“Buy Less, Choose Well and Make It Last” – these wise words were spoken by iconic British designer, Vivienne Westwood. And it applies equally to beauty products.
One of our goals at Ori Lifestyle is to convince women that they don’t need vast amounts of products to obtain healthy hair, nor do they need that much styling products.
I can tell you that my entire hair care products consist of:
· my shampoos/clay
· a deep conditioner
· a leave in conditioner
· my spritz
· my hair oils.
That’s my core go to. Of course, there are one or two other things that I draw on as and when needed e.g a styler and a gel, but that’s it.
Sadly, buying excessive amounts of product is very common in the natural hair community. But I don’t think people are sympathetic enough to why this habit developed. Many product junkies are victims of a market that that did not and still does not sufficiently cater to their needs.
Most of the mainstream hair care brands served our white cousins. And those that didn’t serve white women, served the relaxed hair community. Black women were forced to buy multiple products, make homemade concoctions and mix many things together to get their desired results.
Although we now have several products dedicated to black hair, there is still a gap – there is a shortage of really good quality products developed to meet the specific needs of Afro textured hair. Oils are a great example, there are hundreds of blends on the market, many are recycling the same oils. But not much energy has been devoted to why some specific oils work better for different types of hair.
I developed the Khalila oil because I was obsessed with meeting my hair’s needs. I was tired of the heaviness of castor oil, the flimsiness of jojoba and the inability of Avocado oil to lock in moisture effectively. I was desperate for an oil that did everything, including one that penetrated and lubricated to minimize split ends! I wanted an oil that addressed frizz, locked in moisture, penetrated for inner strength and I wanted this oil to do it all without making my hair look wet or limp. I was driven by my hair’s needs.
What I ended up with are high end oils reserved for high end skin care brands– they are fabulously expensive oils, but they are supremely effective. Every ingredient in the Khalila oil is meeting a specific need of hair like mine, because this was the exact goal – this is why it works. And this is why I tell people that you can survive on just our Khalila oil. You do not need 10 other oils!
As more and more brands focus on the needs of Afro textured hair, they will work harder to discover and invent what works! And in turn many naturalistas will feel less inclined to amass so much and that will be good for the environment! Because we know that the best road map to sustainability is manufacturing less and buying less.
Of course, those who think they can grow their hair with products or change their texture will continue to fall for marketing lies and amass plenty.
Until we launch our full range of products which are exquisitely formulated! I want you to be guided by the following questions when shopping for hair care products:
Is it developed for textured hair or hair like mine?
Does it help me achieve healthy hair?
Is it making wild growth promises?
Does it talk more about what’s not in it? e.g. No Sulphates, No Silicones, No Parabens, instead of what it does and why it’s amazing!
Has it been reviewed by people that have similar hair texture to mine?
I hope you ask yourself these questions before you add anything to your shopping cart.
If there are any questions you think we should be all asking, please drop it in the comments section, let’s grow together!
