My mom tells my brother and I all the time, “if you are going to put it in your body do not be cheap!” She is that woman from the Caribbean who will not purchase anything from the grocery store that is considered ‘store brand’ because she thinks those products are of lower quality which is why they are priced cheaper in her opinion.
I cannot speak for any store brand product and make any determination on quality because there are a ton of factors to consider. My mother, bless her heart, believes what she believes and that is the end of that. I bring this up because I want to drive home the point that quality hair products matter but in the same breath the price does not determine the quality in all cases.
I believe, like my mom, that if you are using a product on your hair and scalp it should be the highest quality you can find because your hair and scalp are part of your body.
I also have a theory based on years of facts that not everything on the shelves is designed with our best interest at heart. A lot of the products we are faced with daily are created with a ton of fluff and are just created in hopes of a quick sale.
It isn’t all bad though, there are also companies out there that are dedicated to ensuring that every single hair product they make is of the highest quality ensuring that their customer has the best experience with every use.
How do you determine which is which?
Without naming names, the answer lies in the ingredient list. If you look at the ingredient list of any product that you purchase you will see exactly what is in your product.
Full disclosure is important and, by law, all companies are required to have an ingredient list that lists ingredients based on the amount of said ingredient that is in the container. The higher up on the ingredient list a certain additive is the more of that ingredient you will find in the bottle.
This means that if you look at the front of the bottle and you see Shea butter* as their selling point but when you look at the ingredient list, shea butter* at the end of the ingredient list then more than likely that product has very little Shea Butter in it.
It does not matter how cute, how fancy, or how colorful the packaging is, the magic is in the boring section, the list!
How do you know what a high-quality ingredient looks like?
Can you understand the ingredient list?
Sometimes there are some ingredients that we just do not recognize and typically it is something we usually cannot pronounce. Not all manmade ingredients are bad but unless you are armed with a great review or recommendation stick with products that have ingredients that you can easily identify.
The more ingredients you can identify the better it will be for you to determine if that product is for you.
Ask questions
Do not be afraid to ask the manufacturer what an ingredient is if you are not sure about what is in a product. Most times the product will list a phone number or email that you can use to ask any questions of clear up any concerns you might have.
At the end of the day the more you know about what you are using the better your hair will respond and the faster it will be for you to meet your goals.
Do not go by price, always judge a product by the fine print! How often are you reading your ingredient lists?
