Before I switched to this new hair routine of mine, I used to search high and low for the best shampoos, the best conditioners, super deep moisturizing hair masks, hair products like mousse, gel, pomades, waxes, and all that junk.
Then one day, I woke up, stared at my bathroom counter and realized I was toting around products I barely even used (once or twice, then not at all). I had to cut it down. It was getting ridiculous.
This was how the cycle went:
I was deep moisturizing my hair because it was dry and didn’t look or feel soft and shiny.
My hair was dry because I had used a clarifying shampoo on it, and blowdried it.
I used a clarifying shampoo because I had used a mousse/gel/pomade/wax the day before, after or before, blowdrying my hair.
I used those hair products because I wanted my hair to be shiny, healthy with a bit of bounce, wave and volume.
This all turned my hair dry and stressed out from all the tweaking I was doing to it.
So, I used up what I had left of everything, and I cut it down to the minimum.
Then one day, I only shampooed and forgot to use conditioner. I slept with damp hair flipped over the top of my pillow at night, and lo and behold, I woke up with wavy, bouncy, volumized, shiny, natural hair.
Huh.
All without those hair products, tools and gizmos.
To make things easier for my night time routine, I switched to the Dove 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner (bit of an oxymoron, how could your hair be cleaned AND moisturized at the same time? The surfactants or the cleaning agents, would strip the hair of oils…. so how could the conditioner work simultaneously to put it back? Oh well. I best not ponder about this any longer than necessary).
Then I continued sleeping with my hair flipped over the top of the pillow at night, and letting it air dry on its own (my hair is a bit like a sponge, it will soak and retain water like NO OTHER).
And on the weekends to give my hair a break, I heavily moisturize it with a Dove conditioner after using my 2-in-1, and for the rest of the week for when my hair has to be “styled” (hehe), I switch back to just using the 2-in-1 at night. I also use the conditioner that comes in those hair dying kits, as a super conditioner because it works really well…
This has not only saved me time, it’s saved me the hassle of buying the RIGHT product for my hair, other products to counteract the effects of the products I was using to ‘tame’ my hair, and money. Pots of money.
Stop the madness!
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
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Addy, that’s a great point!!
My hair is pretty resilient, and considering I don’t do very much to it any more – no heating products of any kind, no products to weigh it down, it makes sense for me 🙂
I think this is all YMMV. When I use a cheap 2-in-1 conditioner and sleep with my hair flipped over the pillow at night, I wake up with… something that looks like a cross between an afro and a bird’s nest with a lot of frizz thrown in for good measure. People like you that are lucky enough to have naturally good hair should absolutely drop the products and save the money. As for me with my unruly hair, I found a salon treatment, that while not cheap, has allowed me to cut down to shampoo, conditioner, a straightening serum, and a flat iron about twice a week. Compared to my daily shampoo, condition, leave-in condition, mousse, gel, hairspray routine from before, I’m in heaven, but I’m still spending a lot on my hair.
G.G.: I really love Dove’s philosophy. I stand behind the whole real beauty thing, and I find their products are quite gentle on my hair…
Valley Girl: Yes. The salon stuff like Aveda, Biolage, Keratase etc, all feel fantastic, but in the end, it all washes down the drain. I pick shampoos/conditioners under the $10 mark.. and hopefully on sale, with a coupon. 🙂 Done right, people think I actually got my hair cut or something, when I really just washed it and slept on it (hehe).. which reminds me, I need a haircut.
Sentir: There are actual men out there that read my blog!? This is fantastic 🙂 Yes.. I agree, buy the RIGHT shampoo, at a decent price, stick to it, and avoid trying to stress your hair out with other things to “tame” it.. Hair is hair. It’ll do what it wants.. bed head is supposedly sexy too 🙂
I started using the same shampoo a week ago and I LOVE it. I am a man with short curly hair and tried a dozen different shampoos and they all seemed to make my hair drier and worse, except for this one.
I don’t use no other stuff of what you mentioned, but buying some fancy specialty shampoos cost me a fortune, can’t imagine all the other volumizer, wax etc.!!!
I used to buy the hair salon-quality products, until I realized that they weren’t any different than the drug store brands. I know buy the cheapest shampoo and conditioner possible.
Wow! I just bought Dove too, but the deep blue bottle of conditioner for “seriously distressed hair”–it’s really good and I love the price!