Drug Store Hair Care

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If you ask any hair stylist what "cheap" or drug store level hair products they would recommend they will most likely tell you none. Drug store level hair products may not be as good as higher end salon quality products but they get pretty close. I chose my favorite hair care lines from the most common retailers nationwide.

I am transitioning my hair from relaxed to natural and finding hair care lines that work for me has been a challenge. No one wants to spend tons of money on a product that might not work. My 10 favorite curly hair lines are not in any order but for more information just click the name and follow the link.

1. Shea Moisture
2. Miss Jessies
3. Carols Daughter
4. Kinky Curly
5. Mixed Chicks
6. Organix
7. Jane Carter
8. As I Am
9. Curls Unleashed
10. Ouidad

Wal-Mart... The biggest and baddest retailer nationwide would have to be Wal-Mart. Where ever you go you will find one. They have expanded their hair care isle in the last few years and I get a ton of my products from them because you can't beat their competitive pricing.

Higher End:

• CHI
• Giovanni
• Nexxus
• Matrix
• Infusium

Lower End:

• Tresemme
• Aussie
• Organix
• Paul Mitchel
• John Frieda

The Worst!

• Vo5
• Suave
• Pantene
• Herbal Essences
• Head and Shoulders

Walgreen's... Walgreen's has more options than Wal-Mart for black or natural hair care but their prices are a tad bit higher. One thing I love about Walgreen's are their frequent clearance sales and its not uncommon to get Shea Moisture products for a steal.

1. 4 Naturals
2. Motions
3. Africas Best
4. Aveeno
5. Dr. Miracles
6. Vidal Sassoon
7. SoftSheen-Carson
8. Burts Bees
9. Rusk
10. Mizani

Target... By far Target has the largest amount of black or natural hair products of any major retailer. I feel like I'm in hair heaven when I go down the isles of Target. They do carry a heavier price tag than Wal-Mart but you get a big variety along with it.

• Pureology
• Bumble and Bumble 
• Cantu
• Biosilk
• Twisted Sista
• Curls
• Fantasia
• ItsA10
• Macadamia
• Clear
• TIGI

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10 Golden Rules:

1. Be open minded... Buying products is all about trial and error, find what works for you and pass on what doesn't. There are forums like Swapsack on Facebook that allow you to share gently used or new hair products with other people for money or something you haven't tried!
2. Stay on budget... Don't go bankrupt trying out new products and pace yourself. Try one hair care line at a time to minimize random impulse buys. Also don't spend a fortune on hair products just because its supposed to be a better hair care line. There are so many other options available.
3. Give it time... Try hair products out for a minimum of 30 days before you make judgement. There is an exception to this rule when your hair instantly hates the product. What doesn't work with your texture may work for someone else's.
4. Don't get attached... Sometimes a manufacturer or retailer stops making/carrying a beloved hair product. Don't mourn for to long because there's always something else that will work just as well or something new coming on to the market.
5. Jump off the bandwagon... In the past year there has been a huge boom in the production of natural hair products. You don't have to try out every single line and it's ok to stick to old school products you used when you were a kid. Being a naturally curly girl isn't a trend that's going away any time soon and its not something new. Every company and its uncle wants a bit of the action. I don't know why it took them so long to realize that being natural is fabulous!
6. Less is more... Everyone's hair is different and depending on your porosity your hair may need more product than others. Start with small sections of hair and apply quarter sized amounts of product. Add more as needed to avoid waste or weighing your hair down. No one deserves lifeless curls.
7. Avoid hoarding... It gets very hard to let go of full containers but if you don't eventually it'll look like a drug store went out of business and dropped half its inventory off on your doorstep. You don't have to throw them away and make sure you know your retailers return policy. Most of the time after a test drive you can still take hair products back within 30 days.
8. Don't be fooled... Companies love to hide harmful things in our hair products like sulfates and silicone's which you can learn more about HERE. Things that say "Sulfate Free" may not be completely free of sulfates. Always check the ingredient list on the back of the products you want to purchase. The ingredient listed are from the largest amount to the smallest amount within the product. 
9. Two words... FREE SAMPLES... Grab, use, and enjoy as many of them as you can get. Websites like Miss Jessies offers free samples pretty frequently so you can test drive their products before you make the big purchase.
10. Online shopping... When you can't touch and smell a product as well as flip it over to read the ingredients I don't think its worth the gamble. Its hard to return online orders and you never know when or in what state the product will arrive to you. Only order from guaranteed websites and check their return policy before you place the order.

FREE Samples From Miss Jessies

Some Of My Favorite Hair Products

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If you insist on online shopping or you'd like to do some research on products here are other great natural hair care websites to buy products.

• http://www.naturalhair.org/
• http://www.sallybeauty.com/
• http://www.sleekhair.com/black-ethnic-hair.html
• http://curlmart.com/top-curly-hair-products/

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