Poor Leave In Conditioners (Who I Won't Be Using Any More)

Your hair should NEVER feel brittle. That's a red flag. If you're
using a product that dries your hair and makes it feel course,
it's time for a revision. 

So, almost a year ago I wrote a blog post on leave-in conditioners. I discussed the importance of them in every hair care regimen, reminding you all that Afro texture hair will never be "independent". We are forced to take the time to nourish it, when many other hair types aren't. For an entire year, I used and highly recommended Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream. Those days are over. It's one product that no longer works for me.

I recently took off my crochet braids and, as always, had to put in hours of detangling and thorough washing. I decided it was high time to walk around with my natural hair- give it a break from the braids (with protective styling of course). What I was not prepared for was the revision that my hair product collection would need. Garnier Fructis Leave-In Conditioning Cream once worked for me, but after washing my hair, deep conditioning, applying the leave-in conditioner and topping it off with jojoba oil to seal in the moisture, I realized that it would not be the ideal leave-in conditioner for my exposed natural curls. Withing 20 minutes, what had been soft and moisturized dried to a crisp. I kid you not. I even tried to reapply it and seal it in again and that yielded no better results. At a loss, I went to YouTube to find out what the reviews on the product were (something I should have done a year ago- before I started using it). Some natural hair vloggers claimed that it was the perfect product, but many argued that once you go natural it is not effective. It was then that I started reflecting on why it took me so long to find the same thing. For a year, my go-to protective style was crochet braids. They allowed me to wash my hair weekly and I would use the Garnier Fructis Leave-In on the little hair, near my roots, that was exposed. Anyone who knows the chemistry of African hair knows that it is actually the hair closest to the roots that is the best nourished, strongest and least in need of moisturizers. So I was unaware that it would evaporate within minutes of being applied to my unbraided natural hair.

This leave-in conditioner no longer works for me.

Presently, I am looking for a better leave-in conditioner. I was lamenting the brittle state that Garnier left my hair in to my friend when she said, "Black women need to stop being surprised when products designed for Caucasian hair don't work on theirs." She is absolutely right! I now plan on using Giovanni Leave-In Conditioner, one of the best leave-in conditioner, and will be sure to post a personal review.

Transitioning is difficult. Let's face it women, there is a very steep learning curve when you start to go natural. If I received a penny for each time I had to abandon a product I once thought was good, I would be a millionaire. My advice to you natural belles that might be experiencing the same thing: keep on trying. Taking the time and effort to assess and reassess will ultimately be rewarding- that's what's keeping me in the game.