Au Natural? I thinks Not!

So in my quest for naturalness and good health I find myself looking for products that will fit my budget and be a benefit to my locs. All I can say is that many companies out there are catching the vibe that more and more people want organic this and that......(wait for it) But..... companies will sacrifice quality for the almighty dollar. Our dollars to be exact and what you might happily think is organic and natural is a far cry from it. Now what I thought would be a generally easy shopping spree turned out to be a woe is me fustration fest of "what exactly do I buy?" I mean how do I get products that are great but wont break the bank? If you want something good your going to have to do research and pay out your ying yang for it. Thats what most companies want us to believe and trick us they do very well by all the fancy advertising to lure us to their products. Personally if I see a glossy add I am very tempted to purchase the product knowing very well I'm probably slathering something akin to car grease on my hair or body. Lately I have decided since I removed the lye from my hair i would do the same for my brain as well, meaning that I would choose to care and read the ingredient list on the back of my products. (I do this for most items I buy now anyway) I mean am I being weired? I dont think so. If you can not fully understand or even pronounce the stuff on the back of the jars or bottles is it really worth buying? Why trick us? Anyway I went home and contemplated what I was going to use on my head, did a little research on the net and decided that I was going to use products that I could easily make myself. Or if I did choose to buy would be almost edible or have little to no toxic ingredients in them. This is what I came up with:

So to list everything from left to right would be

~Dr. Bronners Tea Tree oil Castille shampoo 24oz cost me $18.00 but lasts a long while and is worth the money

~Parachute coconut oil (Heavy and not used to often) used for deep condition pre shampoo $2.99

~Organic Root Stimulator Lock and Twist gel & Royal Roots by Tahlia Wahjid (I payed 6.99 for each to me that is cheap considering I live in Canada and people always have to be so extra and charge more for gel of all things)

~Bottle 1 (white cap) is just plain water you can add any essential oil you like this I use for freshning up my locs throughout the day.

~ Bottle 2 (full white) is Sweet Almond oil which like Jojoba is close to mimicking natural sebum in our hair. Cost me $4.99 at Shoppers I use this after a wash my hair I use it liberally depending on how dry my hair gets.

~Bottle 3 (purple cap) Is water and rosemary which I boiled myself the seeds cost me $1.69 they help with itching dry scalp and dandruff

I also use Apple Cider Vinegar (not shown) if I do a coconut condition pre shampoo this was $16 I think bought it awhile back lasted a long time

Simple regimen:

Wash 1x or 2x a week depending if I worked out
spray a bit of almond oil in hair after towel dry and massage
Spritz hair throughout day if a little pick me up needed
Do rinse out in shower throughout week if needed
twist or interlock hair every 4~6 weeks (got to let those roots do them thangs)

At night I usually wear a satin bonnet but lately I cannot locate it for the life of me. At this point my hair is pretty soft so I dont suffer to much from lint. Will probably have to become more diligent as they mature however.

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So technically everthing here did not break the bank. I was on Youtube the other day and I was listening to a lady rant on about how natural products are soooo exspensive and how during the recession with a family full of knatty heads was killing her pockets..... she wasnt lying bout that but personally I think she just wanted to bitch ya'll and youtube is paying her bills the more subcribers she has apparently she gets paid . She could just make her own no sweat ok so maybe people like to spend money cant be mad. All I'm saying is that your hair care regimen doesn't have to be difficult. Keep it light save your money and be happy in these tough times. Doing research will save you and your hair from less then stellar product.

Check this book by Julie Gabriel called "The Green Beauty Guide" a very good read for those of you wanting to switch to more greener ( the real green) products you can make at home or buy from green companies who dont fake the funk. Meaning they use real product that have benefits not some fake ass product that uses maybe less then a teaspoon of shea butter in each bottle and calls it organic. She tells it like it is and helps you make better decisions when purchasing products for your health or making them at home yourself. I hope you enjoy I certainly did.

Anyway peace out yall take care of them lovlies and be good to yourselves

Nat