Natural Hair is TOTALLY Different

It seems to have taken ages for the hair product market to catch up to the Black woman's desire for long, straightened hair once the relaxer took hold of our culture but now you can find an endless supply and variety of hair moisturizers, shiners, glossifiers, you NAME it, they make it.

Now go into the beauty supply store to find something specifically made FOR and good for natural hair and you're going to struggle. An employee at Trade Secrets in Fort Collins knows what Black women should try because her manager is Black and tests products for said use. That's wonderful, I thought, because just a few years ago I went into a chain salon to get my hair washed...yes just WASHED...and the stylists looked at me (and my relaxed hair) like I had 3 heads!

"We don't do Ebony hair," was the response. I was just happy she was upfront because not all of them are!

So Trade Secrets is moving up in the world. Then it occurred to me, I wonder if the manager has relaxed hair, so I asked.

"Yes, it's relaxed. Oh, and we know how to do relaxers too, someone came in to show us!" the employee said excitedly. Funny.

"Oh, well my hair is natural and I know, from experience, that my hair won't react to products the way relaxed hair does. Thanks for your help though!" I said.

She probably has no clue, to this day, what the difference is but after trying a few things my mom suggested I realize there are some key ingredients to look for in products for natural hair. Thanks to nappturality.com I got some help on this.

If your hair is natural, use products with the following ingredients and you almost can't go wrong!

*glycerin - A humectant and emollient, it absorbs moisture from the air, thereby keeping moisture in.

*cetearyl alcohol - Leaves hair feeling softer

I am aware that many ingredients are considered unsafe, but if you are looking to buy products on the market these two are pretty good as far as natural hair goes. You can also make your own (see Motown Girl for recipes) or you can buy natural hair products, from Carol's Daughter and, I'm sure, many other makers.

By the way, one of my newest FAVORITE products is Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor, you get curls very similar to the result you get when using Mixed Chicks for only $3!! WooHOO!!