I've finally found products for every step of my regimen that I can buy on the ground but that I absolutely LOVE so here's a list of them and a short review.
Hits:
Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo- leaves my hair clean, not tangly, and I don't have to handle my hair with kid gloves while parting to apply my conditioner
Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner- I use this to cowash, meaning I apply it to my scalp and my hair. It leaves my hair detangled and on my hair it removes all the build up from whatever products I had on it. I wouldn't use this as a moisturizing instant conditioner, but to give myself a clean in between shampoos (I shampoo twice a month, cowash six times a month) this is perfect.
Pantene 2 Minute Moisture Mask-
IDareT'sHair I saw you talking bad about Pantene!
. I bet in 2008 or 2009 you too had jars of that relaxed and natural conditioner that was all the rage.
Anyway I love this deep conditioner. It detangles my hair so easily, rinses clean, my hair is buttery soft after an hour under my HotHead, and it's dirt cheap. I have a lot of hair and I use a lot of conditioner. I would compare this favorably to the It's a 10 DC which I loved but cost too much/application. And I have to use less of the Pantene, which makes it's practically a steal.
Cantu Naturals Leave In Conditioning Hair Cream- SOOOO moisturizing. I love this little jar. Applies like a dream and my hair always feel soft and moisturized. I apply generously.
Cantu Naturals Coconut Curling Cream- also very moisturizing. Provides a soft hold for my twist outs/roller sets and doesn't leave a crunch.
Cantu Naturals Coconut Oil Shine and Hold Mist- this is what I use to moisturize my hair at night in between washes. It's amazing. I spritz 5 pumps into my hand for each side of my hair and I always have good second/third/fourth day hair. I simply run my hands over my hair with this product, seal (more on that later) and put in 2 or 4 chunky twists for the night.
JASON Biotin Conditioner- I do a protein prepoo once a month and this conditioner leaves my hair strong, soft, detangled, and doesn't make my hair feel crunchy or extra hard after rinsing.
Pure Shea Butter- I
always used a butter mix to seal my ends after moisturizing. I loved the SSI Seyani Butter, and since I had staple products for all the other categories I used the sealant stage to indulge in buying handmade online products. You can only read about how everyone's hair smells like blueberries for so long. But after
Napp posted that fotki and shea butter I had to get my hands on some. I bought a 2 oz container (don't worry, I'll be back this weekend to purchase like 40 more) of 70% shea butter and 30% coconut oil whipped together. When I say that my hair feels 10 times as soft and moisturized by only changing this one product I am not lying. I've only been using it for 4 days but on both dry hair and wet hair it had wowed me every morning.