Every hair type is different. My hair type is coarse, and wavy/spiraled/kinky. Below are the shampoos and conditioners that I have used for my natural hair, and my ratings for each. Please do not use my list as a bible, for what works for me could possibly not work for you, vice-versa.
*Updated 11/04/08 – I am redoing my list in alphabetical order, and issuing 1-5 stars to rate each product. I know I haven’t been updating my list, but please do check back next week–I will have new products rated by then. Also, if you have any products to recommend for a rating, or any questions about the ratings/experiences from the products listed below, drop me a note and I’ll look into it.
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: Poor. Would NEVER buy again.
: Not the Worst, FAR from best.
: Indifferent. Recommendable.
: Really like! Definitely recommend.
: LOVE. On my top product list.
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Alberto V05 Herbal Escape Shampoo/Conditioner:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Okay, the shampoo I’m not too crazy about, other than the fact that it smells really really…really good (fruity, or cinnamony—should you choose that scent). All shampoos made from big names are the same, in my opinion—they are designed to CLEAN your hair, and that’s what it does, but most overclean, so that’s why it’s so important you choose a good conditioner. Enter Alberto’s Conditioner for this product. Un…freaking…believable. I use this one in the conditioning/oil phase as well. You want to talk about a pleasant conditioning experience? It not only makes your hair feel smooth, soft, and luxurious when you are under the water washing it out, but even after you blow dry your hair…it’s incredible. It has a beautifully light scent of fruits (or cinnamon) and—as if things could get any better, a HUGE bottle costs only 99cents! Yes, I said 99cents, and yes I know that’s not really speaking much about how much I love/respect my hair, but I thought “what the hey, V05 is a trusted name, how bad can it be?” T’wasn’t bad at all. I just want to add as a final note that this is NOT to be used as a leave-in conditioner; scrub it in, and wash it out.
Apple Cider Vinegar:
2 Out of 5 Stars
I just don’t understand what all the fuss is about with using this in your hair. There was nothing, and I do mean absolutely nothing “wow”ing about this. Oh–my mistake, scratch that…there was something “wow”ing…the HORRIBLE SMELL! I could NOT believe I fell for using this, and made a mental note NEVER to use it again. Add to that the BURNING sensation in my scalp! It was like I was giving myself a perm! I even ended my ACV wash with cold water, and still no positive results. In fact, my hair felt kinda rough, and dry. I will say this though…I washed my hair with ACV like 4 days ago, and I haven’t scratched my scalp yet…but there’s GOT to be a better way…
Aussie’s 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
I’m highly upset that I wasted my money on this. You know, I will say this–I’m pretty sure that any product that I used on my permed hair would have been passable for me, but now that I’ve gone natural, there are just so many limited products, and it’s scary to think that my hair at its healthiest state is repelling them! This product did absolutely nothing for my hair. Just another indifferent product, not worth ANY of the hype everyone was giving it, and a total waste of my money.
Aussie Moist Shampoo
2 Out of 5 Stars
I had heard decent things about this line, and thought I’d give it a try. Just like the other commercial shampoos out there, it did nothing for my hair–if anything, it left it dry…just like all the others. As usual, the smell is decent, but if it does nothing positive, then it’s not worth the money. I won’t be trying anything further from this line, because it reminds me of Garnier and Pantene–total waste of my resources.
Baking Soda:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
I mixed together half-a-cup of baking soda, and water (equal amount), and poured the mixture onto my hair. After rubbing it in, and making sure to really saturate my hair with it, I let it sit on my head for about 3 minutes, while I soaped up the rest of my body, and then washed the mixture out of my hair with lukewarm water. Okay, no lie/no exaggeration when I say this…go grab some baking soda from out of your fridge, and TRY it! My hair was so unbelievably soft afterwards, and it felt so clean! Even better, there was no harsh scent (in fact, there was no scent at all!) and my hair not only felt clean, but LOOKED clean, and it was soooo soft.
Bumble to Bumble Heat Protectant Spray:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
This smells awful. It’s like putting dandelion juice on your hair. On top of that, you don’t even want to know how much money I paid for this (I think it was like 16 bucks or something) and it’s just this short, squat, fat bottle. It doesn’t do anything great for my hair, and it makes it brittle.
Cream of Nature Shampoos/Conditioners:
2 Out of 5 Stars
I forget whether this was the case with the small bottle located inside of the box of Cream of Nature perm, or the little packet located inside of the Cream of Nature hair dye box, but the small samples they gave in one of these is GLORIOUS! It made my hair sooooooooooooo silky, and smooth, and prompted me to go out and get the BIG mamma-jamma sized bottle. Right after using it, I remembered how I felt about Claritin (an allergy drug); when I had to get a prescription to use it I thought it was strong, and very effective, but once they decided to make it an over-the-counter drug I felt like I was taking a placebo, or a sugar pill. This was a sugar pill in shampoo/conditioner form. It smells clean, leaves your hair smelling clean, but doesn’t really soften the way the little samples in either the perm or hair dye box from the same company does. Bummer. I won’t waste my money on it anymore.
Dark and Lovely Moisture Seal Daily Oil Moisturizer
2 Out of 5 Stars
When you apply this to your hair, you get this false sense of optimism. The reason being that it feels like Pink Lotion and hair grease all mixed into one creamy concoction. It seems to do something positive for your strands, but that feeling dies after about 5 minutes. It rubs off of easily, and if you really know your hair well enough to know if it’s moisturized or not, you’ll be able to tell that it’s not moisturized at all with this. I’ve heard negative things about Dark and Lovely products. This didn’t help.
Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castille Soap
5 Out Of 5 Stars
This…is…THE…BEST…product! I recommend this product to ANYONE, ESPECIALLY if you recogize the harshness of the lauryl sulfates found in regular shampoos, and want to avoid it while keeping your hair cleaned. It’s made with natural ingredients, so your hair basically swims through it like a lovely fountain of youth…it’s incredible! No tangles, no kinks, no knots, no dryness. Just hair that feels naturally moisturized without feeling oily. This is my staple cleanser–I’ll never use shampoo again.
Dr. Miracle’s Damaged Hair Medicated Treatment:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
Another waste of my money. I really don’t believe it did anything other than burn the HELL out of my scalp! I mean, I understand that medicated hair treatments are supposed to tingle, but when burning is introduced into the works…it makes for a head that feels like you’ve set fire to it. I know I bought a whole bottle of this thing, but I just don’t see me using it ever again. I sometimes wish there were a hair product trade-off somewhere, where you can either trade your bad or indifferent products in for something that you DEFINITELY know you like, so that people who may like what you don’t/hate what you like can trade with you.
Garnier Fructis Shampoo/Conditioner:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
I’m editing this review, because I never really used the entire product line to do my hair before–I’d mix the conditioner up with another shampoo line, etc., so I never really knew how the Garnier line did on it’s own. Well, the weekend before last, I used the shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, leave-in conditioner, and heat serum. This is definitely going on my list of shitty products. Not only did the shampoo and conditioner leave my naturally coarse hair even coarser, but the deep conditioner did NOTHING, and the leave-in treatment has been the worst so far…it made my hair feel filmy, and my scalp is now itching like crazy. The ONLY thing that I would ever consider buying again is the heat serum, because it’s light and has a very pleasant smell. Other than that, I’ll never try Garnier again.
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Shampoo/Conditioner
2 Out of 5 Stars
This product had sooo many different hair review sites raving about it, and I just had to try it. From type 1 hair to type 4 hair, so many women were going on and on about it, so I went out to buy it, and I gotta say…this is a great example of why you should never believe the “hype”. Maybe these products normally work on most hair, but if my hair is the special example of what it doesn’t work on, then so be it. It does NOTHING for my hair. There’s no moisture added, there’s no softness, no silkiness…if I had to compare it to another product, it would be the Organix products. Great smell but that’s about it.
Loreal Natures Therapy Heat Protectant Gel:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
I have no clue why this isn’t advertised online, but I sure as hell purchased it in the BSS. It’s a little fat pinkish-purple bottle, that’s not even a gel–it’s a spray. Supposedly it protects your hair from the heat you want to apply directly to it. It smells nice, but all it did was make my hair hard and brittle. Waste of money, IMHO.
Loreal Natures Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
Part of the Mega Moisture Nuturing line I’m not a fan of. Did not make my hair feel as silky as conditioners are supposed to make it feel. Washes off rough. Could not comb hair so easily with it in, muchlessmore out.
Loreal Natures Therapy Mega Moisture Nuturing Shampoo:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
While I like the Loreal Natures line, this particular product (and all the Mega Moisture products associated with it) did not work as well as the Unfrizz Smoothing line. It didn’t necessarily do any serious damage or anything, but it just seemed to make my hair a bit more tangled than it needed to be, and didn’t seem to add any moisture, in my opinion.
Loreal’s Nature’s Therapy Unfrizz Smoothing Shampoo:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
THE BEST shampoo I’ve ever ever…ever used. Once my hair is hanging down to my behind, if Loreal would like for me to do advertisements for them, for this product line, I’d be more than happy to. This shampoo is a dream to use. Not only does it have a pleasant scent (peaches, or pineapple…something reminscent of those) but it’s THICK and CREAMY. It coats your hair so perfectly, and makes your hair feel so soft as it’s doing so that it’s like a conditioner! When you wash it out, your hair feels like it’s been given a spa treatment. This is DEFINITELY going to be a main staple in my routine from now on, I’m so glad I decided to try it! The best part about the Loreal Nature’s Therapy line is that the products I’ve purchased so far have NO CONES! This is an awesome line, and a great/sensible buy, especially if you are trying to go natural–at least in my opinion.
Mane n’ Tail Shampoo/Conditioner:
1 Out Of 5 Stars
I know I’m going to get stoned for this, but I’d rather give my money to a hobo than buy another bottle of either. What a freakin’ waste of money. I’m sorry, but I see NOTHING positive that this product line does for my hair, and the truth of the matter is that it makes my hair TOUGH, BRITTLE, INSANELY dry, and UNMANAGABLE! Maybe on people who have hair textures resembling horses does this give great results to (but you’re not trying to straighten your hair, are you, because it’s already straight, so blah to you), but this is NOT a product I recommend. Not at all. Maybe to people I don’t like? I dunno.
Nexxus Therappe Luxury Moisturizing Shampoo/Conditioner
3 Out of 5 Stars
VERY expensive–about $18.00…and I’m not sure why. Heard a lot of great reviews about this product, but I was not impressed. The smell of both products is heavenly, but they did not leave my hair feeling soft OR moisturized. My hair was pretty indifferent towards both.
Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Shampoo/Conditioner
2 Out of 5 Stars
A total waste of my money, with only the tropical smell to really speak of positively. It did absolutely nothing for my hair. I even put the conditioner on my wet-n-wavy weave, and all it did was cancel out the mousse and gel, making it so devoid of moisture that it was susceptible to extreme tangling by the days end. Definitely not a product I’d buy again.
One N’ Only Ceramic Silk Flat Iron Creme
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Has a musky sort of smell at first, but the smell doesn’t linger once you blow dry and/or flat iron. Comes in a cream form, easily absorbed into natural hair. Doesn’t give smoke signals when your hair is pressed, nor a burning smell. No crispy ends either. Offers EXCELLENT protection against damage caused by heat. Inexpensive, and effective. Would definitely use again, AND recommend.
Pantene for Color Treated/Permed Hair / Pantene Always Smooth:
2 Out of 5 Stars
They used to make a different type in a different bottle that I can no longer find, that my hair really seemed to like. The shampoo is too drying for me, and the conditioner feels nice while applying, but doesn’t really leave my hair feeling glorious or anything once washed out. This works better on my permed hair. It does nothing positive for my natural hair. On top of that, it is FULL of cones! I don’t even waste my money on it anymore.
Scalpacin
2 Out of 5 Stars
I even bought this in Maximum Strength, and it was still a waste of money. My scalp felt relieved for about 5 minutes (it gives you this tingly, cool–yet warm feeling) and then it started itching again. It was basically water, and salt in a bottle for me. Maybe even like a mild type of vinegar. Bottomline, an itchy scalp needs moisture, not this shit.
Tropical Degil Wheat Germ Shampoo:
2 Out of 5 Stars
A product that my hair seems to be indifferent to. I wanted to use a shampoo that would be as delicate on my hair as possible, but still be strong enough to get all the glue residue off of my strands. This did the trick of removing all the gooey residue, but it didn’t really leave my hair in any different a condition. One could say this was a good thing, but if I’m going to spend my money on a product, I don’t want to just walk away from it feeling like, “well, at least it didn’t do anything damaging…” Okay scent, didn’t seem to rob my natural textured hair of moisture, but didn’t really seem to add anything to it either.
