For a second, just be honest with yourself. Did you waste money on hair products that are supposed to make wonders with your hair? Did you get frizzy hair? Yes, yes and again – yes. Beauty industry wants you to be confused so that you would keep on buying that bottle of magic fluid that stays in your shower right now.
The problem is not in your hair, but in your marketing intake. You base your choices not on the chemistry, but on the fancy packaging and influence marketing.
Take that bottle and turn it over right now. See the list of ingredients? If the first ingredient is water – return the bottle.
Look at the first five ingredients in detail. They account for about 80% of the formula. Everything else is fragrances and preservatives.
Find out about your hair porosity. It is basically the ability of your hair to take up water. Do the float test now.
Heavy butters and oils will not be able to penetrate if you have low porosity hair, hence you will become greasy. For this type of hair you need milk-like substances and heat.
In case of high porosity hair, moisture comes in fast, but leaves as fast as well. You should use something that would be thicker – Shea Moisture, or castor oil. Proteins will help in this case.
Forget about sulfates. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a degreaser, it is used in industry. Why would you use an engine cleaner for your scalp?
Silicones are not devils, like everyone thinks. Dimethicone basically coats your hair with a film to give it a silky look. It is great as heat protector if it is washed out.
Mainly, you should think about how to layer your products properly. Consider it like constructing a house; you have to have a foundation for it. Leave-in conditioner, then cream, then oil.
If you start with oil, all other things will stay on its surface. Oil basically becomes a protective layer and nothing gets to your hair from outside.
Let’s just clear it out – don’t buy into “all natural” nonsense from Whole Foods. Essential oils like tea tree and peppermint could irritate your scalp very badly. There is chemistry no matter where it comes from.
Also, consider people’s reviews with similar hair type. Forget those five-star reviews by some person whose hair is completely different from yours. You live in a completely different universe.
Mainly, hair care is an experiment. Find out your combination of ingredients. Firstly, start with trial sizes; you definitely don’t need a liter of something that does not suit you.
Good luck in this war zone. At least now you have some weapons.