How to Use Natural Hair Products That Don’t Work

It seems that the majority of us have fallen in the category of “product junkie” the moment we decide to embark on this natural hair journey. We scope the internet to find vidoes and blogs to help us identify products that would work for our specific hair type. Then, before we even realize it, we have a cabinet filled with products that did NOT live up to our expectations.

Before you completely give up on these hit & miss products and toss them out, I might be able to help you. As you already know, natural hair products are NOT cheap, so years back I decided to figure out how to use up all the products I’d purchased with my hard-earned money.

CONDITIONERS

There are many ways for us curly girls  to utilize conditioners. They can be used as moisturizers/leave-ins; they are great for hair treatments, such as pre-poos and deep conditioning treatments. [Pre-poo is a treatment done on the hair before it is washed.]

STYLERS

Stylers usually promise to give your great definition from day 1. If yours is a fail, try to use it when you’re giving your hair a break from a lot of manipulation. Ex: medium/mini twists

I often set my hair in twists and let them be for 4 to 5 days and then take them down.

GELS

Not all gels work well with other products. If you can’t seem to find anything that works with the one you have, try doing short-term styles with it, only adding oil and water. Ex: Wash and Go, Bun, Ponytail, etc…

You can only allow these styles to stay for short periods of time…like 2-3 days max. Depending on the harshness of the gel, not having a moisturizer as a barrier for your strands can cause severe dryness and breakage.

Again, do not allow these styles to stay more than a couple days. And even then, I recommend adding water when needed to loosen up the gel cast (the stiffness caused by gel).

SHAMPOOS

I’ve  come across some shampoos that are extremely drying to my hair. The first thing I’d try is diluting the product with water. If it’s still too drying to the hair, only use it after a pre-poo treatment consisting on conditioner only or conditioner and oil. The moisture from the treatment eliminates a lof of the drying from the shampoo.

I’ve used shampoos to handwash my delicates. They can also be used as a body wash (avoiding sensitive areas, of course).

OILS

You can always try adding oils you don’t like to other products you use, not just for your hair but for your skin as well.

Ex: Pre-poo with conditioner or by itself

Add oil to your rinse out conditioner

Add oil to conditioner for a deep treatment (adding heat if desired for 10-15 min)

Add oil to Body Lotion

Rub oil generously on feet and cover with socks overnight for softer feet.

If  you have found other ways to use your products, please share in the comment section below.