Thanks in large to the wealth of experts I employ to fill me with knowledge and expertise.
You know, like my bank teller and grocery store clerk.
And please don't underestimate the sally beauty supply lady.
Or the random lady who happens to be standing in the African hair products aisle at the grocery store.
And after this weekend, the black barber shop barber.
Brown skinned hair gods, I tell you.
I have realized something about brown skinned hair products. There are two types:
1) There are those that are marketed to us white momma's. Usually touting the "organic" label and costing at least 5x the logical amount for the tiny size of the bottle the goop/gel is sold in. And never ever ever containing such diabolical contaminants as (can I even write it down?!)... petroleum. Gasp.
2) Then there are the products that all my brown skinned momma friends actually use. Every single product recommended to me by these friends all contain...petroleum. Gasp, again. Of course every single product recommended to me by these friends were all in the $5 range as well.
So, I have had some choices to make.
Do I go with what must be the better product because it can only be found at the whole foods store, is at least $10 more, and tastefully screams how natural all its ingredients are? Even if I've never seen an actual brown skinned mom buying these products?
Or do I go with the budget friendly recommendations from brown skinned momma's that actually use these products on their kids hair?
Hmmm. Quite the dilema. (and I'm not the only white momma who is catching on to this...)
But I think I'll go with my brown skinned momma's on this one.
After all, they are the experts.
And I'm just a crazy white momma that lets her boy dress up in a wacked out version of Michael Jackson. (Yes, the photo is blurry...but this guy doesn't hold still for much these days!)
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Of course, now that I've written this...I will find people coming out of the woodwork to tell me otherwise. And I'm sure there are exceptions. So, I ask...what do you think?
5 comments:
I just wish I had ANY brown skinned Momma's to GIVE me an opinion!! So, please pass the list and techniques on to me...PLEASE!
Hi Jennifer- I found your blog from facebook- Hope you don't mind if I read it :)
None of my brown skinned mom friends use "organic" products on their kids either.
And yes, the beautiful brown skinned Sally Beauty supply lady showed me straight to the petroleum products section that she used on her own kids (4.5 years ago when my first brown baby was born).
When my brown kids get chalky in the winter and regular ol' Jergen's Shea lotion isn't quite cutting it, we use Aquaphor lotion- which is pretty much thicker more expensive vaseline.
And the stuff I use to keep my brown boys scalps healthy- from Sally's (given to me by my Haitian friend) is pretty much coconut scented petroleum.
So, I am with you, while organic sounds lovely, we end up using the P word more often than not :)
Hugs, Tanya Borlase
Please do share! I need all the tips/advice I can get :)
Hi Jen! A good friend of mine created her own product line of all natural products designed for dark skin. I can get some samples and pass them on to Tasha or Kelly (I met you through them). The owners are Kevin and Tassie Small and they are a precious family at Journey Church.
The product name is MECO Naturals. The website is www.meconaturals.com
I know they are not very expensive. I will see what I can get for ya!
Heidi Mayhugh
Hi, been following your blog from your mom's blog :) I guess I will chime in here. A lady in Hawaii told me to use coconut oil on my little girl's hair and stay away from products with alcohol and she would always have beautiful hair. That is all I have used, once a week I wash it and apply a little coconut oil and work it through her hair. She has always had beautiful hair. I also use it for her skin with great results!
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