Buyer Beware

I really love my hair. Now what else can I do?

Once upon a time there was a young lady who had a thick head of hair. It was textured, strong, shiny and versatile. She could rock her natural fro. She could braid it. She could press it out and even flat iron. There was a time when she had relaxed it. She even transitioned from the relaxer back to her natural without loosing her hair. Occasionally her parents let her go the hair salon; but for the most part she did her hair her self. She was very good at caring for her hair. She did an excellent job her entire doing her own hair. 

One day this young lady grew bored with caring for her hair. (Please keep in mind, that her hair was already fabulous and she was doing a great job doing it herself). Along came Info-mercials. Often times this young lady was tempted to make a purchase, but her wise ol' head would kick in and remind her of how lovely her hair already was. Next, came the kiosk mall carts with their fancy hair care products and styling tools. Again, this young lady was tempted. As usual her wise ol' head kicked in and reminded her of how lovely her hair was. Then one day the internet popped in and bam; she met her match. She was impressed with the "click of the mouse," no icky trap to throw out. She loved the bright lights and the hidden surprises behind every click. She would be online for hours. She was looking for nothing special, just browsing (and to think no shoes, so her feet would not hurt). 

"Stawp it Judy, I can buy that for my hair too!"

Then bam, again. Out of nowhere.....hair care (can't you hear the voice)! "Awe silky silky nah." She was in heaven. There the young lady went and out went her wise ol' head. Before she knew it, her once clear shelves were now cluttered with hair care stuff. Instead of signing for flowers; she was signing for more hair care products and instead of purchasing those Rubbermaid storage containers for her hobby, seasonal stuff and shoes; she was now storing and hoarding....dun dun dun dun....HAIR CARE PRODUCTS!

"How did you get here?" And this was not Deborah Cox asking either. She looked in the mirror and her once long thick textured natural hair was broken, faded, tattered, torn and shortened to something she could not recognize. 

This is a scenario I see one too many times at work, while visiting my friends, shopping and so on. I am often overwhelmed by so many disappointed consumers who have been duped by these unregulated, untrained and under educated plethora of self - professed "natural hair care" Gurus, "healthy hair" stylist, "natural hair care" licensed pros, "YouTube Tell-Its," "As Seen On T.V.'s hair care Susies" and so on and so forth.

What is a consumer to do? Buyer and shopper beware is all I can say. I inform all of my customers; if you have it (hair) on your head before you buy those hair care products and sit in the stylist's chair; you OBVIOUSLY MUST BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. To make a very complicated situation un-very complicated; my response to this crazy hair care products enigma....is FREE samples. 

A fool and her money will always part

Do not spend money on things you can not try first. Hey if the person selling it believes in it so much; tell them to back that thang up! If they stutter or come up with some malarchi....remember it is just that; malarchi. And as for sitting in the chair; a referral is worth a thousand words. Ask around, Google that stylist, salon or professional. Not that professionals do not get bad write ups, but how many is the question. I, too, would be leery of the "Perfect Patties." However, it is how the stylist or business resolve the complaint is what I would be interested in. So, "money back guarantees" always work for me as well as easy return policies.

In conclusion, if the Young Lady in this blog sounds like someone you know, don't fret. It is hair and it will grow back. Go back to your basics. Keep in mind if it sounds to good to be true; it usually is. And last but not least, also keep in mind that America is a country that loves to use fear to motivate the masses to spend spend spend. Soooo, money can be a great indicator of how good or not good something is; but it can also be a indicator of how foolish we can be.

Shop around and as Big Ma would say, "keep it simple silly!"