Recovering Product Junkie here! Are you accumulating more natural hair products and tools than you can handle? Running out of storage space for the stash?
Then it might be time to eliminate some of the products you hoard.
As we prepare to ring in the New Year, take some time to clean out your natural hair product stash. It could save you quite a bit of money and help you reset your natural hair goals for the foreseeable future.
This method has helped me move from being a natural hair hoarder to something of a hair minimalist.
This article will break down the process of slimming your natural hair stash step by step.
How to Reduce the Number of Natural Hair Products in your Stash
STEP 1: Get Rid of All the Expired Products
This should be the easiest way to start cleaning out your natural hair product stash. This is because expired products can grow bacteria that limit their effectiveness. At this point, the products themselves can even start to cause infections on your scalp!
Once opened, most natural hair products have a shelf life of 12-24 months.
So start your cleanup by throwing out anything over 12 months old. Trust me, your scalp will thank you.
Important: If you’re a DIYer, and your product has water in it — its shelf life is even shorter (only about 2 weeks!)
STEP 2: Identify the Staples
Once your stash no longer holds any expired products you’ll be working with items that you continuously use.
Of these, identify what containers are almost empty.
These are the products that you seem to like. Every natural needs a shampoo, a deep conditioner, a leave-in, a styler, and scalp oil (optional). Go through your stash to find a product or a DIY recipe that fits each category.
For example, here are my current staples:
Shampoo
Deep conditioner
Leave-in
Styler
Scalp oil
Be advised that you may have to adjust for the weather or time of year.
For example, you may have to have 2 items for the styler and deep conditioner categories. Your product picks may have to be heavier to deal with the colder weather in the winter.
STEP 3: Identify Your Hair Goals
At this point, you have your staples. Now, what do you want to do with them?
Are you planning to focus on growth?
Looking to incorporate protective styles more often?
Going heat free?
Narrow down what you really want to do in the Next Year. This will guide the rest of the decisions you make in this process.
STEP 4: Trim Down the Hair Tools
Now that you have determined your hair goals, make sure that the tools in your natural product stash align with them.
If you are going heat free, toss, or donate your hair straightener.
If you plan to focus on moisture, keep your steamer.
These are questions you should ask yourself as you go through your tools.
If you get stuck, try to get rid of the multiples of an item first. Every tool should serve a specific purpose and try not to overlap.
If you are still having trouble, keep the combs, brushes, and accessories that you consistently use.
In other words, if you do not use it, do not keep it!
STEP 5: Curb Future Purchasing
Congratulations! The items you have left are your slimmed-down product stash!
If you run out of any item, feel free to replace it. However, be wary of new product lines when you go to the store or online to purchase replacements!
It can be tempting to try new items as they are released.
If you see a new item that you would like to try but do not want to add to your stash, you can do the following:
1. Purchase the travel size of an item
Travel sizes of a product can be used up to three times! This should give you enough time to try something new, without the burden or price of purchasing a standard-size item that may or may not work.
This tip has saved me over $100 in disappointments in 2021 alone.
2. Borrow a product or tool from a friend to try
If you are not ready to purchase a tool or product, ask your friends if they have it!
Chances are, they would be willing to lend It to you. Just return it the way you got it! LOL.
This keeps you from purchasing those big-ticket tools such as the RevAir or the Dyson dryer. You get to test their effectiveness on your hair before purchasing these items that cost over $200!
3. Watch Influencer reviews
I think I have saved the most money by watching Influencer reviews on YouTube!
Find someone who has a similar hair texture and hair porosity to you. See if they have reviewed the item that you would like to purchase. If it works on them, it might work on you.
But please remember that everyone’s hair is different.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment below if this process has worked for you, or if you have any other decluttering tips to share with the rest of the Hibiscus Roots fam!
Read Next: The Complete Guide to Low Porosity 4C Natural Hair!
