Wise Investments; 10 things to help guide you with hair product shopping.

Hiya,
Its been a min! Hope all is well ladies!
I'm Back!! And let's just say, I have been a very busy young lady! Aside from all the shopping I got myself into, taking care of a toddler is no joke, it made me truly appreciate all the help we have in Naija; the helps, drivers, gate men, cooks and stewards in our lives are worth every penny they are paid-even worth more!! Lol


All the hair products shopping I got into inspired this post as I have not done a 10 things post in ages. Basically this post should help anyone who is caught between choosing hair products while stocking up their hair product stash. I have followed these steps and they have saved me from being bankrupt over hair product buys and helped me make wise investments in recent times...read on!

1.Read Reviews; This is one of the points I have made several times on here, google is my number 1 source for any info about any product, simply type in the name of the product you are curious about and beside it type review;e.g Elasta QP olive oil and mango butter review. If the product is popular enough, you will see either good or bad reviews pop up about it, read enough to convince you on what decision to make. Another place I go to for reviews is Amazon, they have almost everything-not necessarily the best place to purchase the products because their prices are sometimes high especially when you add shipping and handling but it's the perfect place for honest reviews with the added feature of star grading;so if you see a product with 2 stars already that's a red flag, then if the reviews below further buttress the uselessness of the product, why on earth would you still go ahead and buy such a product... doing so will be making a not so wise investment!

2.Check the Source; This point is simple, every product has a source/manufacturer. If the product you are curious about comes from a trusted source or manufacturer say Silk elements, Tresemme or Soft sheen Carson's then its most likely going to be a product that has a chance because at least you know the manufacturer know what it is doing but if it's a source you have never heard about like the True Crazy Sexy Cool Curls products I reviewed few months ago HERE then you are taking more of a risk, it doesn't mean you should walk away(I didnt walk away from this product) rather you should put the other steps to the test(which I did and that informed my decision to purchase the product)

3. Read the ingredients; This is another important step I have mentioned several times. Its soooo critical to read the ingredient label and identify what works for your hair. To know what will work, simply look up the ingredients of the product you are presently using that works and have the top 5 ingredients in mind when you want to purchase a product or keep your focus on what your hair needs are; if it's protein, you want to see protein based ingredients like cholesterol, hydrogenated protein, coconut oil etc among the top ingredients on the list. If you are looking for a sealant then you need to see all the great oils like castor, olive, grapeseed, argan all up on the list.

4.Feel it; Yup open the product, if it's not sealed or it's not an online purchase and feel it! Is it thick enough? Does it have slip? Is it too oil or greasy? Just feel it and of course smell it too... Is the smell going to choke you and everyone that comes near you.. I stopped using one of profectiv's moisturizers because of the overtly strong mango smell it had that overpowered every perfume I owned! If you don't have the chance to feel/smell it, not to worry you can put the other steps to use to help you decide whether you are making a wise investment.

5. Find it's place in your hair regimen; This is a must if you want to make a wise investment...don't just buy the product because it was hyped and then end up using it just once in a year!! The only product you should buy that makes sense to use sparingly is a relaxer, all other products should fit nicely into your regimen as either moisturizers, sealants, deep conditions or hot oil treatments... It is for this reason I cannot remember when last I bought an oil sheen spray or holding spray...it just doesn't fit into my regimen, same thing with all my heat tools-they are just sitting in a drawer catching dust waiting to be used once in the bluest moon! I wish someone told me earlier that one heat tool is enough-a straightener!

6.Make a Quantity/Quality assessment; This is one point that dawned on me during this trip, It's an assessment that will save you money. The dilemma is this, would you rather purchase a huge bottle of a product that is cheap over a small size product that is expensive? I'm sure your reaction is sure! Well in some cases it's not the best decision to make. A 32oz bottle of a moisturizer that does nothing for your hair that costs $2 over an 8oz bottle of good stuff that costs $10 is a waste of your money however there are some cheap products you can get away with like conditioners used for co-washing- read this post on using cheap conditioners, ultimately though quality is always better than quantity.

7.Proportion it- Is the product proportionable ? How many uses can you get out of the product. Last week during my trip I decided to try a deep conditioner called Kera pro, it cost about $8 and guess how many uses I could get out of it?One!! By the time I used it all over my hair the tub was empty! Now that was a waste of money when I could have gotten the AS I AM co-wash conditioner and used it four times! So my advice is before you get a product consider how full your hair is and how many times you can use the product, if you can only use it just once then you need to ask if it's really worth it! That's why I love hair trigger so much I'm using the 8 oz bottle and it not even half way yet after 4 uses!!

8.Storing-check its shelf life; you don't want to buy a product that can't last at least a year! If it starts to smell funny or look funny then you just wasted your money! This point is particularly for organic products. Consider your climate, when a label says room temperature, the manufacturer from the US or UK is talking about 'their' room temperature! So if you decide that you will leave your product in a humid and hot Naija room and think ít will survive? chances are you might find mold in the product if you open it up after a week. I tend to keep such products in the fridge, it also helps that my dressing table which holds these products is right under the Air Conditioner.

9.Find a close replacement-This point goes back to point 7. If you love the way a product makes your hair feel but you don't get value for your money using the product because its so small in quantity? Work on finding a close replacement or if the product does a disappearing act on you, in shops today and disappears like the True, Crazy, Sexy, Cool curls prepoo product that Ebeanor supermarket has refused to restock, don't get stuck hoping and praying for whenever they decide to restock it, find a close replacement for the particular product and keep it moving...don't let you hair suffer because you are stuck with a brand you love but can't get!

10.Stock it up- final point goes back to point 9. When you do get the chance to get a product you know works for your hair that is hard to find..you better stock it up!! A simple past year consumption review can work to help know how many bottles you will need for the year. If you went through 3 bottles of Aphogee 2 min reconstructor conditioner last year then at least you know you need at least 3 bottles this year and when you get the chance you stock up on the 3 bottles and save yourself the stress of looking for it when you need it, well that's what I do.

That's the end of my 10 things post, hope it helps with making wise investments on hair products shopping moving forward :)

I'd like to say a huge thanks to all the ladies who patronized SHOP NHCG IMPORT WINDOW this month, your products will be here anytime from next week and the shop page will also be fully stocked, I kinda went all out this time after seeing that January's window was such a huge success and I sold out almost everything, so if you could not make an order when the window opened don't fret, I got a variety of great scarce products you just might be interested in. So just stay tuned!

In other news, how's the 6inches of growth challenge been going? I had to give my hair some styling TLC yesterday since it was in buns all through the trip, so I decided to do some bantu knots, havn't styled my hair like that in ages but I took pictures for those who want to try the style.

First I had to make my dry hair a little damp by using Tresemme's weightless foam shampoo. Any water based product is fine but don't make your hair wet...

I applied the foam to small sections of my hair from root to tip and in one direction twisted the hair as close to my roots as possible till my ends.Then wrapped the twisted hair around the base into a 'knot' and secured it with a bobby pin.









Finally I spritz the knots sparingly for extra moistness so the curls could come out more defined. Used the opportunity to oil my scalp too.




This morning, I loosened the curls, the right side had more defined curls so I decided to leave the front curls on that side out while I held the rest in a low pony tail tucked away.





Will be rocking variations of these curls for a few more days...I'm working on my protective style look book it's been ages since I had one out, so stay tuned!!
Click the label '10 things posts' under blog post categories to view past 10 things posts.

As usual, thanks for stopping by!

Xxx
Dabs