This article represents part 2 of a series on creating a natural hair regimen. To read part 1, click here.
Step 1: Clean out your closet or underneath your sink!
It’s time to go to the product cemetery and exhume the dead. LOL! Ok, no more mortician jokes. Seriously, take all of your hair products and accessories out of the closet or cabinet to see what you have. Take a heart-to-hair inventory of products and accessories that you have and make the decision to keep or trash products based on three things:
1. Your budget
2. Your personal want and desire to keep the product – only keep products that you’re actually going to use
3. The expiration date of the product
The easiest and the most expensive thing to do is throw it ALL in the trash and start over. However, you could easily be throwing money away if you decide to repurchase these products later.
In How To Create A Natural Hair Regimen – Part 1 it explained what is needed to build a good natural hair regimen: pre-poo, cleanser or shampoo, protein treatments, moisturizing conditioner, deep conditioner and sealant.
Natural Hair Regimen Tip: Some products can serve dual roles. For example, oils that are used as your pre-poo can also be used as your sealant.
Step 2: To Buy or Not To Buy Expensive Hair Products
I can honestly say that some of the most inexpensive (cheapie) products have worked well on my hair. I usually only pay about $.99 for shampoo and conditioner (V05 or Suave). I love it when I can catch them on sale for as cheap $.79 – that’s when I stock up on a few extras! When I started my natural hair journey, inexpensive products benefited me in a major way. They gave me the opportunity to experiment without paying an arm and a leg for products that I was unsure about.
I know it may sound crazy, but sometimes we must stop and ask ourselves: What purpose will this product serve in my regimen? Your answer has to be sound and logical. You have a choice to buy or not to buy the expensive hair product. So what do you do?
Natural Hair Tip: Please do not let the fact that the product smells good be the deciding factor for your purchase.
Step 3: Give Your Products a Chance
Giving your products a chance is about commitment, experimentation and note taking. Yes, you have to take notes. Plan to use products exclusively for 4 consecutive weeks before you make a decision to repurchase or discard. This should give you ample time to use the products in varies ways to get a true feel of what the products can do and to see if they live up to their purpose. It is fair to expect that your hair’s reaction maybe not be favorable, at first. However, continued and consistent use can possibly give a different result once your hair has a chance to adapt to the new products.
Natural Hair Tip: Prior to using new products clarify your hair so that you can start with a clean slate.
Call to Action:
1. Clean out your product inventory. Take a picture of your product cemetery, upload it to your profile and share it with the community.
2. Create a monthly natural hair product budget.
3. Determine what method you will use when faced with purchasing inexpensive vs. expensive hair products. Let us know your plan by commenting below.
To read part 3, click here.
About Jael Byrd
Excellent article! Looking forward to trying this regime!