so I loaded up on that, a ceramic flat iron, the Matrix Biolage stuff (I sometimes used to use the hair serum they make as well). I just have a lot of the Kenra shampoo and conditioner left. It’s good so I still use it. I also have a gigantic bottle of guess what?…That’s right! Pantene Pro-V wha-wha! Every now and then I flip the script and wash with that. I also use the Pantene’s Relaxed and Natural’s Breakage Defense conditioner as a conditioner on occasion or mixed in with my Kenra conditioner.

THINGS I’M TRYING OUT BECAUSE IT WAS CHEAP AT MARSHALLS OR TJ MAXX OR BIG LOTS

You know how those stores have a section with a pile of hair products and soaps and stuff. Being in retail and seeing the stuff we sell off to stores like those, I’m just more tuned into how much of a bargain you can get from places like your Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Big Lots of the world. While I normally feel an anxiety attack coming on or my obsessive compulsive tendencies to organize all the clutter, if I just take a deep breathe and allow myself to the sift through that section with all the hair and body care stuff, I just might find me a bargain or two. I recently bought Nioxin Smoothing Reflectives Silk Elixir Leave in Hair Repair for Medium to Coarse Hair (who the hell comes up with these long ass names?) for $4.99 at Marshalls. It’s ok, but I don’t feel compelled to buy it again.

I also bought Nioxin Smoothing…Styling Gel Extra Hold, Definition and Shine for $4.99 at Marshalls. Again, it’s ok but I’m not feeling compelled to buy it again. The consistency is runny, I don’t feel it does the job so well, and it doesn’t smell that good. But I’ll use both products until they run out…or not…not sure yet.

I’m sure there’s more products I’ve tried along the way, and sometimes…when I feel completely defenseless against my God given kinks or am simply in a no-fuss mood…I just opt to go free as a bird. Plop a little moisturizer on and let nappiness begin.

So there you have it. As long as you recognize that there’s no miracle product for our hair…even though we all wish sometimes…remember when Rio came out? They had the compelling infomercial about their chemical free relaxer that would gradually give you “good hair”. Talk about playing to the emotions of black folks. Of course, they got sued when people’s hair started falling out. What you got is what you got. As Tim Gunn from Project Runway says, “make it work!”

How about you? What have you tried? What hair products are you collecting in your bathroom?