Re: Cost of Hair Products

by cagebird 12th February 2011, 10:26 pm

Thanks so much omgitsaj! Heading to the website right now.

by splitsun 13th February 2011, 12:48 am

I probably spend about $30 every 3 months on my hair. I have products that work well on it and I occasionally purchase a new product that I've been looking at for a while. I try to get everything on sale and in large sizes hence reducing the number of times I need to purchase supplies (and helps to cut down on impulsive buys).

by ladybug 13th February 2011, 2:03 am

dajewel wrote:seriously, a couple grand?? i couldn't even spend that much if i bought all the products out there that i would like to try at some point in one sitting. also, i don't like wasting things and that is another reason why i am steadfast with my spending habits. if i don't need it, then i won't buy it. am sorry, but seriously??? am not trying to be insensitive, but was there a void that you were trying to compensate for? that is a true and honest question.

since i have started on my hhj in april-ish of 2009 and finally solidified a regimin in october 2009 and pretty much stayed with since then (with the exception of using ayurvedic herbs starting in december of 2010....and even those herbs will last me for 6 months and they are already dirt cheap to begin with), i want to estimate that i purchased approximately $380 worth of products, hair accessories and stuff like flexirods. some of the products i purchase i also use to eat (oils, honey, egg, etc). i have to purchase castor oil and that will cost me $7 and will last for another year and a half.

since i keep my hair in twists the majority of the time i find that i hardly need to use product on my twists. maybe i add a lil moisture to the ends and seal once every two days. there are days that i don't need to add anything. i find that castor oil is very economical in ensuring hair is moisturized cuz a lil goes a lonnggggg way. i also find that wrapping my hair in twists at night (like when we did when permed or pressed) helps distribute and seal moisture into hair that lasts for longer amounts of time.

other ways i manage to cut down on spending:
find someone who is your hair twin and copy their regimen. that cut out most of the work and unnecessary spending for me.

purchase at tj maxx, marshalls, ross, etc

purchase product before doing research. alot of products have the same basic ingredients....the difference is how they smell. marinate on the research to see if u really need it. don't just jump on a bandwagon.

purchase products when online companies have sales/deals: kbb, kbn, butters n bars (i got tons of free poo and herbal powders in december just by entering the freebie codes), etc

try not to purchase on the spur of the moment because most times u will have buyer's remorse

if u find that u don't need a product, try to return it back to get a store credit/exchange for another product or something else that u truly need.
buy sample sizes before buying the full size

if u find that u don't need a product, donate to non profits because u can probably write it off as a charitable donation on ur taxes. I can definitely tell u non profits like dress for success would so appreciate the donation. this organization helps all women, including black women in their quest for dressing and grooming to help in their journey for employment.

Dajewel,
I don't think it is that uncommon for newly naturals to spend too much money trying to understand what products work for their hair. I am not sure how that is related to having a void in life?? I am sure your question wasn't meant to be rude, but it could be taken that way. The whole purpose of this thread was to start a dialog about how much we are spending on hair products. It appears that there has been a good exchange on how to care for your hair on a budget.

by ladybug 13th February 2011, 2:19 am

omgitsaj wrote:@cagebird, I order my oils and butters from Camdengrey, they have sizes ranging from 1 0z to 1 gallon I believe. The only thing is, there is a 20 dollar minimum purchase rule. HTH

Omgitsaj,
This is a great web site!! Thanks for sharing.

by CarlaAR 13th February 2011, 2:39 am

Hey dajewel, I would like to respond to your post:

dajewel wrote:seriously, a couple grand?? i couldn't even spend that much if i bought all the products out there that i would like to try at some point in one sitting. also, i don't like wasting things and that is another reason why i am steadfast with my spending habits. if i don't need it, then i won't buy it. am sorry, but seriously??? am not trying to be insensitive, but was there a void that you were trying to compensate for? that is a true and honest question.

I don't think its about "compensation". People spend money on things they are interested in: cars, art supplies, knitting and sewing supplies and equipment, etc. Hair is just something else some people like to spurge on. When they are skipping bills, not paying rent or buying food for the sake of KCCC, then we have a problem.

dajewel wrote:
since i have started on my hhj in april-ish of 2009 and finally solidified a regimin in october 2009 and pretty much stayed with since then (with the exception of using ayurvedic herbs starting in december of 2010....and even those herbs will last me for 6 months and they are already dirt cheap to begin with), i want to estimate that i purchased approximately $380 worth of products, hair accessories and stuff like flexirods. some of the products i purchase i also use to eat (oils, honey, egg, etc). i have to purchase castor oil and that will cost me $7 and will last for another year and a half.

since i keep my hair in twists the majority of the time i find that i hardly need to use product on my twists. maybe i add a lil moisture to the ends and seal once every two days. there are days that i don't need to add anything. i find that castor oil is very economical in ensuring hair is moisturized cuz a lil goes a lonnggggg way. i also find that wrapping my hair in twists at night (like when we did when permed or pressed) helps distribute and seal moisture into hair that lasts for longer amounts of time.

Well actually, I tried what you mentioned, but it made my hair dry as a bone. I do need to add something (water based moisturizer) daily or it just wont work. Castor oil is great, but that alone just doesn't work for me.

dajewel wrote:other ways i manage to cut down on spending:
find someone who is your hair twin and copy their regimen. that cut out most of the work and unnecessary spending for me.

purchase at tj maxx, marshalls, ross, etc

Unfortunately non of my TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross has any products I can use. Its mostly petro and 'cone based salon products.

dajewel wrote:
purchase product before doing research. alot of products have the same basic ingredients....the difference is how they smell. marinate on the research to see if u really need it. don't just jump on a bandwagon.

Sometimes one ingredient can make or break a product for me. Yes, research and really knowing your hair type (besides curl size) is key. I know not to buy products with glycerin for instance because I know my hair hates it...

dajewel wrote:
purchase products when online companies have sales/deals: kbb, kbn, butters n bars (i got tons of free poo and herbal powders in december just by entering the freebie codes), etc

I'm all about shopping the Black Fridays, Cyber Monday, New Years, MLK, Valentines Day, etc sales.

dajewel wrote:
try not to purchase on the spur of the moment because most times u will have buyer's remorse

if u find that u don't need a product, try to return it back to get a store credit/exchange for another product or something else that u truly need.
buy sample sizes before buying the full size

Sometimes with the cost of shipping, buying sample sizes is not always practical. I return everything I dont need/want.

dajewel wrote:

if u find that u don't need a product, donate to non profits because u can probably write it off as a charitable donation on ur taxes. I can definitely tell u non profits like dress for success would so appreciate the donation. this organization helps all women, including black women in their quest for dressing and grooming to help in their journey for employment.

That's a great idea.

by ladybug 13th February 2011, 12:10 pm

CarlaAR wrote:Hey dajewel, I would like to respond to your post:

dajewel wrote:seriously, a couple grand?? i couldn't even spend that much if i bought all the products out there that i would like to try at some point in one sitting. also, i don't like wasting things and that is another reason why i am steadfast with my spending habits. if i don't need it, then i won't buy it. am sorry, but seriously??? am not trying to be insensitive, but was there a void that you were trying to compensate for? that is a true and honest question.

I don't think its about "compensation". People spend money on things they are interested in: cars, art supplies, knitting and sewing supplies and equipment, etc. Hair is just something else some people like to spurge on. When they are skipping bills, not paying rent or buying food for the sake of KCCC, then we have a problem.

dajewel wrote:
since i have started on my hhj in april-ish of 2009 and finally solidified a regimin in october 2009 and pretty much stayed with since then (with the exception of using ayurvedic herbs starting in december of 2010....and even those herbs will last me for 6 months and they are already dirt cheap to begin with), i want to estimate that i purchased approximately $380 worth of products, hair accessories and stuff like flexirods. some of the products i purchase i also use to eat (oils, honey, egg, etc). i have to purchase castor oil and that will cost me $7 and will last for another year and a half.

since i keep my hair in twists the majority of the time i find that i hardly need to use product on my twists. maybe i add a lil moisture to the ends and seal once every two days. there are days that i don't need to add anything. i find that castor oil is very economical in ensuring hair is moisturized cuz a lil goes a lonnggggg way. i also find that wrapping my hair in twists at night (like when we did when permed or pressed) helps distribute and seal moisture into hair that lasts for longer amounts of time.

Well actually, I tried what you mentioned, but it made my hair dry as a bone. I do need to add something (water based moisturizer) daily or it just wont work. Castor oil is great, but that alone just doesn't work for me.

dajewel wrote:other ways i manage to cut down on spending:
find someone who is your hair twin and copy their regimen. that cut out most of the work and unnecessary spending for me.

purchase at tj maxx, marshalls, ross, etc

Unfortunately non of my TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Ross has any products I can use. Its mostly petro and 'cone based salon products.

dajewel wrote:
purchase product before doing research. alot of products have the same basic ingredients....the difference is how they smell. marinate on the research to see if u really need it. don't just jump on a bandwagon.

Sometimes one ingredient can make or break a product for me. Yes, research and really knowing your hair type (besides curl size) is key. I know not to buy products with glycerin for instance because I know my hair hates it...

dajewel wrote:
purchase products when online companies have sales/deals: kbb, kbn, butters n bars (i got tons of free poo and herbal powders in december just by entering the freebie codes), etc

I'm all about shopping the Black Fridays, Cyber Monday, New Years, MLK, Valentines Day, etc sales.

dajewel wrote:
try not to purchase on the spur of the moment because most times u will have buyer's remorse

if u find that u don't need a product, try to return it back to get a store credit/exchange for another product or something else that u truly need.
buy sample sizes before buying the full size
Sometimes with the cost of shipping, buying sample sizes is not always practical. I return everything I dont need/want.

dajewel wrote:

if u find that u don't need a product, donate to non profits because u can probably write it off as a charitable donation on ur taxes. I can definitely tell u non profits like dress for success would so appreciate the donation. this organization helps all women, including black women in their quest for dressing and grooming to help in their journey for employment.

That's a great idea.

Since I have been natural, I use products without mineral oils or cones, and unfortunately, I can't buy them at ROSS, etc. It is better for me to buy economy sizes. I also try to limit my shipping cost to no more than 20% of the price of my order. Therefore, trial sizes are not practical unless I add them to a bigger order. This 20% shipping limit also curbs impulse shopping. Another challenge is ordering across brands because of the individual shipping costs. I like Curlmart because it is easier to purchase across brands, but sometimes that is not possible because they don't carry everything.

In terms of research, you need to know what you are researching. Very Happy

For instance, I researched and researched, but it takes awhile for things to come together. For example, when I first started this journey, I would try one product and it wouldn't work. I would buy another product and it wouldn't "work". It took me a while to realize that my hair doesn't like certain ingredients. ChrsLvsBks responded to one of my posts stating that you need to look at the first five ingredients of the product to see what ingredients your hair likes. There was another post where someone stated that her hair doesn't like shea butter. It never dawned on my that my hair didn't like shea butter because that's all you hear about from naturals. I also learned that my hair is fine. We sometimes focus on 3c or 4a and not on if your hair is fine our coarse which makes a difference in the products you use. I am 4a/4b and my hair is dense, but it is fine. This also plays into products and the learning curve necessary to understand the right combination for your hair.

This post and other Curlnikki posts have been great in learning and sharing how to care for natural curly hair.

by yldthng 13th February 2011, 7:37 pm

And so today I bought the Kinky Curly Shampoo, Leave-In, and Curling Custard. I won't mention that I also have a couple of the Qhemets Biologic items on order. Not to mention all the other items I've bought this week.

I need to stop.

by CarlaAR 14th February 2011, 1:03 am

yldthng wrote:And so today I bought the Kinky Curly Shampoo, Leave-In, and Curling Custard. I won't mention that I also have a couple of the Qhemets Biologic items on order. Not to mention all the other items I've bought this week.

I need to stop.

LOL! I'm envious right now - you have more products than I do. I'm on a 30-day hair product spending freeze. I brought JBCO and Garnier Fructis Fortifying Cream Conditioner today only because I'm out....

by normanorient 17th February 2011, 7:45 am

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