How to tell when your hair does OR does not like a product

Galilea

Hello all. I've been natural for several years, but I admit I haven't really been putting in the effort to learn my hair like I should have. I'm one of those people who just puts their hair in a bun and leaves it at that.

Ignore the products are listen in my signature, probably don't really use them anymore.

I would like to get to know my hair, so I'm asking you guys what signs you look for in your hair to know if a product is working or not working for you. I often can't tell if my hair likes a product or not because it's always frizzy and not so well defined no matter what I use. I can't tell if it's dry or not because it's ALWAYS soft when dry even though it's frizzy. I know it's not over conditioned because it doesn't feel mushy like others have described.

The only ingredient I'm fairly sure my hair doesn't like is shea butter. It seems that any products with shea in them tend to sit on my hair.

To figure out my hair I am starting over and going back to the basics starting with the products I use to wash my hair. I would like recommendations on shampoo/low or no poos.

Right now I am using Suave clarifying shampoo (makes my hair dry but gets all the products out) and Ouidad Ultra-Nourishing Cleansing Oil.
I will be starting graduate school and I'm going to be broke AF so I would like to find something cheaper to replace the Ouidad cleansing oil.

Thank you for reading!

bomega

Well, the Curl Junkie Gentle Cleansing Shampoo contains silk amino acids without the quats (not cones...the cones are all water-soluable) that Ouidad has. At $20 for a 12oz bottle, it isn't exactly cheap, but the per ounce price is a little more than half the cost of the Ouidad you are currently using.

(ETA: I should say I have never used this personally, but it seems like it might be worth a try.)

rbb

plus, you can always get it on sale -- here on nc when they have sales, and twice a year on curl junkie website (25% off). next one is probably around black friday.
and, i find you don't need to use as much curl junkie products as with other brands, so they last longer.

ttoosday

While I was reading your post I was wondering if you were going to say whether your hair is coarse or not. You're saying all the things I've said and keep saying. I can't find a single thing my hair likes or dislikes, nothing works. But occasionally I'll find a product that does make my hair do something, usually something with a polymer in it that will hold my clumps and wave pattern which is my number one struggle. I really am starting to think that coarse hair is just non-reactive in general. 'Resistant to styling' has a new meaning for me lately.

Gaby.Vintimi

ttoosday wrote: »

While I was reading your post I was wondering if you were going to say whether your hair is coarse or not. You're saying all the things I've said and keep saying. I can't find a single thing my hair likes or dislikes, nothing works. But occasionally I'll find a product that does make my hair do something, usually something with a polymer in it that will hold my clumps and wave pattern which is my number one struggle. I really am starting to think that coarse hair is just non-reactive in general. 'Resistant to styling' has a new meaning for me lately.

I get what you mean resistant to styling, I can't never straighten my hair by my own, it just won't. That's why I kept it wavy/curly; Over the years I learn't two things, coarse hair is dry and needs moisture but little protein, also it's more on the low porosity and because you need more heat or chemical to achieve something it can damage easily. The second thing is hold, it needs medium to strong hold, and you can't get movement without frizz, those girls you see that walk, run or wind blows their way and hair just goes with it and is back to perfect, isn't for coarse hair. What I'm doing now and seems to work is cut the proteins, add moisture, use oil, strong hold gel and reduce the time of heat exposure. Today I gave flaxseed gel a try, (maybe I made too strong) and found that it has a lot of hold and creates and hard cast, but my hair is frizz free and well defined. I put more gel on the ringlets, less on the waves. I almost don't break the cast from the ringlets, but break it from the waves and shake them up so they have some movement. I hope you find any of this helpful but mostly know that you are not alone on the struggle of coarse hair :thumright:

Wavycat

I think a hair journal is a good way to catalog your hair's likes and dislikes. I actually have a folder in my email with pics and products. But recently I decided to make a decision on AVG because I just didn't see what everyone saw in it but I really wanted to because my hair craves moisture and it's cheap. I put it on half of my hair in the shower as a styler and knew instantly that AVG isn't for me. It tangled and felt like a plastic product was on my hair. Luckily I just rinsed it out and started over but I was just relieved that I got a definite answer to that. I started going thru my products that had aloe in and they were the ones I never was crazy about and couldn't get to work. I think I'm going to keep trying things on one side only because I don't think I can always trust my judgement but side-by-side is easier.
Other products that I haven't liked made me itch so that's another good indicator. Not major itch but enough that I knew it wasn't worth it. The other thing is frizz in the shower. I tried Living Proof No Frizz and got the most frizz EVER with it. Tried it twice in case it was a fluke. It's one of the few products I returned. Usually if a product doesn't work in one season I'll try it in a different season just to be sure but then it's usually to late to return.

Galilea

Thank you for the replies.

I will keep the Curl Junkie shampoo in mind but I was thinking of going even cheaper (I'll only be able to work on day a week if that while in school). I just tried the Carol's Daughter Black Vanilla Sulfate free shampoo and that didn't leave my hair feeling stripped or frizzy. I'm still completing my wash process (deep conditioning right now) so we'll see how it performs with the other products I'm using.

Gaby.Vintimi: I've started making flax seed gel too and I really like it as well. I definitely have to use an oil under it or else my hair feels really dry when I go to wash it out, but other than that, I love it so far. Just wish it wasn't such a pain so strain. lol.

WavyCat: A hair journal is a good idea. I think I had started to make one once and then fell off the wagon. I also took your advice and looked for frizz after using the carol's daughter shampoo; it doesn't cause my hair to frizz right after using, so I'm going to take that as a good sign.