Natural Hair Essentials To Buy Right Now
If you follow @TheSassyNation on Snapchat, then you're ahead of the game and aware that everybody's favorite natural hair care line, Shea Moisture, has been on promo at Walgreens for a few weeks now. Last week it was a BOGO half off situation. This week it's get 3 for the price of 2. IDK how much longer they'll stay on promo, this is the third week so far. I actually copped mines last Saturday. It seemed like the perfect time to stock up on their Jamaican Black Castor Oil (JBCO) infused Strengthen, Grow & Restore shampoo and conditioner.
I've been having great success with moisture retention using JBCO and other products that use it as a key ingredient. So when I saw that Shea Moisture expanded the JBCO line to include a few stylers, such as the Edge Treatment, I decided to give it another try.
I've only used the JBCO conditioner and masque in the past, but didn't care for it because I couldn't use it as a leave in, since it seemed to dry my hair out. It wasn't until I later examined the content that I discovered it's conditioner has got protein listed pretty close to the top of it's ingredients list. Hence, the drying effect as a result of prolonged use (as in a leave in). For my hair, this is a no-no, and should be avoided unless the intent is to follow up with a moisturizing treatment.
However, my hair has been severely lacking protein and until recently I'd forgotten about this line and what it could be used for. So in addition to restocking it to restore my protein balance. I also got the cult fave Aubrey Organics GPB Balancing Protein Conditioner.
Now, about Aubrey Organics... When I first started my natural hair journey I was obsessed with only using products that were natural. This line was one of a handful that not only had a variety of products that worked, but was accessible on the ground in stores like Whole Foods.
I remember talking to the regional reps at the ALIVE! trade show about how wildly popular their products were in the natural hair community. They had no idea why they couldn't keep up their hair conditioners on the shelves. I explained to them that most naturals washed their hair primarily with conditioner and used shampoo sparingly.
So, when I found out from my local health food store that one of the co-founders was recently deceased and they'd been manufacturing and distributing way below the norm, I figured I'd better stock up. If you use Aubrey Organics and are having trouble getting your hands on, really, anything in the product line (lotions, soaps, etc.), you may want to consider stockpiling a few things as well.
In the meantime I plan to resume my normal routine of using this specific conditioner as a part of my 2-step deep conditioning process, which I wrote extensively about here. Let's just say having both protein and moisturizing conditioners in one's curly hair arsenal and knowing when to use which is critical, yet very easy to learn. For now, here's a quick look at the result from my dry twistout using that JBCO edge gel. As expected, moisture levels are waaayy up, I feel blessed! :)
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Talk back: What are your go-to holy grail moisture or protein-rich products? Leave a comment below or on social. We're always listening!
