Which Product Junkie Are You?
New hair product lines pop up every day, and it’s almost impossible not to want to try them all.
Hence the word product junkie: someone who collects an abundance of products. There are different product junkies, and some may not even consider themselves a product junkie, oh but they are!
Types of Product Junkies
Product Junkie 1:
You want to try a product out, but you buy the full line of products and get bored with it and then buy from another company.Product Junkie 2:
You stay current by buying the latest and most promising products.Product Junkie 3:
You are just trying to find out what works for your hair and at this point, nothing has worked. Once a product doesn’t give you the results you want the first time, you push it to the side and try another one.
I know, these companies have beautiful labels, packaging, smells, commercials, pictures, and much more.
It is easy to get sucked into the hype of every product line and what it can do for you. As fun and exciting or annoying as it is to be a product junkie, there are a few things you should consider before you by another product.
Your Collection of Products May be Expired
One thing product junkies do not take into consideration is the fact that these hair products have an expiration date.
Many products expire between a year and three years. These expiration dates are not on the actual bottle, but some companies will have this information in their FAQ section on their website.
The expiration of a product can come sooner then it should if they aren’t stored correctly or left open. How many times have you forgotten to put your cap back on your gel jar or have left your shampoo bottle open?
Using these products when they have expired will not only change the consistency and strength of a product but will also harm your hair.
Like food and liquids, they create or grow bacteria over time that will compromise the health of your hair and scalp.
It is scary to think about what that much bacteria that has been building for months or years could do if it got into your mouth or eyes.
You Run Out of Storage
You have so many hair products that they have taken up all the space in your bathroom.
Most likely every product has been opened and used then push to the side. I’m sure you have wanted to declutter your cabinets and vanity, but you feel like you may need a particular product on a specific day.
My motto is, if I haven’t used it in a year it’s not that important.
As it says on mostly every bottle, these hair products thrive in cool and dry environments.
How many of you have had your products in the shower or under your sink? These are not cool or dry environments. Just think about how hot and steamy your shower gets every day.
Now think about how long you have been storing products in that hot and humid room. Chances are you have sped up the expiration of every product.
You Waste A Lot of Money
"I like to throw money away!" says no one ever. Even if all these products are on sale, you don’t need them.
A lot of people tend to go on this haul at a store for some shop therapy and buy five or more things just to try. Not that what they have at home isn’t working, just the fact that it’s time to try something new.
The thought of wasted money alone would make me leave my credit card at home. Let’s save some money. The same goes for buying a lot of something you like. Unless you a committed to this one product, and in that case, you wouldn’t be a product junkie; I wouldn’t buy more than two of the same product.
I would only buy two of the same product after I have a good idea of how long one bottle will last me.
Your Hair Needs a Routine
Our hair loves to be clean and moisturized.
Shampooing your hair every week to two weeks is a reasonable time frame before your hair screams, “Wash me!” Using a daily moisturizer with water as the first ingredient will make your hair softer, your styles will last longer, and your hair will not easily split or break.
You can quickly clog your cuticle by layering a lot of products onto the hair or using heavy creams or oils. It will not become moisturized and may be harder to clean all the product out.
Have you ever felt like your hair has gotten used to a product and no longer reacts the same to the product? Some ingredients are not washed entirely out on wash day.
Heavy ingredients like butter, synthetic fillers, castor oil, and coconut oil, are most familiar to stay in the cuticle or on top of the hair strand unless you use a cleansing or clarifying shampoo.
When products or ingredients are not properly washed out, they create layers in the cuticle or a film on top of the hair.
It may take a few shampoo sessions to free your hair of this buildup. After a while, your favorite products will not give you the results you once loved.
When you can lift these heavy ingredients, you will notice your hair reacting to styling products properly and becoming moisturized easily.
So, What Now?
Now that we want to save money, storage, and the health of our hair, let’s create a plan.
Pick five products you feel that you need for not only your hairstyles but also the health of your hair. Your five products should be shampoo, conditioner, leave-in or moisturizer, and two styling products.
Research to see what their expiration dates are and try to think if that time is coming up soon. Remember, if you had the products open or not appropriately stored the expiration will come sooner than expected.
Next, get a good idea of how many styles you can get out of these products. The plan is not to buy another brand or haul of products until you run out of your current five.
After these products are all gone, you can repurchase them, switch out some products, or buy a new brand but still keep it at five products.
Using a consistent five products will help you understand what worked for your hair and what didn’t.
Once a month and every time you switched products, deep cleanse your hair to get accurate results.
