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Confessions of a Product Junkie

I have 4C natural hair (3C to 4A in the back), and I have often wondered why hair care experts tell us 4C naturals to use thick, heavy butters and pomades to style our hair. I’m sorry, but my hair is a diva, and she hates anything thicker than she is.

I have spent most of my three-year natural hair journey as a product junkie because I thought I needed a heavy butter to tame my very tight curls. I also tend to have a hard time accepting that some products are not right for my hair. Every product that has a positive review on YouTube, I have bought. Every product that says it defines my curl pattern, I have bought. Every product that proclaims to help boost hair growth, I have bought. Every product that claims to be 100% natural, I have bought. I have tried some products that left my hair screaming for water, and others that just sat on top of my head, as if I had coated my hair in peanut butter.

Then I found the Holy Grail: Castor oil. You would not believe the number of raised eyebrows I have received from women in the ethnic hair care section of Walmart when I tell them that my go-to product is castor oil. Many people say it’s too thick and greasy, but I only use a little, and my hair loves it. She drinks it up. Since using castor oil, I have found that my naturally dry, color treated, 4C hair has become softer than cotton. That’s not to say that I only use castor oil. A line my hair is currently obsessed with is Beautiful Textures. You can find their products at Walmart or Sally’s for under seven dollars! Although I don’t too much care for their shampoo, I love their Tangle Taming leave-in conditioner. As light as it is, you wouldn’t expect it to have much of an effect on thick hair, but it works on mine. Their Rapid Repair deep conditioner is actually quite moisturizing although it looks more like a butter. Their Curl Control Defining Pudding is also growing on me, but it’s not going to make me put down my castor oil.

Now, my hair regimen begins with co-washing or shampooing my hair. I moisturize and seal with the Beautiful Textures leave-in and the castor oil. Then I style. During the week, I moisturize with water, seal with a drop of castor oil and twist my hair as a nighttime routine every other night. I usually deep condition every two weeks, but thanks to the castor oil, I find that I don’t need to deep condition as much.

Obviously, I don’t use that many products. I don’t need them; I never did. Some of these natural hair tutorials have you using all that is stocked on the shelves of your local beauty supply store just to achieve one style. Ladies, it’s not that complicated, at least not for me. All my hair needs is castor oil.

I would like to say that my product junkie days are over, but I still relapse from time to time. My last relapsed resulted in buying Vatika Naturals Enriched Coconut Hair Oil. I might use it as a pre-poo (although, that’s what I use olive oil for), or I might throw it in my drawer with other unopened products from my product junkie days and forget about it until I run out of something. However, I just bought a 32 oz. bottle of castor oil (it was on sale), and I don’t see myself running out of that any time soon!

Author: Nortina Simmons

