My New Crew: My New Hair Routine

Check out close-ups of my new hair products, lol....

I seriously have never been so excited to get hair products in my life. Why was I so freaking happy? Because I did research. The best thing about the internet and blogs in particular is that it allows people to connect and get advice from other people- just like them. I web-surfed my bum off the other day figuring out what products to get, what to make my routine. I checked out many blogs and forums and I looked at peoples before and after pictures- I respected/reverenced more the girls who had broken short hair before and long thick full "you must got some indian in you" hair afterwards. And I also kept in mind which products and brands have worked best for me in the past (patene and mizani).

I had my list, yes list and headed to my favorite beauty supply store- the one where the asian owners are nice and have smartly hired amiable black women as staff (there's two chicks, they give advice and have tried alot of the products - weaves and all). Anyway so I go there pick up some things, then I go to another- the really big one that was like product heaven for someone on a mission to find particular products. I that one I found the main ones I was looking for, like the Elasta QPR. Oh, and I stopped at Walgreen in between to pick one product as well (the Neutrogena Triple Moisture).

And this is what I came home with (minus the Patene and Mizani- I already had those). I spent about $40 bucks, but it was cool- I was more than happy to.

1. Shampoo- Creme of Nature Ultra Moisturizing Shampoo
They say shampoo strips our hair (people of color) from its much needed moisture, so a moisturizing shampoo is a MUST, some people don't even use shampoos, instead they use a cheap conditioner as their shampoo (like Suave). I think I had planned on getting the detangling shampoo, but just ended up with this one instead.

2. Conditioner- AtOne Reconstructer Conditioner

3. Deep Conditioner- Elasta QP DPR-11 Deep Penetrating Reconstructor
Everyone swears by this stuff, so I HAD to get it--- it works so WELL, my hair was left SO soft after using it.

4. Deep Conditioner- Creme of Nature Nurturing and Strengthening Treatment
This came free with the Creme of Nature shampoo, yes that BIG jar came free, so it was a fluke that I purchased, but I later found out that one of the girl bloggers with great hair uses it, she actually replaced the Elasta DPR with this one....

5. Deep Conditioner- Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural Deep Conditioning Mask
I just so happened to see this when I was contemplating on whether or not to by more patene pro-v. It was so pretty-looking (the jar was) and most of them were gone, so went 'what the heck' and picked it up.

6. Leave-In Conditioner- Elasta QP Leave-In H2

7. Leave-In Conditioner- Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk-Touch Leave-In Creme

8. Oil- Kemi Oyl

This one chick on a hair forum, with a bunch of pictures of her hair says this is the one oil she couldn't leave without. So I decided to buy it... first I couldn't find it, but it ended up being on the check-out counter.... 3 bucks for a tiny bottle of oil, its a bit pricey, but I've used it on my hair the past two days and it seems (only seems) to help my hair grow a bit and it keeps the hair nicely quenched.

My Shampoos and Conditioners:

My Deep Conditioners and Leave-Ins:

UPDATE: I am no longer using creme of nature. It is still a good product, but patene pro-v and mizani have the best shampoos. Also, shampoos are not that good for colored-american (black) hair, so its best to use a really good moisturizing shampoo when you do decide to shampoo.

List of the Best Products for African American Hair

My sisters and I have used a lot of different products over the years, we've had a few different hair beauticians and they were all good at what they did. I also have a whole host of friends who have great hair and they use great products (not that this matterspersay, but they come from well to do families and are able to spend alot getting their hair done every week or 2).So with my experience I feel like I am accurately able to name the best products for women of color:

This list is in NO particular order. The best product for you totally depends on your hair type. After I name the best, then I 'll give you my general preferences and recommendations.

1. Mizani

2. Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural

3. Nairobi

4. KeraCare

5. Dr. Miracles

6. Organic Root Stimulator

7. Design Essentials

9. Essations

10. Jane Carter Solutions

11. Elasta QP

12. Nexus


Others: Straight Request (Silky Milk), Redken, Designer Touch, Dudley's, Bronner Brothers, Nioxin

If you check with any great hairstylist, they will agree that these are the best mainstream hair products hands down.

My personal recommendation is to use the products that are infused with more natural minerals oppose to the products that are chemical heavy--- but again it just depends on your hair.

For example, I swear by Mizani because it had truly nurtured my hair, but my sister and aunt use Keracare. I personally don't recommend Keracare as a whole because it had done more damage to my hair than good... but that's just because alot of their products are just so strong. There perm is too strong and the fact that they have shampoos and conditioners that are the color blue makes me realize that I should have never used them (in retrospect). Because a light blue opaque shampoo is completely unnatural... its reminiscent of a perscription shampoo and I beleive should only be used if you have severely dry and itchy scalp. But with that said Keracare does have great products- their glossifier and leave-in conditioner are really good!

I also believe every woman of color should implement Patene Pro-V Relaxed and Natural into their hair maintenance routines. Though seemingly too mainstream and perhaps not as high-end, Patene Pro-V is one of the best haircare systems for every woman (white, black, or and mix) and almost every celebrity hair stylist will recommend patene as an alternative to their self-named brands... it really is that good.

Nairobi is a product that I have not personally used, but want to. Why, you may ask.... well because during college every once in a while I would meet a woman whose hair was just so pretty and healthy looking and black that I would have to ask them what they use... and Nairobi was always the answer. So I feel like they have a good product- I've seen and touched the hair of Nairobi product users and I'll have to give them two thumbs up.

At a certain point during high school, I was adamant about my hair growing. So I stopped using gels, spritz, and alot of heat and I began to wrap my hair each night and nurture it. During my "nurturing" I would lightly "grease" my hair each night with my product of choice- at first Keracare, but I felt the clear Glossifier was lacking nutrients and the clearish pink Dry and Itchy Scalp moisturizer was too strong. Then I began to use Mizani's Rose H20 in conjunction with their Overnight Treatment- this worked well. But I felt like my hair became the most thick and was the strongest when I used Organic Root Stimulator Carrot Oil in conjunction with the Mizani products every now and again.

The Dr. Miracles commercials are funny and entertaining, but in my opinion that made the brand seem like a gimmik... I never desired to use it because I simply didn't belive the hype. But, my mother proved me wrong. She cut her hair to right below her ears (mid-neck) and a few months later her hair was to her back... her secret- using Dr. Miracles Stimulating Moisterizing Gro Oil every or every other night (and tying her hair with a silk scarf). Now the Gro Oil does have a strong smell and it's very liquidy, so not all people may be moved to use it.... but it works. I use it every time I get cornrolls and it keeps my edges straight and my hair looking and feeling healthy. Because this is an oil, if you are wearing your hair straight you should NOT saturate your scalp with it, just very lightly dab a little on parts of your scalp and edges (only do this a few times a week).

Each of us have our own experiences with hair products, feel free to share yours- and be as specific as you can:-) What are your top hair care products and why?