The thought of natural hair is often associated with cost. The price of hair care items such as shampoos, conditioners, ointments, the different brands available and the variation of protective styles can be daunting. Not to mention merging natural hair care with your already busy life. All these financial responsibilities can discourage you from the idea of starting a healthy hair journey but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Yes, natural hair can be tedious to care for. It also has the tendency to get expensive but from my experience you don’t have to break the bank or spend all your free hours on hair care. All you need to do is set your budget and work within those limits. With that in mind, I have put together 6 tips to help you attain and maintain healthy hair and not break the bank.
DIY ALL THE WAY
DIY products will save you a lot of money on your hair care journey. If you think about it, why spend so much money on products when you can very easily make them and they’ll be just as good or even better? Another great benefit of DIYs is that you get to choose what goes into your products based on what your hair likes.
You can find DIY recipes for hair masks, moisturizing sprays, shampoos, condition- ers and many more on the internet. Most of them don’t take up to 30 minutes to make and can be stored for months. If you have always liked crafts and life hasn’t al- lowed you to express that part of yourself, this is a great avenue for that.
However, keep in mind that you are not a professional and you can’t formulate every product yourself. You will still need to get some things from the store.
BUY WHAT YOU NEED. NOTHING MORE
Being a product junkie is very un- necessary, you don’t need 5 different shampoos, 7 conditioners, 10 oils, and 6 types of gels, styling creams and all that. You only need one of everything except oils. For oils, get a small quan- tity of 3-4 oils and mix it together and you are good. You can buy oils with your friends then mix them all and divide it amongst yourselves. Anything more is not necessary. every product yourself. You will still need to get some things from the store.
SET UP A REGIMEN
A regimen is an organized list of
hair care processes you’ll carry out on your hair and their timeline. It involves the activities to carry out daily up to those you’ll carry out yearly. Your hair regimen will deter- mine how often you go to a salon for treatments, how often you will have a protective style, how often you will wash your hair and in totality how much money you’ll spend. Set up a detailed regimen for your year or per quarter and plan in that light. Buy the products and extensions you will need during the sales periods like Christmas or black Friday so you’ll be set for the next few months. This will help save money and reduce the amount of emergency hair expenses.
AVOID OVER MANIPULATION
Half the time when people start their hair journeys they become complete- ly obsessed with their hair, constantly styling, combing, applying products, doing length checks. All of that can be a complete waste of time and
it may actually do more harm than good. Avoid touching and manip- ulating your hair every day, that will save you product, time and break- age. Instead, you can style your hair weekly or monthly with protective hairstyles. If you prefer wash-and-go or afros, sleep in a bonnet everyday so you can maintain your style for a longer period.
ENTER GIVEAWAYS
What is better than free stuff? Beau- ty brands are almost always hosting giveaways on Instagram and other social media platforms. All you have to do to get in on the fun is follow hair care bloggers and your favorite hair brands on Instagram and other social media, subscribe to the email lists of these brands too so you’re the first
to know when they will be hosting the giveaways and have a nice amount of friends you can tag in the comment section!
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE
The importance of community can never be overemphasized, it is great to have like-minded friends who are willing to help you on any journey even your hair journey. Instead of spending a lot of money in a salon, get your friends who can help care for your hair in little ways such as treating, oiling, washing, etc. This way you can all help each other out while saving some money. the giveaways and have a nice amount of friends you can tag in the comment section!
Hopefully these tips help you take the next step towards a healthy hair journey and a healthy you in general. Keep thriving!
- Oluwatoni ADEBISI
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