Believe it or not, I actually have some more information to give you on hair products. As you can see, I am a recovering product junkie. I say "recovering" because I when I first started transitioning, I ordered anything anyone raved about on Nappturality.com like it was a compulsion. As MDR loves remind everyone, every couple of days he would find a little brown box with my name on it in the mail. Now I have a better idea of what my hair likes, so I only buy when I run out of something (for the most part :-) ). Anyway, one thing that keeps me from buying everything I see in the stores is knowing what product ingredients are good for the hair and those that are detrimental (except when I'm in store specializing in organic products, like Whole Foods or Rainbow Blossom).
Check out this short article entitled "10 Chemicals to Avoid" by Deecoily, the founder of Nappturality.com: 10 Chemicals to Avoid
I also avoid products that contain beeswax because it builds up and dries my hair out. For the same reason, I avoid products containing silicone, as well as ingredients that end with the suffix "cone," such as dimethicone.
Admittedly, I do not always follow these rules. Because many of these ingredients are in most products (some because they are cheaper than products that are good for you), it will be hard to find products that don't contain at least one. If you really like the product, I say go for it. It's obviously not the end of the world if you use them. For example, I use Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme even though it contains beeswax, mineral oil, and petrolatum. What can I say--marketing and advertising work. Also, my Pantene clarifying shampoo contains sodium laureth sulfate. However, I only use it every four to six weeks. (I think) the government requires cosmetic companies to list ingredients from the highest concentration to the lowest, so at least try not to buy products with these ingredients listed as one of the first five ingredients.
The featured link for this week is meganjerai's natural hair journey, which is featured on YouTube.com: My Natural Hair Journey. Keep it up, transitioners! Your hair will be this healthy one day.
Another reason why I decided to go naturale: God don't make no junk! I thought about the fact that my kinky/coily/nappy hair texture is so unique as compared to many other nationalities, such as caucasians, asians, indians, and native americans. Sometimes it is hard being different, which makes one want to do everything one can to be like everyone else. However, I realized that God made us all different for a reason, and that my nappy hair was not a mistake that needed to be fixed by relaxers. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). If my naturale hair is good enough for God, then it's good enough for me!
2 comments:
I'm trying to use up alot of my products before buying more too, but it is going to take awhile because I have accumulated so many products! Alot of my products have those evil ingredients too, but my hair doesn't seem to react badly to them. Once I use up all of my stuff I will start to buy products with more natural and hair-friendly ingredients.
This week I will be 12 weeks post-relaxer. Whoo-hoo! Yesterday I washed my hair and put it into twists and let them air-dry, and this morning before church I took them out and now I have wavy hair. I like this style because it really helps to blend in the relaxed and natural hair. I will probably be wearing my hair like this alot.
Anyway, I took pictures if you are interested. :)
12 weeks? That is wonderful! You probably have quite a bit of new growth, so it is good that you chose a hairstyle that blends your two textures. Yay! I hope you're enjoying your transitioning process.
What products have you been using to twist your hair with? Did you do individual twists or flat twists? I would love to see pictures.
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