Once upon a time I was addicted to expensive hair products. My bathroom looked as though it was straight out of a beauty salon. There was every type of conditioner, gel, mousse, shampoo, hair oil, you could possibly imagine. I also had a hair partner in crime. My friend Michele was about 2 yrs into transitioning to natural hair and we would trade products all the time. We would literally go shopping in each others bathrooms to test out each others products. I didn’t realize how much money I was spending on hair products until I started going though my receipts one day. That’s when I realized there had to be better and cheaper alternatives.

I was faithful to brands such as Aveda, Carols Daughter, Nexxus and a plethora of others until I got tired of spending beaucoup dollars. Now my hair arsenal is drastically cheaper and the results have even been better than any $25 bottle of Aveda conditioner I could have bought. The lesson I learned was that expensive doesn’t always = better.

So here’s a peep into my hair “arsenal” and routine.

Hot Oil Treatment 2xs a month:

• Add three tablespoons of olive and three tablespoons of canola oil to your microwave safe pan.
• Stir thoroughly Place the container in the microwave and heat until warm.
• Once the mixture emerges from the microwave, let it set for a few minutes. Place some of the oily mixture onto your hands (don’t pour directly onto your hair) and start applying it carefully to the hair starting at the ends and working up to the scalp.
• Once the mixture has been applied, wrap your hair in a warm towel and leave on for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, wash the mixture out of your hair and follow up with a mild shampoo

Shampoo & Conditioner:

I said farewell to expensive and overpriced products when I found the Organix line at my local GROCERY store. I am addicted to their Coconut Milk line and I find that it works well with my natural hair. If you can’t find the Organix line at your local grocery or Target, Amazon carries their complete line of hair products!

I only shampoo my hair once a week, but I do condition it on a daily basis with Organix Coconut Milk Leave-In Nourishing Milk.

Styling Products:

Two of my favorite styling products happen to be two of the cheapest I’ve come across in a long time. I am a faithful user of Mixed Chicks Leave-In Conditioner and at only $16.00 a bottle, it is definitely worth it. One thing I love about the product is that a little goes a long way, so a bottle usually lasts me a couple of months.

Another inexpensive buy that I usually purchase in threes is Vigorol Curl Cream, and I only know of one website that sells it. This is perfect for controlling your curls and it doesn’t leave them stiff or dry and it also smells very good! At less than $4.00 a jar, it’s better than any other product that I’ve seen that would cost $20.00+ a jar!

Hair Growth:

I mentioned last week about a hair growth remedy that I use, and a few people must have thought I lost my mind. Yes, I use a generic version of MONISTAT on my scalp because it contains Miconazole Nitrate, which is proven to grow hair. Monistat isn’t the only product that has this ingredient, you can also use any type of anti-fungal cream that you can find at any drugstore.

If you’re still hesitant about putting Monistat on your scalp, there’s always Sulu Hair, which is a product that was made by well known horse grooming manufacturers Shapleys. They were so inundated with orders by women who wanted to use their horse grooming product, The Original M-T-G, on their hair, that they decided to make a product specifically for human hair. Last year I ventured out to use the horse product, but I couldn’t take the smell. Thankfully, Sulu Hair came along. Not only does it not have the horrible bacon-grease smell, but it actually works. After using it for about 3 weeks, I had 2 1/2 inches of new hair growth!

Vitamins:

Two words:  FOLIC ACID, invest in a bottle. It’s the best thing you can do for your hair and nails!

Scalp Moisturizer:

Four words:  Extra Virgin Olive Oil! I stay away from hair grease like it’s the plague! I’ve noticed that a q-tip and some olive oil works best for my hair. Hair grease seemed to drastically dry my scalp, and I haven’t used any type in years.

So there you have it. My hair regimen and arsenal of products!  I am  far from an expert when it comes to hair, but so far those have been the best products/routines that work for me, feel free to share any tips you may have. I always enjoy experimenting with new products, especially the ones that don’t leave my wallet crying!

If someone was to ask any one of my friends what would be the first thing anyone would notice about me, I guarantee you, they would all say my hair and then coming in at a close 2nd place, would be my height. The tall girl, with the big hair. Yup, that’s me.

Growing up my mother had 3 daughters with heads full of curly and what she called ‘unmanageable’ hair. Every week we endured the ritual of having our hair blown out and straightened. There weren’t too many options back then, besides a hot comb and blow dryer.

Rarely would she let us wear our hair natural and curly. If memory serves me correctly, when I was 11 she took me to the hair salon for my first relaxer. I remember crying in the chair when I saw that my curls were gone and I was left with stringy straight hair.

For the next several years, because my mother felt a relaxer was easier to deal with, I had to endure the brutal salon visits that I hated. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the length of my hair at the time, it was practically to my waist but I hated the whole process and the fact that I lost my curls. By the time high school graduation came around, I felt that not only was I free from being at home and under my mother’s watchful eye, I also felt that I was free to do whatever I wanted with my hair.

A few weeks into the summer of my freshman year at Rutgers University, my hair drew attention because of it’s length, and being that it had been years since I had an actual hair cut, besides a normal trim, it was pretty long. I remember the day I had my big chop off. It was about 98 degrees, hot and humid. I walked passed a barber shop and the idea hit me. I walked in and took a seat. The barbers looked at me as if I was lost. When I told them I wanted a hair cut, they pointed me in the direction of the beauty salon that was next door. I declined and told them I wanted my hair shaved off, not cut into a style.

“Have you lost your damn mind? Do you know women would die for your hair???”, is what one of the barbers asked. I could only look at him and laugh. I told him I was serious. Eventually after arguing with me for about 30 minutes, he told me to sit in his chair. I walked into his shop with about 22 inches of straight hair and left out with a short, tapered cut. Yes, it was pretty extreme, but it felt good.

I remember walking into the dining hall that evening and as I approached my usual table of friends, forks literally dropped out of their hands. There were a few “wtf’s”, especially from my boyfriend at the time and his football teammates, my girlfriends thought I lost my mind, needless to say, we practically sat in silence for the meal. It took a few days for people to get used to the hairless me, but it only took me a few seconds.

That first cut happened back in 1994, about 14 years ago. Over the next few years, I went back & forth with the short & long version of my naturally curly hair. Although I’ll never do anything as drastic as a complete cut off, I love my natural hair and I guess it’s become somewhat of my signature piece and always a topic of conversation. Tomorrow I’ll post some of my favorite hair products and hair care regimen!

*Aside*

As I finished writing this, a very very good friend of mine who is a STRONG advocate for a WEAVELESS society sent me this video.

Yesterday I was having a conversation with my friend Philana and some how it turned into a conversation about hair routines. She had mentioned earlier in a blog comment that her hair was thinning, which I told her was probably due to stress. Our conversation ventured into my hair routine and the products I mainly use. I guess you can say that I’m a hair product connoisseur because I think I’ve tried almost every damn product under the sun.

Every time I visit a beauty supply store, there’s always some new hair growth gimmick product. Which always boasts some sort of miracle cure that will give you long flowing locks. Most of these ‘growth’ products are full of it. A while ago, while doing some research I came across a hair care group on Yahoo. All of the women were singing the praises of a product called Original Mane-Tale-Groom. They bragged about how quickly they noticed growth and thickening of their hair. At first I figured it was just talk and that the product was probably some cheap beauty supply store product, but upon further investigation of Original Mane-Tale-Groom , I learned that it’s primary use is for horse grooming! After learning that, I was definitely more hesitant to try it. I didn’t necessarily have a hair growth problem, I just wanted to see if all of the talk about this product was true.

A few days later, after I ordered the product, it arrived. The first thing I noticed was the horrid smell! It smells like burned bacon and sulfur. There was no way I was applying this oil to my hair. I went back to the forum and saw that the women mixed it with Peppermint oil that they purchased from the natural market. What I found amazing, is the fact that the Peppermint oil was $15 for 0.2 ounces and the MTG product was only $6!

After I mixed my concoction, it definitely took away the smell. I used the product for a few weeks, but before I started using it, I made sure I applied it to my hair while it was straight, so that I could better gage the growth. After about two weeks I noticed my hair grew about an inch! It did make sense. Being that its used primarily on horses to keep their manes strong and healthy, why wouldn’t’ it work on human hair?

So after many trial and error experiments to come up with the perfect concoction for something that will provide growth and moisture to my hair, here is what I came up with:

Supplies needed:

Original Mane-Tale-Groom

An empty hair dye bottle

Olive Oil (to provide moisture..any grocery store brand will do)

Peppermint Oil (to get rid of the stench!)

1. Pour 5 ounces of Mane-Tale-Groom in the the dye bottle
2. Mix 3 ounces of Olive Oil
3. Add between 3-4 drops of Peppermint Oil (try gage the smell, you don’t want to walk around smelling like menthol)
4. Shake the bottle well until it forms a uniform mixture
5. Apply sparingly to your scalp (a little goes a long way)

Typically I did this routine about 3 nights out of the week, followed with a weekly wash and condition. By the way, if you’re a curly head, I’ve found this leave-in conditioner to work best!

I’m in no way saying this will work for everyone, but so far I’ve had pretty good luck with it and so have others that I know.

One of my favorite woman magazines has always been Glamour. Mainly because it always had great product reviews and realistic & affordable fashion choices. Their articles always highlighted diverse women, from the grassroots protester to women in corporate America.

Recently I came across an article in American Lawyer in regards to a slide show that was prepared by Glamour magazine. The slide show was presented to a group of attorneys and it was in reference to the “Do’s & Don’ts of Corporate Fashion”.

“First slide up: an African American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the ‘Glamour’ editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! The style maven said it was ’shocking’ that some people still think it ‘appropriate’ to wear those hairstyles at the office. ‘No offense,’ she sniffed, but those ‘political’ hairstyles really have to go.”(American Lawyer)

 

What was ironic about the meetings attendees, was the fact that there were about 6 or so female attorneys, who happened to be black and also some sported natural styles. I could only imagine the disdain on their faces!

Now, why is it after all of these years, natural hair styles are called ‘political’? Is it politically correct for me to want to lay some lye on my hair, sizzle it to make it straight? I’ve worn my hair natural since my freshman year of college and have not had any problem in the corporate arena as far as my hair being under scrutiny. I’ve rocked mini-fros, curly fros, kinky twists, blow outs, just about everything except cornrows and never once has anyone ever looked at me out the side of their eye, until recently.

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to straighten my hair, so I could gage how long it was and to get a trim. On a Monday morning I walked into my office and the first thing my coworker, who happens to be of Indian (red dot) decent said to me was, “Wow, you look so much friendlier!”. I looked at her like she was crazy. After she deciphered the look I was giving her, she tried to clean it up, “Well I mean, the straight hair makes you look more youthful!”…(insert foot into mouth, b/c although she’s 27, I look ALOT younger than her). I was pretty much done with her for the day after those comments.

In any event, if women want to wear their hair natural in Corporate America, that should be their prerogative. There’s nothing dreadful about dredlocks, there’s nothing “unruly” about naturally curly hair, and if you think a relaxer is something that’s needed to fit into what Corporate America has deemed ‘acceptable’, well you’ve been LYED to.

Copyright  2007 Yesha - All Rights Reserved