I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not who you would call a “hair” person. Although I live in New York City, I get my hair done in my hometown, Chicago. I know that sounds crazy, but I head back to the Windy City several times a year. Last year I flew to Chicago 8 times!
Don’t get me wrong, I have had my hair done here before, but the agony of sitting in a salon wasting away precious hours is not my idea of time well-spent. So in order to maintain my mane, I wash and condition it on my own in between touch-ups and trims.
As you can probably assume, I’m a simple BG when it comes to hair styles. I typically wear my hair like you see in my profile picture, a chignon or chic ponytail. When I’m feeling adventurous or desperately in need of a change, I’ll opt for the undone 2-strand flat twist style. My husband thinks I’m boring in the hair department and he might be right, but one thing’s for sure…there are just some styling products that I can’t live without. For example, Soft-Sheen Carson’s Optimum Dry Hair Healer is the absolute best!! It works wonders on my oftentimes lackluster locks.
What are some of your must-have moisturizing styling products?
Here are a few popular picks:
Soft-Sheen Carson Optimum Oil Therapy available at www.drugstore.com for $3.99
Pantene Oil Cream Moisturizer available at www.walgreens.com for $4.99
Kinky Curly’s Curling Custard available at www.kinky-curly.com for $25
Dr. Miracle’s Hot Gro Hair & Scalp Treatment Conditioner availalbe at www.drmiracles.com for $7.99
Motion’s Hair & Scalp Moisturizing Hairdressing available at www.walgreens.com for $4.69
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk available at www.carolsdaughter.com 4oz. – 8oz. for $12-18
Miss Jessie’s Curly Butter Creme available at www.missjessies.com for $58
Well, BGG, it seems we are very much alike in this area. I hate the salon. Don’t get me wrong, my hair stylist is a doll but no matter how professional she is, it just takes time to ‘get yo hair done’ ahahahahhahaa I’m only in the shop about every 3 or 4 months. So, like you, I’m very self sufficient in the hair department. I use Creme of Nature relaxer, shampoo and conditioner. You don’t know soft hair until you use it. I also love Motions products but I do venture out periodically to try others. 🙂
I have so much trouble with my hair and lack of moisture. One product I love is Kiehl’s Creme with Silk Groom. It’s crazy expensive but light weight and ultra moist and last a long time. I hate going to the hair dresser. most days I do the slick back!
mizani rose h20! it’s expensive but worth it and you really dont need to use much. my sister bought it for my niece who used to have the driest hair ive ever seen. i tried it one day and was in love. i almost passed out when she told me it was $20 a jar. but i broke down and ive had it for 4 months now and its still pretty full.
oh yea, it works on alot of different hair situations. my niece has a texturizer, i wear a press (never had chemical except for hair color), and my sister has a relaxer and we all use it.
I must say on this note I can’t really respond because I happened to be blessed with good hair. I can basically use any type of shampoo and conditioner it doesn’t affect my hair. My hair is never dry and I don’t put nothing on my hair but oil sheen when I wrap it and no I’m not to picky on what brand I use.
i don’t think i could handle flying from NYC to Chicago to get my hair done (you must have a fantastic hair stylist). I too have a perm, I go to the local domincan doobie shop, but i don’t wash my own hair (i’m not into styling my hair either).
Sorry, I have the upper hand on this one. I’ve been blessed with either straight or wavy hair that requires very low maintenance.
However, I do use once in a while use hair & scalp moisturizers. I will give Motions a try!
Thanks for this post BGG,
When I first learned about hair milk from Carol’s Daughter, I made my purchase and I used it for quite a few months. Now that I have found other products like the Jane Carter Nourishing Hair Cream I have not gone back to hair milk.
My favorite moisturizer is now this Jane carter product because it is super light and smells great and it is natural…i love it love it love it. If you can’t find it in stores ladies it is because I bought it all. 🙂
i got this awesome bumble and bumble leave in conditioner once and it was fantastic from my blondness
One of the reasons I decided to go natural was because I was tired of spending all of my free time in the salon chair!
I’m still experimenting, but I usually just clean my scalp with baking soda and apple cider vinegar and wash my hair with cheapo Suave.
When I was relaxed I liked John Frieda products.
kitty vodka i am with you. i love bumble and bumble’s leave in/rinse out conditioner. i think i mainly like it because it’s creamy, but doesn’t leave build up. i am natural as well and it took quite some time to find something that worked. though this stuff is pricey it works well and has lasted me for some time.
i like motions and i think i want to try a few of those other products. my hair gets so frizzy and big….
Ros, I’m confused. What the heck is good hair? ahahahah Hilarious. No matter what a BGs hair issues may be…all hair is good hair! Don’t let the world fool you. It can be challenging but tightly coiled locks are a blessing once you learn how to handle it…just like beautiful BGs:-)
Thanks for the tip… I knew about the pantene, the dr. miracle, the motions, and the carols daughter but havent heard of the others… extremely interested in the first one… will definitely give it a go.
I have used CD’s Hair Milk. It’s not bad.
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk is the devil!! It did nothing for my hair. But I’ve heard good things about Kiny-Curly custard and Mrs. Jessie’s products. They’re a little too expensive for my taste.
I like ORS Olive Oil Hair Lotion.
I’m always on the lookout for moisturizers, I’ve never found one that I love and works. I have very culy hair so i’m rushing out to get and try out kinky curly. If anyone else has any products for curly hair i’d love to hear what works so I can try them all!
Thank you so much for coming to visit my side of the cyber spectrum. It was very much appreciated 🙂
As far as products go, I am a new natural aka product junkie so my closet is jam packed with goodies. One leave in conditioner that has been a God-sent for me has been Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioner and Repair Cream. This stuff is the absolute truth, but it is a selfish product. What I mean by that is that it doesn’t “play” well with other products. Too much of this stuff in your hair can cause a white build up. I tend to use it alone and my hair has never been more soft or managable.
The Optimum Cream that you have pictured is a great moisturizer too. I used that stuff a lot when I used relaxers. I have heard great things about Miss Jessie products, but I don’t think I could could come out of pocket $58.00 for ONE thing. That stuff better be a miracle in a jar at that price!
@Everyone – Thanks for all of the great comments and hopefully I’ll get a chance to try some of your suggestions for wonderful moisturizers!
For my natural short untamed hairstyles I use Miss Jessie Curly Pudding and Curly Buttercreme.
MeMe
I voted for you on the Glam.com awards.
@Solshine – Thanks so much for voting for me!! I truly appreciate it. 🙂
i use optimum and its really good. it’s light and has a nice smell. it doesn’t leave that greasy feeling i get from the other hair creams.
Hey! I’m blessed with “good” hair, too — my hair is dred-loc. My natural super-coil, curly tight, afro hair only requires jojoba oil. I use my hair conditioner, mop’s extreme moisture, as a “leave-in”. Recently, I started using Burts Bee’s cocoa butter and macadamia nut oil body butter on my hair. Once I’ve learned to work with what I have, I love my “good” hair, too.
Great blog Brown Gil Gumbo!
I’ve used Carol’s Daughter hair milk and it did nothing to my hair. I am a Karen’s Body Beautiful girl 🙂 Love her products, especially her hair milk and hair butter. Two oils that I can’t live without are jojoba oil and coconut oil:)
I tried Carol’s Daughters Milk product for my daughter and the first day we tried it, it was beautiful. The next day I screamed when she woke up the next day!
I don’t know how Carol’s daughters hair turned out but I know how my daughter’s hair looked. It was a mess. Maybe Carol’s child hair was different from mine. I will try some of the other products you mentioned. BTW, thanks for all the product tips!!!!
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk is simply wonderful…I love the smell and the feel of my hair after applying it. Unfortunately the cost prevents me from using it as often as I’d like. So products like the Optimum Daily creme mositrizer are a must have. Also I simply love Pantene and Tresemme shampoo. And for a conditioner, I prefer leave in and Infusium 23works great for me.
The only problem with the Pantene is it has mineral oil…I know…I have it…and from what I’ve heard is our hair wont absorb mineral oil. so it’s like a blanket on top of our head sealing out moisture. However I’ve used kinky curly clustard and I love it. I can see that my hair is really moisturizer. It’s just a tide bit sticky. I’m gonna try some of the other products you have up there. to see which works perfectly for my hair.
Hi BGG – just found your blog and gotta say – i’m a white girl who never found hair help til I hit the Ethnic hair care aisle. Motions hair cream is my fave b/c my hair is like a sponge and drinks up whatever I use. I would spend a fortune if i used the more expensive hair products. So I can use a lot of Motions, and I light-handed near my scalp so it doesn’t get to weighed down. I’ll be subscribing!