It's Hard Out Here In These Pj Skreets

whiteoleander91

whiteoleander91

stay at your best ♥
I'm working hard to get through my product stash and I've come a loong way. It started to give me anxiety to see so much hair product cramped beneath my bathroom sink. I have a plastic storage bin and I told myself if it can't fit in the bin, then I have way too much stuff. It feels so good to finish a product completely and throw the bottle in the recycle bin!! I still like trying new things but I want to be more sensible about it.

To all of you reformed product junkies: how do you stay on the straight and narrow? :lol: also what led you to changing your PJ ways?
 
https://www.longhaircareforum.com/threads/2015-use-up-the-stash-challenge-session-2.749147/

This is literally how I keep myself on track :lol: When I counted the total amount of products I had from the first session, I couldn't believe I had 104 things. I thought I had around 50 - 60 just looking at it but nope... at the end of this second session I'm hoping to have less than 20 items. If I didn't participate in this I would still be buying so much stuff... It does feel really good to finish/repurpose/give away stuff :yep:
 
CodeRed said:
https://www.longhaircareforum.com/threads/2015-use-up-the-stash-challenge-session-2.749147/

This is literally how I keep myself on track :lol: When I counted the total amount of products I had from the first session, I couldn't believe I had 104 things. I thought I had around 50 - 60 just looking at it but nope... at the end of this second session I'm hoping to have less than 20 items. If I didn't participate in this I would still be buying so much stuff... It does feel really good to finish/repurpose/give away stuff :yep:
Click to expand...

I'm really hoping to have no more than 10 hair products (wish me luck lol). I might have to mosey on into that thread b/c something's gotta give
 
*cracks knuckles* I think I have a game plan. No more than 10 products total: 9 staple products and an empty slot for trying something new (one at a time!!! and I have to completely finish it up, give it away, or throw it away before I can try something else). Think of all the money I'll save! :lol:
 
whiteoleander91 said:
*cracks knuckles* I think I have a game plan. No more than 10 products total: 9 staple products and an empty slot for trying something new (one at a time!!! and I have to completely finish it up, give it away, or throw it away before I can try something else). Think of all the money I'll save! :lol:
Click to expand...

^^^^^This is what works for me. I determined a number based on my hair needs and stuck to it. My magic number was 15. 14 tried and true and 1 slot open for trying new stuff (which is usually deep conditioners).

I like to keep:
2 sets of shampoo & matching conditioners
3 deep conditioners
3 leave in's that double as moisturizers
2 stylers
1 clarifying shampoo & 1 protein treatment



Things I don't count:
~Oils. I have 2. Argan & rosehip seed oil that I use on my face & skin as well as my hair. They are multipurpose.
~My heat styling products. I have 3 that I use every 3-4 months, but only for heat styling. They are not in "REGULAR" rotation so I only have to replace them every 2-3 years. I don't see the need to count them and restrict myself by letting them interfere with another product's spot. lol

You can do it!
 
Several things. I stopped being a product junkie when I realized
  • Most "natural hair" companies all have the same basic ingredients and don't work for me
  • Most "natural hair" products cater to 4a and other curly types
  • Being curious had money leaving my pocket like MC Hammer
  • Not one of those products could moisturize my hair
  • Every single of them were a waste of my time.
  • All I need in this world is my $2 grease
 
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I'm where you are OP. I don't have the space anymore. Plus I have stuff in my fridge for the "natural" conditioners. I'm trying to use them up y incorporating more "natural' styles into rotation bc I use up more conditioner when doing natural styles. (With straight styles, I use very little for lighter, bouncier hair.). My thought is that it's not about what I buy but how much I use. If I would just use more, I'd be fine.
 
I swear my braid extension regimen is what has saved me from being a PJ. I have a set base of products I use when my hair is in braids, so I can tell myself no when I want to buy because I won't get to use them right away. Another thing that has saved me is I don't aim to buy products seem too expensive for me to buy routinely. $20 for an 8 oz DC is too much so I don't even try.
 
ms.blue said:
I was a reformed product junkie until companies started discontinuing and or changing formulas forcing me out of rehab :mad::cry:
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:( I hate when companies mess with the good stuff! my hair is on an island by itself (most mainstream faves suck on my hair lol) so if I find something that is staple or HG status and it gets reformulated or discontinued it's so upsetting!
 
Holla said:
I'm where you are OP. I don't have the space anymore. Plus I have stuff in my fridge for the "natural" conditioners. I'm trying to use them up y incorporating more "natural' styles into rotation bc I use up more conditioner when doing natural styles. (With straight styles, I use very little for lighter, bouncier hair.). My thought is that it's not about what I buy but how much I use. If I would just use more, I'd be fine.
Click to expand...

I've been deep conditioning twice a week and doing my hair every day so that I can get through this stuff!! All of the times I have told myself I wanted to downsize, this is the first time I've actually been serious about it lol
 
lulu97 said:
^^^^^This is what works for me. I determined a number based on my hair needs and stuck to it. My magic number was 15. 14 tried and true and 1 slot open for trying new stuff (which is usually deep conditioners).

I like to keep:
2 sets of shampoo & matching conditioners
3 deep conditioners
3 leave in's that double as moisturizers
2 stylers
1 clarifying shampoo & 1 protein treatment



Things I don't count:
~Oils. I have 2. Argan & rosehip seed oil that I use on my face & skin as well as my hair. They are multipurpose.
~My heat styling products. I have 3 that I use every 3-4 months, but only for heat styling. They are not in "REGULAR" rotation so I only have to replace them every 2-3 years. I don't see the need to count them and restrict myself by letting them interfere with another product's spot. lol

You can do it!
Click to expand...

:sekret: yeah I'm not counting my safflower oil or stuff that I'll have for forever like my bottle of heat protectant and my two hair butters :sekret:
 
I stopped my PJ ways when I realized that I had hair products under my sink, in my medicine cabinet, in the storage closet in the hallway, in my bedroom closet, and I was working on storing stuff in the crisper in the fridge. At the time, I was living with my then-SO and he flew off the handle about me storing hair products in the fridge. I had, without exaggeration, thousands of dollars worth of hair products - lots of it unopened and never used.

I think every time someone mentioned a new product on this forum I bought it. I was so fed up with myself that I decided to just give the stuff away. I couldn't even be bothered with trying to use down my stash. I especially couldn't do that with those natural products that could go bad. I filled three large trash bags with hair products and took the stuff to my job. I told my co-workers to take whatever they wanted because I could not take anything I brought back home. I even had students who came to my office going through the bags. It was like Christmas and I was Santa Claus.

These days, I have two different types of shampoo (Alikay Naturals Black Soap and Sally's version of JPM Awaphui) and conditioner (Alikay Naturals and Sally's version of Nexxus Humectress) , I use oil only to DC (Pumpkin seed oil/Castor oil) , one gel (pink eco styler), and some grease (Grandma Wilkie's and Bronner Bros. Super gro).

It's nice to finally have a place in the bathroom for towels and washcloths again. LOL!
 
prettybyrd said:
I stopped my PJ ways when I realized that I had hair products under my sink, in my medicine cabinet, in the storage closet in the hallway, in my bedroom closet, and I was working on storing stuff in the crisper in the fridge. At the time, I was living with my then-SO and he flew off the handle about me storing hair products in the fridge. I had, without exaggeration, thousands of dollars worth of hair products - lots of it unopened and never used.

I think every time someone mentioned a new product on this forum I bought it. I was so fed up with myself that I decided to just give the stuff away. I couldn't even be bothered with trying to use down my stash. I especially couldn't do that with those natural products that could go bad. I filled three large trash bags with hair products and took the stuff to my job. I told my co-workers to take whatever they wanted because I could not take anything I brought back home. I even had students who came to my office going through the bags. It was like Christmas and I was Santa Claus.

These days, I have two different types of shampoo (Alikay Naturals Black Soap and Sally's version of JPM Awaphui) and conditioner (Alikay Naturals and Sally's version of Nexxus Humectress) , I use oil only to DC (Pumpkin seed oil/Castor oil) , one gel (pink eco styler), and some grease (Grandma Wilkie's and Bronner Bros. Super gro).

It's nice to finally have a place in the bathroom for towels and washcloths again. LOL!
Click to expand...

giphy.gif


that was seriously very inspiring! lol great post you give me hope that I can stay committed to the non-PJ lifestyle once I get through the rest of my stash!
 
whiteoleander91 said:
giphy.gif


that was seriously very inspiring! lol great post you give me hope that I can stay committed to the non-PJ lifestyle once I get through the rest of my stash!
Click to expand...

You can do it! It's been 4 years since that initial purge, and 2 years and counting since I've been committed to PJ rehab. LOL!

Before I moved last year, I found myself accumulating too much stuff again, so I assessed, purged, and kept it moving. Oh, and I only buy new products when I'm out of something I need. No more stockpiling.
 
I'm on my second year of a personnel no-buy challenge and I feel like I've barely put a dent in my stash. At least I've found my staples:

Quantum Chelating Shampoo (I have HARD water)
Nexxus Kerapix (light protein)
Nexxus Emergencee (heavy protein)
Joico Moisture Recovery Treatment (DC)
Leave-ins/Stylers - As I Am line or Komaza line

I'm trying to work my way through everything else. I'm seriously considering donating a good chunk of my stash to a women's shelter, because I just can't go through everything I have by the end of this year.
 
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