Five hair products you’ve been wasting your money on

If you walk into a woman’s bedroom and bathroom, you’ll probably see an obscene amount of hair care products all lined up next to each other. From videos we watch to blog posts we read, we hear about so many amazing products that work for different people, and as consumers, we end up wanting to own all of them.

ALSO READ: Six tips to maintain healthy hair

You could save so much money if you avoided hair products that do more harm than good to your hair. Below, we share five hair products that you don’t need to buy.

1. Hair growth products

The moment you see terms like, “promotes hair growth” or “stimulates hair growth” on a hair product, you’re in instantly sold. Truth be told, there is no magic hair growth potion that will give you waist-length hair in a short period of time.

Your hair will always grow out of your scalp unless a medical condition stunts its progress. Healthy hair practices will help you retain length, therefore, what you apply onto your scalp doesn’t speed up the process. The product may nourish your hair, making it a conducive environment for healthy hair, but the speed will remain the same.

2. 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner

Shampoo is vital in your hair care routine because you need to wash off product build-up and dirt. Conditioner, on the other hand, moisturizes and softens your hair which is a totally different purpose from a shampoo.

To effectively achieve clean and moisturised hair at the end of your wash day, you need to separate the shampoo from the conditioner in order for both of them to work effectively. Products that claim to give you the benefits of a shampoo and a conditioner at the same time will not help you achieve clean, healthy hair.

3. Edge control

This is especially a struggle to use if you have type 4 natural hair. YouTube has made edge control super popular whereas, before the edge control fad, most of us were using regular hair gel to lay our edges. From personal experience, edge control doesn’t have as strong a hold as hair gel does.

Hair gel is more water-based, making it easier to sleek through hair and keep any flyways down for a longer period of time. Other people may beg to differ, but if you have a regular hair gel that already works for you, just stick to it. You can also wear your natural hair in its glorious state instead of sleeking it down.

ALSO READ: Four natural ways to make your hair soft

4. Protein-based conditioners

Too much protein is not good for your hair so your weekly conditioner should not be protein-based. Excess protein use will leave you with weak hair strands because your hair will lose its natural elasticity over time. Stick to protein hair treatments that are used periodically when the manufacturer recommends that you do 

5. Heat protectants

This is a slightly controversial one, but hear us out. Most heat protectants moisten hair which can do more harm than good. This is because applying a hot styling tool directly onto moist hair will petty much ‘cook’ the hair. It is better to use a dry spray heat protectant or an oil-based one so that your hair isn’t wet in any way.