Let's Talk: Popular Products Don't Tend To Work On My Hair

[YvetteWithJoy]

Is your hair finicky? Do you read rave reviews, run out and try these highly esteemed products, all largely to no avail?

You're not alone.

Please share your hair details, the special products you've found that DO work for your hair, and the popular products you've tried that do nothing for you.

Hang in there! Slowly but surely we will hone in on the products that our hair loves.

 

[uofmpanther]

Are you low porosity? I've found a lot of reviews are done by people with high porosity hair, so now I specifically look for low porosity reviews. . I also can't do Coconut oil.

I mainly use silk dreams hair care, and SOME products from the original camille rose line - aloe whipped butter gel, Curl Maker gel, almond jai (sometimes), and the shampoo

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

My hair is naturally hipo.

Very few products work well on my hair. I'm still gradually finding staples and holy grail products, though. It's slow going, but worth it!

 

[Saludable84]

I'm Type 4a, LP with thick strands and high density hair.

When it comes to what my hair likes, it is very far and few in between.

I cannot use aloe and avocado in deep conditioners unless their content is very low.

I cannot use shea butter in anything other that deep conditioner. In shampoo, it will tangle my hair and in anything else, it will leave it hard.

Bamboo and MSM strengthen and thicken the hair, but since I have thick strands, it causes my hair to get hard.

 

[KinksAndInk]

The only thing my hair doesn't like is aloe vera juice. It screams, rebels and turns into a tangled mess. There are products like KKNT and SM curling soufflé that either did nothing for my hair or I didn't like the sticky residue they left behind. I can use pretty much anything in my hair, but if it doesn't wow me, I consider it a fail.

I love Garnier sleek n shine leave in, APB leave in and refresher, NurCreations avocado & green tea dc, NC bamboo serum, Jakeala sweet honey hair thang, SM raw shea butter line and CRN almond jai twisting butter. Plus a lot of other stuff.

ETA: I should say that my hair doesn't like AVJ straight out of the bottle or in a liquid product. I can get away with it it certain creamy products. And my hair doesn't have an issue with aloe vera gel. My hair is normal porosity, fine and medium density.

 

[Nightingale]

I'm Type 4a, LP with thick strands and high density hair.

When it comes to what my hair likes, it is very far and few in between.

I cannot use aloe and avocado in deep conditioners unless their content is very low.

I cannot use shea butter in anything other that deep conditioner. In shampoo, it will tangle my hair and in anything else, it will leave it hard.

Bamboo and MSM strengthen and thicken the hair, but since I have thick strands, it causes my hair to get hard.

My hair is like yours, but medium density. Even the products and ingredients you like don't always work for me and vice versa.

The most challenging thing about my hair is that it will not abide by creams, butters, or thick conditioners. Basically anything with a heavy emulsifier and/or high amounts of butters. Those products don't absorb well, give me build up and stiff hair. Also my odd low po hair likes aloe vera and avocado oil. Like, a lot.

 

[Saludable84]

My hair is like yours, but medium density. Even the products and ingredients you like don't always work for me and vice versa.

@AgeinATL and I have this same problem.

 

[LdyKamz]

I remember early on in my journey I didn't know where to begin so I started with popular products that people raved about on the board. When I joined Herbal Essence Hello Hydration was being touted like it was the second coming. I bought that thing and I still remember the nightmare my hair become. Tangled, hard and a mess. I tried to use it up by using it as a shaving cream but I bought a huge liter bottle I think and ended up giving it to my sister.

As I learned more about moisture and protein I started looking at labels and picking and choosing on my own. And I finally have staples that my hair lives and thrives with.

 

[bubbles12345]

All 4bs here love Oyin Hair Dew and Shea Moisture products but my hair hates them and I can't figure out why. I really want to love those products. :Cries:

 

[ms.blue]

My hair is too bougie and finicky....I don't have bougie money to support it lol. My hair doesn't not like coconut oil at all but seems to like only light to medium proteins, not the heavy stuff. Recently as of this yr, I realized also my hair doesn't really like shea butter in leave ins or deep conditioners but in shampoos, it's okay. Aloe vera is strictly based on the formulation in the products. Olive oil which used to be a staple has been replaced by avocado and sesame oil. Glycerin....my hair likes and hate glycerin depending on the day, week, month, season etc...it confuses the crap outta me because my hair doesn't want to make up her mind

So now I pretty much use the same shampoo, the same dc (sometimes adding honey or bekura yam nectar for added moisture), leave ins/moisturizers that responded well to my hair and oil.

 

[Saludable84]

My hair is like yours, but medium density. Even the products and ingredients you like don't always work for me and vice versa.

The most challenging thing about my hair is that it will not abide by creams, butters, or thick conditioners. Basically anything with a heavy emulsifier and/or high amounts of butters. Those products don't absorb well, give me build up and stiff hair. Also my odd low po hair likes aloe vera and avocado oil. Like, a lot.

So.... what your saying is for me to recommend to you stuff that doesn't work for me????

 

[Nightingale]

So.... what your saying is for me to recommend to you stuff that doesn't work for me????

Pretty much. It's crazy

 

[Atthatday]

Glycerin and "The Juice". I have hi po hair.

 

[gemruby41]

The only thing my hair doesn't like is aloe vera juice. It screams, rebels and turns into a tangled mess. There are products like KKNT and SM curling soufflé that either did nothing for my hair or I didn't like the sticky residue they left behind. I can use pretty much anything in my hair, but if it doesn't wow me, I consider it a fail.

I love Garnier sleek n shine leave in, APB leave in and refresher, NurCreations avocado & green tea dc, NC bamboo serum, Jakeala sweet honey hair thang, SM raw shea butter line and CRN almond jai twisting butter. Plus a lot of other stuff.

ETA: I should say that my hair doesn't like AVJ straight out of the bottle or in a liquid product. I can get away with it it certain creamy products. And my hair doesn't have an issue with aloe vera gel. My hair is normal porosity, fine and medium density.

My hair is the same way regarding Aloe Vera. In creamy products it's fine. In liquid products it's mostly a miss on my hair. My hair gets matted.

Apple Cider anything is the devil for my hair. My hair gets so tangled and dry with products that contain apple cider. My hair is high porosity, and these do not agree with my hair.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Oyin Hair Dew
Oyin Hair Dew is one of the ONLY popular products that actually works on my hair. And it works great. If this was 5 years ago, I would run to the computer and buy samples for the whole line to see if they work. But I'm experienced now: I know that just because the Hair Dew works, that means absolutely NOTHING in terms of whether the other products in the line will work or not.

Shea butter
I'm starting think my hair does not like shea butter. Hardly any Shea Moisture products work for my hair, except for a DC and a gel and an oil. All those leave-ins and conditioners and stylers . I read the rave reviews, and I'm like, really?

I'm curious about . . .
I really, really want to try Darcy Botanicals pumpkin conditioner and My Honey Child's Type 4 cream . . . but well-reviewed products hardly EVER work for me.

'Cones???
I have been avoiding 'cones like the plague. Maybe I'm supposed to try 'cones. I dunno. I've read all about the reason to avoid them, and I definitely don't want to have THOSE types of issues. I have a product called Marc Anthony's Curl Stretch that I think I need to revisit (it really elongated my hair and made it shiny). But . . . just knowing about the 'cones in it made my scalp itch!

 

[Cattypus1]

Coconut oil...makes my hair hard and makes my scalp itch. I tried to love it once I went natural but it is not my friend. I know it's not a hair product per se.

 

[Evolving78]

Are you low porosity? I've found a lot of reviews are done by people with high porosity hair, so now I specifically look for low porosity reviews. . I also can't do Coconut oil.

I mainly use silk dreams hair care, and SOME products from the original camille rose line - aloe whipped butter gel, Curl Maker gel, almond jai (sometimes), and the shampoo

That how my hair is and I'm low po. I can't use hardly anything others rave about. They just sit on top of my hair.

 

[LdyKamz]

'Cones???
I have been avoiding 'cones like the plague. Maybe I'm supposed to try 'cones. I dunno. I've read all about the reason to avoid them, and I definitely don't want to have THOSE types of issues. I have a product called Marc Anthony's Curl Stretch that I think I need to revisit (it really elongated my hair and made it shiny). But . . . just knowing about the 'cones in it made my scalp itch!

Cones aren't for everyone but they definitely aren't the devil. I attempted to have all cone free products for a while and when I tried my hair was a mess. Now that I don't actively avoid cones my hair is fine. Just have to make sure you use a decent shampoo for build up.

 

[YvetteWithJoy]

Cones aren't for everyone but they definitely aren't the devil. I attempted to have all cone free products for a while and when I tried my hair was a mess. Now that I don't actively avoid cones my hair is fine. Just have to make sure you use a decent shampoo for build up.

Thanks, Kammy.

I'm starting to think that being so strict about silicones might be tripping me up and holding me back. There's a Tightly Curly ingredient dictionary that I think differentiates water soluble 'cones from the non water soluble ones that are hard to remove and cause build up and ultimately dryness.

I'm scared to branch out, but I think the next time I go to my hair stylist (who does stellar wash and go's), I'm going to ask her to use the Marc Anthony Stretch on one side of my head.

Sometimes this hair journey is really fun, sometimes it's fatiguing.

 

[whiteoleander91]

Maaan. A lot of things ppl love my hair hates and I realized that early on. The only time I bother looking for reviews for something is when I am about to drop some serious cash! Lol

I have tried to figure out my porosity before with no concrete answers, which makes me think that I am normal porosity. I figure if I were on either end of the spectrum it wouldn't be this hard to guess lol.

One thing I can say that separates my hair from the majority is that my hair HATES heavy product. So heavy creams, butters, "rich" products, products that just "sit" on the hair...do not work out for me. Things will start out okay or even great but eventually my dries out and feels horrible. I have to clarify frequently b/c I experience build up easily. I think this is where it all stems from, and why the things that most ppl like tend to not work on my hair.

My hair tends to respond well to gel and gel like products, serums, very light creams, and most shampoos (my hair isn't very picky about the 'poo ).

Oh and I am still mad about Hello Hydration

ETA: my hair is a 3/4 mix, maybe mostly 3c with 4a in the front IDK my hair looks different depending on how I detangle and apply product lol

 

[fasika]

My hair doesn't like Shea Moisture products in general. I currently use a deep conditioner that it seems to like ok, and that's the best one so far.

Also Kinky Curly products. Very very blah for KCKT, and a straight-up nope for the curling gel.

EVCO is another. It's okay as part of a prepoo but nothing else. It makes my skin itch (scalp and rest of my body) if I use it as a leave-in or as a moisturizer on my body. It also gets a disgusting rancid smell.

Basically, my hair doesn't like cone-free and natural products. It likes regular products.

 

[DarkAngell]

Yup. My hair doesn't like much. In the many years I've been on this forum there's very little products that I've tried that work on my hair.
At this point I only do co washing with aussie and put either coconut oil or shea moisture curl enhancing (gel?). Shea is the only thing that gives my curls MAAAYBE a little more pop. I don't get it. And i never truly understood how to tell the porosity of my hair. I do have thick strands, a lot of hair, and textures range from 3B to 4a.

 

[morgandenae]

Man my hair don't care. I give her something cheap she's like 'meh'. I give her something expensive and she's like 'whatever'. It's like she cares about nothing in life and I can't read her

I so envy you girls who know what your hair wants and needs. I just buy a whole bunch of and pray one day one product she speaks up either way.

ETA: I'm 4A Normal Porosity

 

[Nightingale]

My hair tends to respond well to gel and gel like products, serums, very light creams, and most shampoos (my hair isn't very picky about the 'poo ).

same here minus the serum. Haven't tried those.

 

[NaturallyATLPCH]

Oyin Hair Dew
Oyin Hair Dew is one of the ONLY popular products that actually works on my hair. And it works great. If this was 5 years ago, I would run to the computer and buy samples for the whole line to see if they work. But I'm experienced now: I know that just because the Hair Dew works, that means absolutely NOTHING in terms of whether the other products in the line will work or not.

Shea butter
I'm starting think my hair does not like shea butter. Hardly any Shea Moisture products work for my hair, except for a DC and a gel and an oil. All those leave-ins and conditioners and stylers . I read the rave reviews, and I'm like, really?

I'm curious about . . .
I really, really want to try Darcy Botanicals pumpkin conditioner and My Honey Child's Type 4 cream . . . but well-reviewed products hardly EVER work for me.

'Cones???
I have been avoiding 'cones like the plague. Maybe I'm supposed to try 'cones. I dunno. I've read all about the reason to avoid them, and I definitely don't want to have THOSE types of issues. I have a product called Marc Anthony's Curl Stretch that I think I need to revisit (it really elongated my hair and made it shiny). But . . . just knowing about the 'cones in it made my scalp itch!

Just a thought, I know you've been dealing with tangling, try some cones. My hair does really well with amodimethicone. Cones are not as bad as they are perceived to be, just gotta do trial and error. Dimethicone is too heavy for my hair and makes it greasy and weighed down. Plus I only use cones when I DC when I do use them.

 

[NaturallyATLPCH]

I have now come to the conclusion that it's not that my hair doesn't like certain things, it's just the performance of them yield different results so I have to make sure if I use them, to use them for that purpose.
Hair: Low porosity, medium density, fine strands, kinky pattern

As a result, these things do the following for my hair:
Avocado: acts as a smoothing protein. If I wanted to straighten my hair, this would be perfect. But that ain't happening.
Castor Oil: Weighs it down because I have fine strands. So I would need to mix it with a DC and rinse it out and not leave it in my hair
Aloe Vera: closes my cuticles so I would need to use it as a sealant
Coconut Oil: Use as a prepoo to wash out

So I've stopped saying these things don't work for my hair but instead, say they need to be used for the purposes they were intended for as the effect they have on my hair.