How To Find The Right Hair Products For Your Natural Hair

We see you. Standing in a bathroom full of hair products and overwhelmed with their failures. The gel that works great alone, the shampoo that smells wonderful but strips your hair (your friend loves it and you want to love it too). We have to look past pretty labels, cheap prices and bottles that look great in our shower and find things that work hard for our curls. If you’ve found yourself in this conundrum – with a bathroom full of hair products that aren’t working the way you expected, here are five ways to tell if you’re using the wrong hair products and five ways to find the right hair products starting today.

YOUR SHAMPOO MAY BE WRONG IF…

After you wash your hair it’s overly dry and stripped or it’s fading your hair color. Your shampoo should clean your hair but not make it feel as though it’s a ball of hay. A good shampoo for curly hair (whether it’s a clarifier or not) is formulated with oils and cleans your curls but do not wreck them. your scalp should be treated like a delicate silk blouse. Look for gentle, botanical ingredients in your shampoo. Not everybody can wash with a bottle of $1.50 shampoo like Suave or VO5. You may find that your scalp needs a bottle of shampoo that costs a little more. Don’t skimp. You can start to find your personal best in our The Best Shampoo For Your Curls Guide.

No one wants to spend a grip on color only to have it fade because of the wrong shampoo. This fix is really simple and it’s all about finding the most moisturizing shampoo for color treated hair. To make sure you’re using the best shampoo for your hair color, read The Best Shampoos And Conditioners For Curly Color Treated Hair.

YOUR CONDITIONER MAY BE WRONG IF…

Your hair and or scalp feels coated and greasy and itches. Conditioner gets many a curly girl excited because that’s where we get our “softness” back in the washing process. because of this, many of us go for the thickest, most custard type of conditioners we can find. But thick does not always mean the best depending on your hair and scalp sensitivity to build up.

Unlike shampoo, conditioner is not formulated for your scalp because it “leaves behind” its ingredients which is what makes our hair feel soft, so there is no need to coat your scalp in conditioner. However, it’s hard to avoid getting conditioner on your scalp in the process of applying it to your natural hair. with that, look for a conditioner that will help to keep your scalp in balance with clarifying properties like honey, lemon and mint. You want a conditioner that moisturizes and also washes away clean leaving your scalp fresh. We like Desert Essence Coconut Conditioner, Dessert Essence Lemon Tea Tree Conditioner, Philip B Oud Royal Forever Shine Conditioner and Eden BodyWorks Peppermint Tea Tree All Natural Conditioner

YOUR LEAVE-IN MAY BE WRONG IF…

Just like your wash out conditioner, your hair feels coated and your scalp is itching like crazy, or your hair feels great when you apply the leave-in to your wet hair but then feels like you didn’t use a leave-in once your hair is dry. A good leave-in goes on light and and does not make your hair feel heavy or dry. Unfortunately, lots of leave-ins are mostly chemicals and cones which work on some heads of hair for only hours. If your leave-in leaves a lot to be desired, make sure your leave-in has moisturizing/sealing properties like shea butter, argan, olive, coconut, jojoba, neem or coco butter in the first five to seven ingredients. If these are lower on the list then you are not getting as much of the “good stuff” and your leave-in may be a waste. Light leave-ins we like are: As I Am Leave-In Conditioner and Desert Essence Coconut Conditioner (which can be used as a leave-in), Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner, Giovanni Direct Leave-In Weightless Moisture Conditioner and Kinky Curly Knot Today

YOUR STYLERS (BUTTERS, CUSTARDS CREAMS, ETC.) MAY BE WRONG IF…

You find flakes everywhere, your hair is dry or greasy after using it or if you hair takes forever to dry. Not all products play nice together. Your favorite curling custard and your favorite hair gel may hate each other together. This happens for many reasons, but ultimately one product brings too much the table in the combination like alcohol for instance which could lead to dry hair or oils which could lead to greasiness. If this is the case, try a new gel or try to use less of one product instead of equal parts. sometimes finding the right amounts to mix is the simple answer.

If your styler makes your hair dry and you feel the need to reapply hours later, follow the rules for picking a conditioner that we laid out above. you should not have to apply a styler to your hair every day if it works properly to moisturize your hair. Most effective stylers will reactivate with just a spritz of water the next day. it’s a simple and easy fix once you know what ingredients to look for. Your hair will let you know when it’s happy.

If your hair takes forever to dry, check your products for humectants like honey and glycerin. humectants draw moisture to your hair and the biggest culprit in constantly wet hair is glycerin. Products with glycerin (the most commonly used humectant) can be great to use sometimes especially if you live in a dry-climate area, but if you live in humidity driven weather, glycerin may end up leaving you with that soul glo essence. If this is the case, but you still like glycerin, look for products where glycerin is low on the ingredients list. again, the right amount could be the key.

YOUR OILS AND NATURAL BUTTERS MAY BE WRONG IF…

Your hair is constantly greasy or overly dry after using them. There are only a few oils that can moisturize/penetrate the hair shaft (argan, coconut and olive oil being a few) with all others just sitting on top of your hair. These other oils instead work as “sealants” and to seal your hair properly you need water first to lock in or seal in moisture. If you are applying sealing oils and butter on top of dry hair your just “sealing in” dryness making your hair prone to breakage and brittleness. If you want to use your oil as a refresher, spritz your curls with water first and then use a small amount of your oil or butter. Refreshers we like are: Pantene Moisture Mist Light Conditioning Detangler, Rene Furterer Okara UV Radiance Enhancing Spray, Ouidad Botanical Boost Moisture Infusing & Refreshing Spray and As I Am CocoShea Moisturizer Hair Spray

When it comes to the expert ability to find the right hair products for your natural hair, you’re half way there. You know you need something that works or works better but you’re not just sure what. Use these tips to weed out the bad eggs and to figure out how to reuse your products for more effective styling that will save you both time and money.