Hair Tip Monday: How to know if products work?

Truth is you wont know if a product works for you unless you buy it and try it. But there are four questions to ask yourself when you've decided to purchase a product and tried it.

1. What are your hair needs?

It's easy to become a product junkie especially when you're starting your hair journey. You will always be on the hunt for the 'perfect magic hair product.' I remember when I started my journey in 2010, I was still relaxed and playing around with the idea of going natural. I saved my lunch money and bought about five new products that I saw other gurus using: which never worked for my hair. But after giving them away to a few friends who absolutely loved them; I soon recognized they didn't meet my hair needs. Due to this I've been able to curve any 'junkie' behaviour that might pop up. Know what your hair needs. Is it more moisture? Is it protein? Is it a bit of both? Restoration? Itch relief? Having a knowledge of this will not only save you money but also guide you in buying the right product.

2. What does the product say it will do?

Now that you have an idea of what your hair needs, what does the product you are about to purchase claim to do? Take the Treat Me Curly: Oat Extract and Honey Gentle Cleanser with Bamboo Extract & Wheatgrass, this product claims to reconstruct hair, detox the scalp and help with moisture retention. Now ask yourself, does your hair need these benefits?

3. How does your hair feel after use?

So, you've purchased your product and given it a try. What is your experience? Was it good or bad?

4. Did it do what it said it would do?

This is when you'll be able to gather whether or not the product works. Did you experience any of the claimed benefits? If do you did that is clear confirmation that the product really did work for you.

But what about when you've purchased a product that claims to do x; however, has done y for you?

Here are some things to consider:

• Product build-up

It's important to cleanse your hair of built up products as this can significantly impact how other products work.

• Not following directions

Always read the directions suggested. Sometimes products don't work because we use them wrongly.

• Your hair just doesn't like it

Let's face it, sometimes your hair just absolutely hates a product and there's no way getting around that.

• Product tolerance and resistance

We can look at this two ways:

1. Tolerance

When you've been using a product for a while and your hair has become used to it; you can say that your hair has become tolerant to the ingredient/s. 

2.Resistance

 Have you ever found a product that has just one or two ingredient that your hair hates? This can help to contribute to the results you receive. 

• Low porosity

Porosity speaks to how the hair absorbs and holds on to moisture. Hair with low porosity has tightly knitted cuticles which make it difficult to absorb products. Applying your product/s to wet hair as oppose to dry hair can keep with better absorption.

How do you know if your products are working?

Do comment below.