Dirty Hair Works Better

So I've come to the realization that my hair must be "dirty" for it to cooperate when it comes to styling. I have great hair, beautiful even! It is au natural, free of dyes, bleaches, and chemical treatments. It's healthy, and I enjoy it. But its extremely fine and cleans very well. Too well, in fact. I can't just let it dry and go. It gets a bit out of control, somewhat poofy, and exceptionally wispy. My segmented, choppy do doesn't help with that either. It needs something.

I've experimented with various hair products - pomades, texturizing creams, and even waxes. The "problem" with many of these types of products, there is an element of gumminess to them. They act somewhat like a gel, but offering a bit more give and play than a pure gel would. But I don't need my strands to stick together. I just need them to behave a bit better.

I stopped in at the local Dollar Tree and perused the hair products aisle on the chance whim that they may have something I could use. There were slim pickin's. Gel, hair spray, and ethnic beauty products were about all that were offered. That, and a product called "hair mayonnaise." The name is enough to turn me off despite its boast of containing olive oil and my mother having once used it. There were a few different ethnic products that seemed interesting. I read about 3 or 4 different canisters.






I did finally find something that made me stop and ponder a little more. I didn't need anything to help my hair grow. Putting something in my hair with oil as the main ingredient didn't seem like the best option. I don't want to end up with a greasy head. But I did find this...

It does contain olive and bergamot oil but it claims to be: "An all-purpose conditioner that repels water with olive oil...prevents dryness, aids in styling, protects from breakage, adds sheen." I knew I was taking a chance, but figured at the worst, I'll be out $1. So, I bought it. As soon as I got home, I applied the "hair dress." At first, I thought, "Hey, this could work!" It tamed my tresses and made them incredibly soft, and my hair didn't appear overly greasy. However, by the end of the night, having had time to sit in my hair, it did appear a touch to the greasy side. *sigh* I'm not totally throwing this one out yet. I want to give it a few more go's, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

In the past, I've had the best luck with L'Oreal's Studio Line Out of Bed Weightless Texturizer, which retails for less than $5. It has very little gum to it and doesn't add bulk. To be honest, to get the best results, I probably need to spend a little more time on my hair when using any product. But out of all the ones I've tried, I've liked this one best. 

If anyone has any hair care products that work great for them, feel free to share. As you can see, I'm up for trying just about anything so long as it doesn't break the bank in the process. :)

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As a followup to my last post, "Popular Pairings," I just wanted to quickly share the below photo. (I apologize that the quality is not the best, but you get the idea). My sister sent this to me with the tag, "Steve (my brother-in-law) reads your blog :) Ok I might have helped him a little lol." As you can see, he paired his striped shirt with the argyle print sweater, keeping within the color scheme of both and looking dashing as a result. Go Steve-o! :) And thank you to Erica for being the first one to provide photo feedback. I love it!