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starlamelissa
August 22nd, 2011, 06:19 PM
I went to sallys today to exchange some conditioner for a heavy leave in, and ended up buying a hair lotion, which I had read some good reviews on.

Decent ingredients,good oils, no mineral oil or dimethicone which is a really builduppy cone for me, the only thing is it is meant for African Americans.... The sales lady asked me, "are you suuuuuure this is what you want? This is meant for coarse kinky hair".... I said yes.

Well it works great! My hair is soft and staying untangled. It has a coconut candy scent, which is not offensive to my perfume allergy. And cheap too, 3 dollars! Comes with a salon pump which I like, and my hair hAs not gotten tangled after a full day of being worn down.

( the product is silken child moisturizing cream, for those interested)

So I am asking, who here uses these types of products? And between oiling my hair, sleeping on a satin pillowcase, wearing it up and now using hair lotion, is there a difference between ethnic hair care, and long hair care?

gthlvrmx
August 22nd, 2011, 06:30 PM
I suppose they just have more "moisturizing" ingredients, and things that will help retain moisture in the hair, so i suggest don't over do it maybe.

MoonLover
August 22nd, 2011, 06:48 PM
I used a few products from that section. I like them but since my hair is fine I sometimes overdo it. A small part of my hair is kinky but the rest is curly so it's close-ish to African hair.

The way they care for their hair is pretty much the same as long hair care. I was actually led here after watching Black hair care videos and scouring blogs for information on how to grow long hair. I learned so much from those videos!

starlamelissa
August 22nd, 2011, 06:57 PM
I watch some ethnic hair care videos too, some of the info applies, some doesn't. Heck my fav hair tools ( denman brush and wood comb) are both recommended in those videos, catering to a totally different audience!

I hear ya on being miserly with the heavily conditioning products. My hair likes and needs a little heft, but I slowly add, a bit at a time.

RoseRed27
August 22nd, 2011, 09:03 PM
If it works for you, use it. Don't get too caught up in the divisions of hair care. If I stuck to what I was "supposed" to use, my hair would be short and breaking (like it was 3 years ago). I'm black and my hair is mostly 4a. It's also quite baby fine and silky, even though I was told that all black hair is kinky and course and I should use heavy pomades. :rolleyes:

One of my favorite products is Tigi dumb blonde reconstructor. I was told my hair would fall out if I used "white products." Not bald yet! :p The way I see it, many companies just like to make "niche" products so that many people of the population will think they're getting a "custom" product. Take pantene for example, they'll create one conditioner for curls, one for waves, one for dyed hair, etc. and the ingredients will be more alike than different.

Athena's Owl
August 22nd, 2011, 10:07 PM
WATER ,CETEARYL ALCOHOL ,COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL ,CYCLOPENTASILOXANE ,CETYL ESTERS ,OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL ,RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL ,PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL ,POLYACRYLAMIDE ,HYDROLYZED SILK ,HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE ,BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER) ,SORBITOL ,FRAGRANCE ,ARACHIS HYPOGAEA (PEANUT) OIL ,C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN ,LAURETH-7 ,TETRASODIUM EDTA ,DIAZOLIDINYL UREA ,IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE ,BENZYL ALCOHOL ,COUMARIN ,LIMONENE

There's ingredients, in case anyone is curious.

kwaniesiam
August 22nd, 2011, 10:10 PM
Hair is hair. While it's true that certain hair types require different care than others, when it comes down to it if a product works for you then use it.

redcelticcurls
August 22nd, 2011, 11:05 PM
Hair products don't know race. :)

My two main product lines started out being seen as for Black hair though they work well for curlies of any race.

Hair is hair. Ingredients are ingredients.

I will say that I do notice more of a quality difference in general between cheap stuff for Black hair and niche/pricey stuff for Black hair than I do for products geared towards the average straighter haired Caucasian. Cheap and pricey stuff for the White market seems to work fairly similarly on me.

jessie58
August 23rd, 2011, 12:23 AM
Well I have been using this http://www.beautyofnewyork.com/shopping/NMAB270207KL0414.htm
Hollywood olive oil hair creme for months now and it's really really great on my hair. I found it in the ethnic section of Walmart. There are only about 10 items on the whole shelf there and all in an isolated bottom row of all the hair care. It's a shame that the "regular" hair product makers don't make more products that are targeted for African American hair, for everybody. As others have said, hair is hair so I don't understand why this type of recipe/formulation is only considered for black hair.

gthlvrmx
August 23rd, 2011, 12:59 AM
WATER ,CETEARYL ALCOHOL ,COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL ,CYCLOPENTASILOXANE ,CETYL ESTERS ,OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL ,RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL ,PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL ,POLYACRYLAMIDE ,HYDROLYZED SILK ,HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE ,BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER) ,SORBITOL ,FRAGRANCE ,ARACHIS HYPOGAEA (PEANUT) OIL ,C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN ,LAURETH-7 ,TETRASODIUM EDTA ,DIAZOLIDINYL UREA ,IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE ,BENZYL ALCOHOL ,COUMARIN ,LIMONENE

There's ingredients, in case anyone is curious.
Hmm...well it seems since it has protein and the oil in it, it could've been directed towards the kinkier hair because ( i heard from somewhere but do not know if its true) that hair type is more brittle and drier naturally? It seems to make sense to me to add protein and oils up on the top to give it strength and lock in moisture a little more, right? And limonene i dont know about that one.
Urea?

Chamy
August 23rd, 2011, 01:13 AM
I think CYCLOPENTASILOXANE is a cone?

oktobergoud
August 23rd, 2011, 01:16 AM
I always thought about doing that as well, but the products for African American hair is always full of parabens, mineral oils and petroleum :( I have fine hair anyway so it probably doesn't work haha, but still!
If it works for you, why not?

Athena's Owl
August 23rd, 2011, 01:27 AM
Er, there aren't any parabens, mineral oil or petroleum in the product that the op mentioned. I think you need to read that ingredient list again.

Cyclopentasiloxane is a non-water soluble silicone. you need a surfactant at least as powerful as cocapromidyl betaine to wash it out.

nellreno
August 23rd, 2011, 02:03 AM
My mom uses a lot of the olive oil products that you usually see in the "ethnic" section. She's not Black but they work for her because her hair likes the extra moisture.

If it works for you, don't worry about not being in the marketed demographic.

Alaia
August 23rd, 2011, 02:42 AM
Marketing and target markets are just a construct of the advertising profession. There's no reason that formula wouldn't work for curlies of any race or even straighties.

Whilst it may have ingredients that are targeted towards more curly hair, that doesn't mean it wouldn't work for you.

If it does, then have at it! ;)

Badwolf
August 23rd, 2011, 03:45 AM
I think it really has more to do with what your hair likes and needs than what your race is. Before I really knew anything about hair care, I spent a lot of years (and money) going through the African American products because I figured it's what would be best for my hair simply because I'm part African American. Nothing ever really worked for my hair, but I never knew why at the time. I just kept shopping from the same section.

Simply cutting out silicones was all my hair really needed to look its best.

starlamelissa
August 23rd, 2011, 06:22 AM
Er, there aren't any parabens, mineral oil or petroleum in the product that the op mentioned. I think you need to read that ingredient list again.

Cyclopentasiloxane is a non-water soluble silicone. you need a surfactant at least as powerful as cocapromidyl betaine to wash it out.

What is cocopromidyl betiane? I use baby shampoo with gentle cleansers, but if my hair starts behaving oddly I clarify with a ALS/SLS poo.... Is that strong enough?

wvgemini
August 23rd, 2011, 08:54 AM
I use a lot of stuff found in the ethnic section. My leave in, super conditioner pack, some styling aids, etc. Love it! Some snarky sales gal at walmart made a comment one time but I just ignored her.

Mutinous
August 23rd, 2011, 09:00 AM
Could it just be a marketing strategy? I've read that women with afro textured hair make up the majority of consumers for hair care products (in the USA), hence the market develops products that appear to cater to this?

As others have said, it is probably extra moisuturising. I suppose it is similar to products you see with labels such as 'for coloured hair', 'for frizzy hair', 'for dry hair', 'for brunettes' and so on. The product may be aimed at those consumers but it doesn't necessarily mean it is exclusive to them.

If it works for you, use it!

starlamelissa
August 23rd, 2011, 12:30 PM
I use a lot of stuff found in the ethnic section. My leave in, super conditioner pack, some styling aids, etc. Love it! Some snarky sales gal at walmart made a comment one time but I just ignored her.
Our hair Just loves the extra moisture I guess. Besides it's my damn money. If I want to buy bald guy's head wax I should be able to.

starlamelissa
August 23rd, 2011, 12:34 PM
Could it just be a marketing strategy? I've read that women with afro textured hair make up the majority of consumers for hair care products (in the USA), hence the market develops products that appear to cater to this?

As others have said, it is probably extra moisuturising. I suppose it is similar to products you see with labels such as 'for coloured hair', 'for frizzy hair', 'for dry hair', 'for brunettes' and so on. The product may be aimed at those consumers but it doesn't necessarily mean it is exclusive to them.

If it works for you, use it!

Yeah I saw the Chris rock docu-comedy about the ethnic hair care industry. Apparently African Americans tend to buy more hair products, based on some bit of research or data. But when I look at the hair folks on this site I wonder if that is true or not....

wvgemini
August 23rd, 2011, 12:40 PM
Our hair Just loves the extra moisture I guess. Besides it's my damn money. If I want to buy bald guy's head wax I should be able to.

LOL!!! I hear it makes great furniture polish!

Not really, but I would be totally tempted to say it to someone :p

Helix
August 23rd, 2011, 01:42 PM
I went to sallys today to exchange some conditioner for a heavy leave in, and ended up buying a hair lotion, which I had read some good reviews on.

Decent ingredients,good oils, no mineral oil or dimethicone which is a really builduppy cone for me, the only thing is it is meant for African Americans.... The sales lady asked me, "are you suuuuuure this is what you want? This is meant for coarse kinky hair".... I said yes.

Well it works great! My hair is soft and staying untangled. It has a coconut candy scent, which is not offensive to my perfume allergy. And cheap too, 3 dollars! Comes with a salon pump which I like, and my hair hAs not gotten tangled after a full day of being worn down.

( the product is silken child moisturizing cream, for those interested)

So I am asking, who here uses these types of products? And between oiling my hair, sleeping on a satin pillowcase, wearing it up and now using hair lotion, is there a difference between ethnic hair care, and long hair care?

This is an old wives tale that really backfired for me. For many years I thought I could comb my hair as roughly as I wanted to because I had that "coarse African hair" when it was really quite the opposite. Ha! if my hair was coarse (i.e, more protein layers) maybe I wouldn't have to be so gentle with it.

The term coarse denotes that it has several protein layers and is strong as a result. It may feel coarse due to the twists and turns in its shape but aside from a few exceptions our hair tends to be on the finer side.

Anywho, I'm rambling again but to answer your question: Last I checked Caucasian is an ethnicity too so if it works for you go for it!

Off topic, what the hail is an "ethnic isle" and whose hairbrained idea was it? Sometimes I believe humans get so carried away with grouping things it gets a little out of hand.

What's next non-ethnic toothpaste?

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz133/BeeKee_2010/Babyworshiplawd-vi.gif

Mutinous
August 23rd, 2011, 02:05 PM
Yeah I saw the Chris rock docu-comedy about the ethnic hair care industry. Apparently African Americans tend to buy more hair products, based on some bit of research or data. But when I look at the hair folks on this site I wonder if that is true or not....

Lol. That is very true. I dread to think how much I have spent.

That documentary was fascinating. Especially the part about payment plans for weaves and wigs. To each their own I suppose! :shrug:

oktobergoud
August 23rd, 2011, 02:13 PM
Er, there aren't any parabens, mineral oil or petroleum in the product that the op mentioned. I think you need to read that ingredient list again.

Cyclopentasiloxane is a non-water soluble silicone. you need a surfactant at least as powerful as cocapromidyl betaine to wash it out.

Oh no I did read that, I tried to say that the products that I always find contain those ingredients, but I forgot to type those words, sorry :P

CurlyMopTop
August 23rd, 2011, 03:51 PM
Lol! Helix. I don't know where you live (US, UK, Canada, ect...), but here in the US, for some reason unknown to me, no matter where you go for your hair products, there is always a seperate isle or section of hair care products (shelved away from the regular hair care products: Pantene, Suave, Garnier, ect...). The seperated section(much smaller) is geared towards and heavily marketed to consumers that are not caucasian. Why this is....I have nnnnnooooo idea. I'm finding that I like some of those products in that little section better than anything in the regular hair care isle! ;)

YepLilly
August 23rd, 2011, 04:23 PM
I think it all comes down to the ingredients and what your hair likes and dislikes. If a product looks too strong for your hair, try using it in smaller quantities and see what happens.

Mesmerise
August 23rd, 2011, 05:21 PM
Lol! Helix. I don't know where you live (US, UK, Canada, ect...), but here in the US, for some reason unknown to me, no matter where you go for your hair products, there is always a seperate isle or section of hair care products (shelved away from the regular hair care products: Pantene, Suave, Garnier, ect...). The seperated section(much smaller) is geared towards and heavily marketed to consumers that are not caucasian. Why this is....I have nnnnnooooo idea. I'm finding that I like some of those products in that little section better than anything in the regular hair care isle! ;)

Well we don't have ethnic hair care sections here... so I guess the Africans just have to buy regular stuff! I haven't seen too many Africans with awful hair either, so I guess it works out okay for them ;). (Of course, our African population is much smaller than that of the US, but we do have an increasing number of refugees here from African countries).

Of course, if they did have an ethnic hair care section, I'd probably try some of the products anyway!!

Dragon Faery
August 23rd, 2011, 05:24 PM
Our hair Just loves the extra moisture I guess. Besides it's my damn money. If I want to buy bald guy's head wax I should be able to.

LOVE it! :D

milk
August 23rd, 2011, 05:40 PM
WATER ,CETEARYL ALCOHOL ,COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL ,CYCLOPENTASILOXANE ,CETYL ESTERS ,OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL ,RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL ,PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL ,POLYACRYLAMIDE ,HYDROLYZED SILK ,HYDROXYETHYLCELLULOSE ,BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA BUTTER) ,SORBITOL ,FRAGRANCE ,ARACHIS HYPOGAEA (PEANUT) OIL ,C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN ,LAURETH-7 ,TETRASODIUM EDTA ,DIAZOLIDINYL UREA ,IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE ,BENZYL ALCOHOL ,COUMARIN ,LIMONENE

There's ingredients, in case anyone is curious.
Red is a Cone, blue is a Mineral oil. And there's a lot of other nasties in it, for example Diazolidinyl urea which is like formaldehyde.

cuddledumplin
August 23rd, 2011, 06:06 PM
I use them periodically because my hair is so dry that they're perfect for me.

racrane
August 23rd, 2011, 06:41 PM
I use coconut oil and olive oil on my ends when they need it. The salesgirl did look at me really oddly when she scanned it, because it was from the ethnic aisle. I live in a wealthy area of WI during the summer and most of the products offered are cone filled products meant for people with a lot of money to spend.... not me! People are amazed when I tell them I use VO5 and oils. "You don't use any leave in conditioners? Wow!". I think sometimes people accidentally get locked in to a certain idea.

boomygrrl
August 24th, 2011, 10:45 AM
I miss Creme of Nature shampoo...it was marketed for "ethnic" hairtypes. They reformulated. I still have a little bit of the older formulation but not much. Knowing I am going to run out of it and have none to replace, I was looking for replacement shampoos. I found one I'm happy with but its so much more expensive (nothing like Creme of Nature shampoo, but I like it nevertheless).

Rosetta
August 24th, 2011, 10:57 AM
I used to use them when living in UK (London), as there were several ethnic haircare shops close to me - I always loved them, huge shops with aisles & aisles full of intriguing haircare products one couldn't find in "normal" shops, like hair oils, it was like heaven... And yes, I'm not even a curly, and still used many of the products with success.
(And admittedly sometimes with not so much success - in the very beginning I bought some "hair gro" products (guess why? ;)) which probably contained vaseline or something similar, I had a very hard time getting them out of my hair... :p)

(Of course the "American" part doesn't apply here, but I think we're talking of the same ethnic haircare products nonetheless :))

Shelly
August 24th, 2011, 11:04 AM
African American hair care products just depend on your hair. Most of the hair care products I use are found in the African American hair care section. Lol. My hair loves them. I use 3 different oil products and 2 deep conditioning products.

swetiepeti
August 24th, 2011, 11:24 AM
Just by the way, the CYCLOPENTASILOXANE is a silicone

Ashenputtel
August 24th, 2011, 01:32 PM
I don't like very heavy products. I never tried African american products. There are too stores near my appartment specialized in this kind of hair care. I've seen line-ups in front of the stores a couple of times!

It's a little of topic but I've seen good hair yesterday, I found it really sad all that pressure for silky hair.

starlamelissa
August 24th, 2011, 08:50 PM
Just by the way, the CYCLOPENTASILOXANE is a silicone
I looked up the cone in the product on the beauty brains and I think this cone is just fine for me. I find dimethicone builds up too fast for me, but the one listed in silen child moisturizing creme is much lighter.

CurlySoleil
August 24th, 2011, 09:44 PM
I'm black and I stay away from the ethnic hair care section. LOL. :p
Mainly due to the fact that the ingredients are less than stellar. However, growing up I was always told that I couldn't use the "regular" products because they were for white people. *sigh* These days, I base my products on ingredients and what I need for my hair. I use a lot of products that are geared more towards hair concern than ethnicity. *shrugs* For instance, I'm a HUGE fan of Curl Junkie products. Definitely a line that transcends the race/ethnicity barrier.

I say all that to say: Use whatever the heck you want to use in your hair! If you like the ingredients and you think your hair will like it... use it! :cheese:

luxepiggy
August 25th, 2011, 12:43 AM
I've been using a deposit-only hair dye brand (Adore) that's supposed to be targeted at the African-American market, and I love it!! It's much easier to use and gives me better results than Special Effects. Cheaper, too - what's not to love? (^(oo)^)