DONT GET SUCKED IN NEWBIES!!!!!!!!!

[vnaps]

i did a list of all the stuff i bought since being on LHCF which i thought i needed........i will be honest and say if someone had said i probaly didnt need it all i wouldnt have gone insane buying stuff

so i've decided to help someone starting out so they dont waste money buying everything....to do this i listed the products i've bought and the ones that i now consider keepers.....

the list is NOT a recommeded product list!!!!!

this is not a "do not buy" list!!!!!!!

i went crazy to begin with (i was extra excited) but i think i have found my staples....the bolded

Oils
jojoba,
coconut,
castor,
Olive oil (i use the on ine the house)
wheatgerm,
flaxseed,
almond

Essential oils
rosemary
lavendar
lemon

Butters
Shea butter
Elasta QP mango butter (loved this but cant find it anymore)

Conditioners
creme of nature,
KPAK hydration,
aphogee 2 min,
aphogee for damaged hair
tresseme frizz control
Do gro deep con
Organics deep con
Dark and lovely deep con
Aphogee (leave in)
Elasta QP (leave in)


Shampoo
Pantene clarifying
Loreal envisage chelating
VO5 nourishing
creme of nature

Moisturisers
Scurl
Ors olive oil lotion
aphogee balancing moistiriser (part of the damaged hair treatment)


Accessories
Jilbere shower comb
Wide tooth comb
Denman brush
Soft bonnet hand hair dryer attachment
Scrunchies
Bobby pins
Rat tail comb (dont use it much but can be useful)
Flexirods (used once)

Other great stuff
Honey
Aloe vera gel
Bi carb soda
Apple cider Vinegar

Other nonsense
Matrix biolage serum
Loreal heat protection (i dont even use heat!!!)
ORS olive oil sheen spray

Dont get caught up guys...its not worth the expense.......i hope my list has shocked some out of unnecessary purchases.....try stuff out but dont over do it

Please write any other stuff you hoped someone would have told you not to do

 

[Mandy4610]

You are right...This board can break a girls bank account.

My stash is significantly smaller now that I know what my basics are.
As a matter of fact, I don't think I can call myself a PJ anymore I am not completely reformed though, I still get the urge.

ETA: You have some good stuff though

 

[divinempress]

Thanks for this.
I've def become a PJ since joining the forum but I've made sure to do as much research as possible to ensure the product is necessary for me.

Different products will work for different people. It is important to know what will work for your hair.

 

[vnaps]

You are right...This board can break a girls bank account.

My stash is significantly smaller now that I know what my basics are.
As a matter of fact, I don't think I can call myself a PJ anymore I am not completely reformed though, I still get the urge.

ETA: You have some good stuff though

I have spent a couple thousands on my hair....in this short time

Thanks....i hope to use up all the unwanted and just have a few bottles in my wardrobe....its embarrassing at the moment....lol

 

[SouthernTease]

I could actually take just a sixth of those products and be good. Bandwagons and whatnot can break a girl. Good of you to post this. I'd just say stay away from the bandwagons. I think technique is more important than products when it comes to hair care. If you're weak... don't go into any product threads focus on technique/method/how to threads and you'll be good.

 

[divinempress]

I have spent acouple thousands on my hair....in this short time

Thanks....i hope to use up all the unwanted and just have a few bottles in my wardrobe....its embarrassing at the moment....lol

im pretty sure I would faint if I summed up the price of all the products I ever bought for my hair lol

what ever happened to QP's Mango Butter?!!? I loved that stuff and all of a sudden my BSS stopped carrying it


Carol's Daughter is another "don't buy" product. It did not work for me at all!..and is soooo expensive compared

 

[Mandy4610]

I have spent a couple thousands on my hair....in this short time

Thanks....i hope to use up all the unwanted and just have a few bottles in my wardrobe....its embarrassing at the moment....lol

I think my life has actually been easier with not having so many products. As much fun as using different things can be, it is also expensive and hard to keep track of what is doing what as well as sticking to a regimen.

My regimen is good now that I only have a few things to use. It is simplified and easy to follow.

I still enjoy buying hair products, but I don't jump on everything I hear about.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

Off topic....WOW....Your hair is super. Another trini gyal...

Thanks for this.
I've def become a PJ since joining the forum but I've made sure to do as much research as possible to ensure the product is necessary for me.

Different products will work for different people. It is important to know what will work for your hair.

 

[PGirl]

I think as a newbie it really did anger me when I added up how much I spent. BUT, as a result, I found products that I LOVE LOVE LOVE! I would never know which ones REALLY work for me if I hadn't tried. Now I have found ways to use up the stuff I don't need anymore like mixing it with DCs or giving it away. But seriously, I think it's something that happens to all of us to some extent but hopefully you will find your staples that way. After that it's just happier hair growing...

 

[divinempress]

Off topic....WOW....Your hair is super. Another trini gyal...

heehee yep! thanks!

 

[jazzzmoods]

GREAT thread......I did it too...limited but nonetheless I still was buying up things I did not need or like or research. Luckily I am not afraid to return a product I don't like.

My worst and most damaging product was CURLFORMERS.....maybe when my hair is longer, but for now, I just ended up with damage and a minor setback.

I know as a newbie you get EAGER to see results and it is hard to know what will work and what will not work. Take time, research and ask questions!!!!

GOOD LUCK and HAPPY GROWING

 

[Millahdoowop]

Oooh I know what you mean. I definitely got sucked in when I was a newbie. I only get the bare necessities now and I spend a LOT less on hair products now. I wish someone had told me.

 

[chamomile]

Carol's Daughter is another "don't buy" product. It did not work for me at all!..and is soooo expensive compared

Gross and expensive...ew.

OT: divinempress, your hair is literally jawdropping =O

 

[SlantedEyezMiss2003]

Thanks girly....I spent tons of money of stuff, I didn't use or didn't need and I could brought me a coach bag!!!!!! But yea, LHCF can dry you out.....but one thing I will say about this site, if it was not for this site, I wouldn't have known about hairveda, shescentit, hydratherma naturals, OCT, Gro-aut, MN, Ayurveda products, coconut oil, and I just ordered some MT(I haven't tried it yet), so I may have spent the money but I found some great keepers.....I won't make MN a staple, but I'm just using it right now......I feel you though....

 

[Stepiphanie]

Yea when I first started I was picking up new products left and right! I was intrigued by the whole SLS nonSLS poo's thing. It took 3 bottles of Giovanni shampoos for me to realize that they strip my hair horribly!! Now they just sit there almost full...and I use ORS poo once a mnth

 

[MrsHdrLe]

I'm new (like this weekend) and so I really needed this post so I know not to throw out all my products and buy all new expensive stuff. Actually I got on this site quite by accident serching for info on Ovation Cell (heard it on the radio) which led me to Mega-Tek, which landed me here. I've since joined, paid the memebership, learned A LOT and realized that stretching is not bad. I'm already in my 6th week (and I just bought a retouch, but I'm not putting it in now). My goal is to go at least until April (braids here I come!!!) and grow healthy and thick hair as long as I can!!!

 

[Carrie A]

My list of staples gets smaller by the month.

 

[mightycute912]

I feel you with over purchasing. I have managed some control, but not all. It is crazy, but I have been broke, so I couldn't purchase everything I wanted.

 

[ladytee2]

I agree bandwagons are bad. Its easy to get sucked in as a newbie. I learned early to test one - ok maybe a couple - thing at a time. I am still looking for my staples but I am making myself use what I have and then try something new.

But for real the real reason I posted in this thread
:eyebrows2 How you gone put sheabutter on the list? :crazy: that aint even right.

And curlformers . My hair almost looked like I had went to the beauty shop when I did my curlformers. I did my moms hair and she was like omg.. She could not believe how nice it came out.

 

[spritex]

This a useful post but bear in mind that for many fnding their staples only comes after using many different products. It's rare (I think) to find someone who immediately found what worked without trying out a variety of stuff. It's a challenging situation. I too spent a lot of money at the beginning and discarded products which did not work for me, I also learned about my hair from seeing how it responded to different things eg: your hair may be protein sensitive and it may take using several products for you to identify the common ingredient. Or you may have used many DC's and none really gave you the moisture boost so naturally you will keep looking and jump on many recommnedations (or bandwagons but I prefer to call them recommendations). Thats why its a hair journey - it cannot be static. Even if you find your staples - they may stop working as your hair needs change..

 

[Urban]

Good lawd woman! That's a lot of products. Really good post though, it's so easy to get carried away

 

[vnaps]

i agree its good to try stuff and seeing what works best.......trial and error.......but i definately went overboard especially with all those oils which i'm struggling to get rid off coz i now wash once a day.....

btw the list is not bad products.....its just products i bought which i hardly use........no offense meant at all.

i also agree that its definately more about finding a technique than anything.....products compliment your regime/technique......

 

[LaidBak]

I bought a lot of stuff too. Almost as much as the OP's list. But I was on a mission. What I was doing in the past wasn't taking me where I wanted to go. So in order for me to know what to use, I had to experiment. There is no way for me to know what's going to work until I actually use it. The only real bandwagon that I regret was MegaTek.

Experimenting is good, but do it wisely. Do your research, get reviews from the board, and never pay full price for anything.

 

[LiciaB]

Thanks for posting this. I'm a newbie (just joined 2 days ago), but have been lurking for a minute. As a lurker I had to fight back the urge to go out and buy more than half the stuff I read about. I'm still in the process of trying to find my staple products, but the budding pj in me wants to pick up something everytime I leave the house .

 

[LadyPaniolo]

It's hard as a newbie. I remember when I first found LHCF I was broke. So I literally could NOT go out and buy all that stuff.

I think the best thing for newbies who want to try stuff is to stalk the Barter board. You can pay a lower price, or even swap with someone. That way you don't spend a small fortune.

 

[RavenMaven]

Thanks for this.
I've def become a PJ since joining the forum but I've made sure to do as much research as possible to ensure the product is necessary for me.

Different products will work for different people. It is important to know what will work for your hair.

I agree. You definitely have to research anything that you buy. It won't break the bank if you know what's good for ya.

 

[DiamndPrincess]

This a useful post but bear in mind that for many fnding their staples only comes after using many different products. It's rare (I think) to find someone who immediately found what worked without trying out a variety of stuff. It's a challenging situation. I too spent a lot of money at the beginning and discarded products which did not work for me, I also learned about my hair from seeing how it responded to different things eg: your hair may be protein sensitive and it may take using several products for you to identify the common ingredient. Or you may have used many DC's and none really gave you the moisture boost so naturally you will keep looking and jump on many recommnedations (or bandwagons but I prefer to call them recommendations). Thats why its a hair journey - it cannot be static. Even if you find your staples - they may stop working as your hair needs change..

I agree with you, what one person might not like, you might like. If you are seriouse about finding what works for you, you have to be prepaid to spend the money to test the products. The only way you'll know if a product works for you is to try it. I would say try the less expensive products first.

 

[HoneyA]

This is good advice. It's easy to get carried away with the products. when I first started my hair needed quite a bit to get into good shape. I bought quite a few oils and Motions CPR treatment which everyone was raving about and using when I got here. As other members said, do the proper research on the techniques and products which will benefit your hair most but you have to be discerning. You can't run out and buy all the products you hear about on here. You can be really good to your hair with 5 good staple products

 

[darlingdiva]

Sometimes it really isn't about getting sucked in. Sometimes, in the search to find products that work for your hair, you find A LOT that don't work and end up with a bag of junk.

That's what happened to me.

 

[Skent]

Thanks girly....I spent tons of money of stuff, I didn't use or didn't need and I could brought me a coach bag!!!!!! But yea, LHCF can dry you out.....but one thing I will say about this site, if it was not for this site, I wouldn't have known about hairveda, shescentit, hydratherma naturals, OCT, Gro-aut, MN, Ayurveda products, coconut oil, and I just ordered some MT(I haven't tried it yet), so I may have spent the money but I found some great keepers.....I won't make MN a staple, but I'm just using it right now......I feel you though....

The hydratherma naturals line is def a staple for me. Although it is a little costly, the products are of such good quality and a little goes a long way. As soon as I started using the products (back in November) I saw a HUGE difference in my hair, so it's definitely a keeper for me. Along with ovataion cell therapy. I tried some other things, but I found myself wanting to try everything that I read about. But I had to fall back, and take into deep consideration that my hair is very different from some ladies that are writing stellar reviews about a product they found. What worked for them won't necessarily work for me and vice versa. I'm all about keeping it simple and enjoying my hair journey as a hobby, not as a part-time job.