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A Downfall of the Booming Natural Hair Business: Becoming a Product Junkie
As featured on Nappturalite Radio: So You Want To Be A Naturalpreneur?
Nowadays, with the widespread availability of natural products on the internet and even in local Target stores, it takes some strong willpower to withstand the urge to start collecting products i.e. becoming a ‘Product Junkie’. As of late, I have noticed my bathroom shelves and cabinets becoming over-crowed with natural hair products, not to mention my bank account getting thinner in the process, which is a side effect of the PJ disease.
I have decided that at the end of the summer (the time of year when I start to wear more protective styles) I am going to commit to using up every last drop of the products I already have before purchasing new ones. *I say the end of the summer because I want to get a couple of more items on my wish list* Of course, this will be no easy feat due to the fact that it seems like every day I come across a testimony of a “wonderful, must-try” product, but I have come up with a plan to stick to my commitment.
My plan is very simple, but it is a sure way to keep me or anyone else from becoming a Product Junkie. The first thing I am going to do is stick with staple products that fit into my hair care regimen. Something to clean my hair, condition my hair, seal in moisture and a styling agent; if anyone was counting that’s a total of four products. I know that for some just having four hair products in their arsenal may sound like an impossibility, but drastic times call for drastic measures.
A cleansing agent, conditioner, moisturizer, and style agent are all anyone really need to maintain their hair. I will even give a few allowances, maybe two product alternatives - bringing the total up to six if you want to switch up on different scents of a shampoo or moisturizer, add a leave-in conditioner, etc. After you have narrowed down your staples, the next thing to do is to commit to using at least 80% to 90% of a product before replacing it. The obvious reason behind not using 100% so you wont be caught in need of something and have none on hand.
When it comes to battling PJ withdrawal, and feeling the urge to try something new that you’ve heard a great testimony about - of course, the ‘plan’ is not to buy anything until you finish the products you already have. But if the PJ monkey is jumping and pounding on your back there is a solution; only buy the sample-size of that product.
This will save you money, space, and if the product doesn’t work with your hair texture you wont have a super-size bottle or jar just laying around. If there is not a sample size available, you will simply have to revert to waiting until you finish one of your older products to buy it. And of course, replace like products with like products i.e. a conditioner for a conditioner, etc.
Another thing that I am slowly learning to do is using a set of products for an entire month. Depending on the size of products and/or the amount and frequency in which you use them, you may have to stretch this to two months at a time. This will help you to avoid the thinning bank account side effect, because you wont just pick up products from every store you visit throughout the month.
Likewise, you will be able to actually add products within your monthly or bimonthly budget to keep track of where your money is being spent. Doing this will help you to get a feel for a particular set of products as well, helping you figure out if they are actually worthy of repurchasing. Also, if you are like me and only wear certain styles in the summer, like wash-n-goes avoid buying products geared specifically for these styles year ‘round.
In summary, sticking to basic staples, cleansing, conditioning, moisturizing and a styling product; using 80% to 90% of a product before buying a new one to replace it and replacing it with a like product; in times of dire need buying only sample-size products; and, avoiding buying products geared for seasonal styles, you will either be able to avoid becoming a Product Junkie, or be - like me- on your way to becoming a recovering Product Junkie.
I recently started a Project 10 Pan. I won’t buy any new makeup or hair care products until I have used up 10 of the current products I own.
This is a great way for me to reduce what I have, keep me organized and find out if I truly like a product enough to repurchase.
You can follow my Project 10 at my blog.
http://convertingaspendthrift.blogspot.com/2010/10/project-10-pan-update-black-eyeshadow.html
That’s a good plan, although having so many back up alternatives for items other than shampoo will put us right back in the product junkie sphere
As a Canadian, being a PJ needs to be avoided since we pay so much for shipping and handling. My strategy is a bit different because of that.
I’ll typically order everything in a product line that appeals to me. Then out comes the notebook to take notes on everything from how the item(s) fared during shipping to ingredients to product application.
The good ones get on the shortlist to be re-ordered and the notebook sticks around in case I’m tempted to order the same product again or a similar product (based on ingredients/formulation)
It doesn’t work every time - yesterday’s shipment of a loc butter with an ingredient I’ve not dealt with before proved that out - but it helps!