Choosing Products for Your Regimen

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You have decided to go natural, so you scour the internet looking for any and every piece of advice possible. You find TONS of product reviews, many of which a lot of people agree to be the best product out there. Immediately, you run to the nearest BSS in search of these products. You purchase every one that you've seen raved about on the net. When you get home, you can't wait to try out your new treasures, so you prepare to wash and style your hair. Everything seems to be going well. You rinse out the product expecting your hair to feel EXTRA soft (after all, that's what everyone who was natural said it would do right?)...yet you find that your hair is the complete opposite. Hard. Brittle. Dry. And now you're stuck with a bottle of something that you absolutely HATE.

This is the trap that many who have just chosen to go natural fall into. Myself included. Everyone with advice to give says that you need a transitioning hair care regimen, so you assume that the products that they love must be what you need to transition. WRONG-O! Each head of hair is different, and therefore needs different types of products to take care of it. So while you can follow how another handles her hair, you don't necessarily need to use the exact same products. So then, what products should you use? 

Well, it depends on what your hair likes and needs. Learning your hair requires some experimentation, but before you go on a product buying binge, start with the products you already own and see how your hair reacts to them over time. In learning your hair, consider the following:

·      How does you hair feel when wet? When dry? When thirsty?

o   This is beneficial for you to know what your hair needs when

·      How quickly does your hair dry?

o   If it dries quickly, you need to use a product that is able to nourish your hair long after the water is gone. Water based moisturizes may not be the best for you unless there are packed with some serious conditioning ingredients. Try some oil-based moisturizers instead.

o   If your hair dries slowly, water based moisturizers may be ideal to you.

·      How does your hair react to the products you are currently using?

o   If you like how you hair reacts to it, look at the ingredients and try to use products with similar ingredients.

·      How does your hair react to protein?

o   If your hair is hard when you rinse out a product with protein in it, you are likely protein sensitive. Try to use minimal amounts of protein in your regimen

o   If your hair is soft, your hair likes protein. Be careful not to overdo it with the protein though. Too much protein can be drying