5. Buy local where possible – I don’t know about you but I will occasionally run out of something that I desperately need and I prefer to be able to purchase and take it home the same day.
I know it’s not always possible to get all that you need at your local BSS particularly if you live in a remote location so many of us have to rely on online shopping. But this is where you are also likely to overspend.
Keep your online purchases to ‘must have’ items making sure to shop in places that you are able to get free shipping (like Amazon) and of course buy in bulk where you can.
6. DO NOT watch any product reviews while recovering – This one is vital, you wouldn’t ask a recovering alcoholic to practice sitting in a bar without ordering a drink, you wouldn’t take an overeater to an all-you-can-eat buffet so why put yourself in a situation that will cause you to fall off the wagon?
Put YouTube videos with products that you want to try on the back burner until you are in the market to replace a vacancy in your staples supply. The videos and the products will still be there when you are ready to buy and who knows, if you wait long enough you may even find different reviews that may change your mind about trying the product.
7. Become a kitchen mixtress – Concentrating on your current product pile is an excellent way of creating ‘new’ products without purchasing anything. Add a touch of honey* and olive oil* to a hair mask that’s just not hydrating enough. Or add a dash or two of pure shea butter* to a thin conditioner to make it richer and more luxurious.
There are endless ways that you put can products together to create new ones. For instance, a little bit of a silicone free leave in conditioner* can be combined with aloe vera juice*, water and a few drops of essential oils* to create a refreshing spritz to moisturize and spruce up your styles mid week. Get creative in the kitchen and it will take your mind off buying.
In closing…
I have been a product junkie in the past myself buying anything and everything that came out but I have ‘matured’ as a hairlista and now I starve my addiction by picking up multiple jars of my current staples. Yes, instead of buying 1 jar every two weeks, I will buy 3-4 at a time so that I don’t find myself at the BSS too often.
They say that once a junkie, always a junkie and I believe that I still do possess a few tendencies to PJ-iesm but with the rules and limitations that I place on myself and the fact that I know my hair well enough to be able to tell if a product will work or not, I am less likely to indulge.
Yesss I has the BC two weeks ago and I’m still trying to find what works with my hair. I’m 4c
Yes still trying to find what works! I’m 4c please help!!!!
Yes, I am…
Me too!!! Me and my daughter have 4c hair it’s hard trying to find products that hold these curls!!
Yes….looking for the nearest rehab!!! Lol
Yes, I am..
I have no more counter space, because I have so much PRODUCT!! I need a12 step program
no no noooooooooooooo 🙂
I refuse to be a product junkie. I did my research on my hair, looked up products others were using and researched those. I also got recommendations from my friend who specializes in natural hair care. Only then did I decide on a few and purchased. If I didn’t like it after a couple of uses I took advantage of the return policy.
ugh I am I just went back to my mixed chicks
I AM…have products i haven’t opened. O but will try ’em.
I realized I’m becoming one.
I don’t buy everything I see
No! I use to products only!
This came just in time. I’m transitioning & was going to head to the BSS today for a deep conditioner & moisturizing butter. I know I would leave w/ way more than I went for, so think I’ll stay home & just make use of the items I already have.
No. It just doesn’t make sense to think it makes sense to keep purchasing products and you haven’t really given previously purchased products a real chance to see if they work. There are no miracle cures for hair so if you want to see IF something that was ‘recommended’ as a ‘go to’ by some blogger will work for you, you need to use the majority of it to see how your hair will react long term. Not just a few times and move on to another. “Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That!!!” Or money for that matter if you’re smart. Unless you see your hair on the floor after one or two uses then use them up first. You may find over time they have some benefit. Most of the products are not found in the dollar store so how is it wise to waste your money? Anyone who thinks it’s a smart idea, I’ll send you my address and you can just send me your cash. I have a few bills to pay each month and I like to eat about three times a day. Sheesh….
At the beginning of my natural hair journey, I definitely used to be a product junkie. Now, two years in, I’ve reigned back the junkieness. Finding HG and staple products in each category has really helped to cut down on my product spending. I am loathe to try a bunch of new products when I feel that the ones I already have are going to perform better.
I still have a bunch of products to go through, but my spending on products has gone down dramatically.
I kinda am. I went crazy on these YouTube websites trying to find the right product. Ran out to the BBS and made myself crazy trying to find the recommendation. Nothing worked except the eco gel lineup. I have 4c hair. Everyone that I find on the web has that natural curly hair to begin with so it just curls up with water. My hair kinks up with water and If I don’t try to comb it our before it dries, it turns into a rock so I have to add more water and then twist or something to work with it later. I just want to know some great styles with midlength 4c hair. I understand 4c ad 4d are the most fragile because they are the driest of hair so we need to moisturize, moisturize, moisturize I just need to know with what and styles. I just cut out all of my perm last week, I have been transitioning for over a year now I am lost.
I believe I am but I don’t want to be…lol
I went to product junkie anonymous rehab and now I’m doing much better.
I am a product junkie and proud of it, I love trying new styles, as well as products. The teen up the street, would suffer it I went to rehab. She loves her natural hair, her mom won’t buy her products, so I give her what I don’t like.
I am too. It starts off small…
Yes I am
I can definitely relate to this….every time I watched a product review I would be tempted to try to find the product. I can finally say that I’m doing much better and my stash of products has definitely thinned out. I had so many products I could have literally started my own BSS lol.
It not easy passing up the great sales out there. I purchase what I need.
I was totally a product/tool junkie in high school! I’ve done away with my old ways (for the most part) lol. The only things I honestly spend money on is shea butter, oils, and aloe vera. I mix my own creamy shea butter for hair & skin which works wonders. I make my own face wash and toner too. Outside of that I buy conditioner to co wash, either Giovanni or Avalon and shampoo with black soap or Bronner’s unscented castille soap.
Can excessive product weigh down my twist out? For example can my hair be too heavy due to applying to much product and ruin the chance of a successful twist out?
Yes I am. *sigh*