Help! My Natural Hair is Costing Too Much Money!
Last updated on August 5th, 2024 at 08:18 pm
If you’ve been natural for more than 5 minutes then you know how easy it is to go darn near broke buying what you think will be your next holy grail product. After all, if her hair likes it yours should too right?
One of the biggest mistakes you can make on your natural hair journey is becoming a product junkie. Sure, its fun to try different products. I mean the scents of all the yummy hair products can be absolutely intoxicating! Plus, you need to figure out what your hair really thrives on and that sometimes requires a huge process of elimination.
With all of those influences, your wallet doesn’t stand a chance. You have to get this natural hair thing right!
I’m not going to lie. Natural hair can be expensive. However, you don’t have to go broke discovering what products you need in your life to hold your hair down. I’m about to share some ways that will help you keep more of your hard earned or given money (cash doesn’t discriminate) while still providing your beautiful natural hair what it needs.
One Product at a Time
One shampoo. One deep conditioner. One styling product. Just try one-product-at-a-time. Then, unless you know that your hair is sparking an all out rebellion as a result of using that one type of product, don’t purchase another until the bottle/jar is done. (see what I did there? no excuses).
[tweetthis]Buying 1 type of hair product at a time helps you discover what works best while keeping your $ in check.[/tweetthis]Include It In Your Budget
Now, I know so many people shrink at the word “budget.” The truth is if you don’t have one, then you have no real clue where your money is going. So, just like you need to set a budget to manage your spending in other areas, your hair products should be on that budget (right up there with your cable bill).
When you set a budget for how much money you can comfortably afford to spend on hair products, the pressure of over spending is removed.
Product Swap
Look for natural hair meet ups in your area that do product swaps. Then, attend a few. The ladies will bring gently used products that they don’t care for to swap with others. You can bring your zeros and swap them for a potential hero.
In case you don’t know:
[tweetthis]”What works for your head of hair may not work for mine.” And, vice versa[/tweetthis]There Will Be Another Sale!
Often times we purchase our favorite hair products because they are on sale. Merchants have a grand way of making us consumers feel like we will miss out if we don’t cash in on their latest BOGO sale.
The truth is if you are already stocked with hair products, there’s no need for you to purchase new ones just because they’re on sale. That would operating in fear like there won’t be another sale. You and I both know that there WILL be another sale! As a matter of fact, you’ll probably discover multiple sales take place before you run out of the products you’re already using.
Do It Yourself
If your natural hair is costing too much money, considering doing a lot of things yourself. Natural hair maintenance can include the cost of hair products but it’s not limited to that. Trimming is also a part of your upkeep but you can learn to do it yourself. In fact, it’s popular among most naturals. There’s a  number of video tutorials on self trimming to be found on YouTube. When it comes to the more complicated services like coloring, see a professional.
To further keep expenses low, you may need to become a mixtress and make some of your own hair products. The best part is you don’t have to have any knowledge to do so. There are many DIY hair recipes to be found on the internet. Just search for what you’re interested in whipping up and you’ll find many articles, photos and videos to help you out. Here’s one I love and make regularly: Goat’s milk and honey conditioning hair mask.
Natural hair doesn’t have to be costly. If you find that you’re spending much more money than you would like, consider these tips I’ve just shared with you.
Do you keep your expenses low by practicing anything I’ve shared?
When I started on my natural hair journey I used to buy every product they say it helps grow longer hair, little did I know that everything starts from the inside. Good nutritional diet and a bit of exercise and water intake – like they say in the hair world “a little goes a long way” lol.
I know what you mean. I don’t always eat the best but I’m definitely a work in progress!
Hello Michelle!
I believe I am also a fine hair natural, however I may also be protein sensitive. About two months ago, I had stated my journey to healthier hair and read that coconut oil was wonderful for natural hair. Unfortunately not for me. After few uses (pre-pooing and sealing) with coconut oil, my hair started shedding at an alarming rate. I was wondering if you had any recipes, conditioners, shampooes, oils, etc that would be helpful for protein sensitive fine hair? I want to start co-washing (my hair is very dry as well, particularly at the ends) but have no idea what affordable conditioner to use. I bought Aussie Deep Conditioner but that stuff is horrible for my hair. After using it, I had tons of shed hair. You could literally make a mini doll wig with the amount of shedding I had. Anything advice would be so very welcome!
God bless!
Hi Sarah, Is it possible that you could be shedding for another reason? Hormonal? Medication or anything else?
As for “protein sensitivity”, please understand that it’s a term someone came up with. Your hair is made up mostly of protein. Therefore, it requires protein to remain strong. The problem I believe with a lot of ladies is they use the wrong “type” of protein for their hair.
There’s many types of proteins and it may just be that your hair requires a lighter version of protein. In addition, you have to follow every protein treatment with a deep conditioning treatment.
Trust me. If you are having breakage (not shedding), protein is what you need. It’s not something you need to do at every wash day however. For most, once a month is enough.
Here’s a couple of article I wrote that shed more detail on the use of protein:
http://www.finenaturalhairandfaith.com/why-fine-hair-needs-protein-how-to-strengthen-it/
http://www.finenaturalhairandfaith.com/shocking-truth-about-protein-and-hair/
Now, for the conditioner recommendation, I’d say use something without silicones. Aussie Moist has silicones in it. I don’t personally have issues with silicones but I know that a lot of ladies do. TRESemme Perfectly (Un) Done conditioner is pretty good. I also highly recommend many of the Shea Moisture conditioners. They are a little more pricey but I find them to be much more effective than the drug store brands.
I hope this helps.