The natural hair community is not unlike any other in that every few months, something big comes along. Arriving on the wings of a marketing frenzy, the ‘big thing’ makes the round on the blogs, the vlogs and in the forums. Sometimes the buzz dies, and it quietly retreats into history. Other times it stays with us, and attains the coveted status of being a go-to product. Here are 5 crazes that rocked our world… including some that still do 🙂
1. The Tangle Teezer
The Tangle Teezer was hailed as the solution to naturals’ detangling problems. With it’s cheap price (less than $10 at Sally’s) and easy handling it became a hit. It spawned countless YouTube videos showing naturals happily gliding the product through their strands. But the sensation was short-lived. Within a few months many women noticed nasty split ends and breaks, and the hype died down. While some naturals who didn’t experience breakage still use the products, countless others have moved on.
2. The Huetiful Hair Steamer
It seemed that every natural hair idol was talking about how amazing the Huetiful Hair Steamer was. The steamer, which claims to super charge deep conditioning, was the must-have product, with frenzied giveaways popping up all over the web and women shelling out more than $100 for one. In the end cost seemed to slow the steamer’s roll. While many naturals still swear by it, others feel they can achieve the same results with a good old heat cap from their local beauty supply store.
3. Miss Jessie’s Products
No natural hair brand causes as much discussion as Miss Jessie’s. While some women love its unabashed focus on defining curls, others feel that it is promoting something that’s fundamentally impossible for kinky-haired women. Still, Miss Jessie’s products continue to be “hair crack” for many naturals with hundreds of women in Chicago standing in line for up to 2 hours just to receive one full-sized item. How many brands can claim that?
4. Shea Moisture
When Target made the incredibly smart and savvy move of carrying brands that cater to highly textured women, it wasn’t long before naturals crowned Shea Moisture the leader of the pack. With low prices and a wide range of items, Shea Moisture became the go-to brand for naturals unmotivated to order products online. While some naturals claim the products don’t live up to their hype, the overwhelming majority sing their praises. Seems like we’ll be hearing a lot more about Shea Moisture in the future.
5. Henna
Isn’t it great when a craze is spurred by a product that is cheap and quickly accessible? When Curly Nikki began blogging about henna extensively, her gorgeous before and after pictures had people rushing to their local Indian grocer, or going online to buy the stuff. Most women abandoned the process after realizing how messy, and time-consuming it was. But those who stuck it out became henna enthusiasts. It is still consistently referenced as a top strengthening and conditioning treatment.
So, you see, natural hair crazes come and go. Some stick around and others don’t Just make sure that you don’t get too caught up! What would you add to my list? What would you take away? Were you involved in any of these crazes? Tell us your stories!
great list!!!
I am a die hard Shea Moisture fan. Though I do not buy it on line but at Target I don’t know if they have a gel, so I use Kinky Curly’s gel. But I love it and it has done wonders for my hair so far
Shea Moisture is going to come out with a gel in the fall.
Why did my eyes bug out when I read your comment? @-@ *wipping chin patiently waiting for the arrival*
Shea Moisture is the truth!
OMG don’t even play with me like that!
*faints*
Even though I’m feeling sick as a dog your comment gave me new life. lol.
I agree on everything with the exception of the Shea Moisture line. I still use their Shea Butter shampoo. I haven’t (nor do I want to) try any of the other products though.
I have never tried anything from Shea Moisture, but I will soon, especially if I keep hearing how good their stuff is.
I have a confession to make: I have a baby daddy. His name is Shea Moisture. But I cheat on him regularly with henna.
and if loving them is wrong, I don’t wanna be right
LMAO
LOL Seriously if its like that Im going to jump on too
Lol!!!
I did none of these I like to save money.
1+
Henna costs $2 and you can get two or three uses out of one box. Just a thought.
I am with you on saving money. But,Royalle’s right Henna is cheap and for the most part, as far as natural products for natural hair, Shea Moisture has a cost effective line as well when compared to Carol’s Daughter, Qhemet Biologics, Oyin Handmade and Miss Jessies.
I had the old shea moisture leave in before the brand was big. It was ok but nothing amazing. This new stuff is unavailable to me. Never did henna — too many conflicting reports about whether it dried the hair out or not. Never boarded the Miss Jessie’s train — I don’t have curls and was not interested in trying to create any that weren’t there. I believe the huetiful took off because they gave the item to key vloggers to promote on Youtube resulting in 99% positive reviews and people who follow Vloggers likes and dislikes closely bought the item up.… Read more »
Tangle teezer-yes! i held out as long as I could but I gave in more as a skeptic to see if it could tackle thick natural hair.
Huetiful- no I use my own homemade steam treatments with hot towels and the dryer or go to the salon and get it done.
Shea Moisture- yes curl enhancing smoothie is my bestie!
Henna- no i don’t want to wash out all that stuff. my hair is to thick and i’m afraid it will be 2 weeks later and I still have a clump some where. lol
I currently use everything except Miss Jessie’s products(too much for my wallet) lol
Shea Moisture products are my staples and I like henna. The other crazes are for the birds.
co-sign
The only thing I tried was Miss Jessies. I took advantage of the BOGO sale that happens in December so I don’t feel like I wasted my money. The Curly Pudding really keeps my twistouts looking more like Day 1 throughout the week but I like my hair soft. *shrug*
I tried miss jessies it was great for my rod set, definitely less is more with the butter creme. I hope I can try shea moisture since I really like their black soap it smells so good 🙂 Other than that I usually stick to whatever products and tools have been working great for me.
I did jump on the tangle teezer and henna train. The tangle teezer is still a win for me, I haven’t experienced any breakage from using it. I had to jump off of the henna train though. After four uses, I noticed curl loosening in my already loose section. No bueno. It’s been month since I used it last and now I’m wondering if I ever really needed it in the first place. smh
Correction: It’s been *months* (plural) since my last henna use.
i was totally on the tangle teezer & shea moisture bangwagons. the tangle teezer damaged my hair when detangling, but i’ve found other uses for & i still like shea moisture products. all in all, i like trying out trends so long as they don’t cost too much.
Tangle Teezer works great on wigs too.
Thanks for that idea : ) I never thought to use it for that.
Yo I recently bought the tangle teezer, didnt even know it was a craze till after when I was trying to read up to see if it pulled out everyone else’s hair lol It started off like a dream. My mouth fell open with how easily it glided through the back of my hair (I forgot to take into account that’s the softest part of my hair) When I got to the middle I had the BIGGEST BALL of hair, to date, in the trash I wasn’t even paying attention to how much hair was coming out till it was all… Read more »
The lady on the main page kinda reminds me of comedian Wanda Skyes a little bit. I would never have jumped on the steamer that’s just to much money. The TT works for me, and the MJ I like the Baby buttercream. The Henna looks to much work and effort just to strenghten hair, and awfully messy.
I’m a serious MJ Baby Buttercreme user. I judge products on smell and moisturizing abilities. I’m addicted to the smell, and I like that it is heavy and VERY moisturizing. I put it on in the beginning of the week and sometimes don’t need to moisturize for days. I also jumped on their sale from last December. I hope they do it again. Shea moisture, for me, was anything but moisturizing. It did smell good though. I didn’t mess with the other 3… I have enough crap in my natural hair arsenal. I“m always trying to simplify my products and… Read more »
I LOVE Shea Moisture — I do not regret going for that craze lol.
I never tried the tangle teaser, I wanted to wait and I’m glad I did. my wide tooth comb & denman are fine! I’ve never tried ms. jessies and after one cassia treatment, I just don’t think ayurvedic is for me.
Great post! The Shea Moisture was definately a God sent, great products a great price how can you beat that. Now tangle teezer is something I want to try but it just looks scary, maybe one day. Henna is something never tried because I have used the commercial color, and I don’t know how the two will mix.
The denman brush! My hair hated that thing. I think the tangle teezer was gentler in comparison. I invested in an MP brush and all is well with the world.
I haven’t done any of the other four on the list, but henna is definitely in my future when I have more time.
My denman wreaked havoc on my hair as well! Now it’s just sitting in my top drawer, looking pitiful and lonely. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it.
The Denman was a fail for me too. I should have known better…
I hated the denman until I modified it. I removed every other row of teeth… I found this to be MUCH less damaging to my 4z hair. My hair has tight tight coils, kinks, straight hairs here and there and a few clumps of hair that are just “wtf” hairs, they are a mixture of everything.
I was basically forced to hop on the Miss Jessie’s bandwagon by my mom, who has hated my kinky hair since day one and practically jumped at the thought of ‘curl definition’. Turn’s out I’m allergic to whatever they put in it (my cat is allergic to the products as well o.o), and all the creamy stuff did was make my hair hard. I’m still trying to make the henna work, mostly because I have so much of it (my local Indian grocery store was having a major going out of business sale and the clerk just tossed in a couple… Read more »
i tried Miss Jessie’s and SheaMoisture and was not a real fan of either. i was —>thisclose<— to hopping on the steaming bandwagon, but the prices helped me to steer clear of it.
as someone pointed out about, i can’t believe the Denman brush isn’t on here, at least as a footnote to the Tangle Teezer.
Denman ripped my hair out!
The TT was a no-go for me. Left me with super split ends and a loss of almost an inch of hair.
I still use MJ Baby Buttercreme. I’ve been natural a total of 7 years all together and nothing softens me up on a dry twistout like a dollop of MJ.
I love Shea Moisture products. From the soap to the conditioners…they are weekly staples in my routine.
Never tried the steamer and won’t be paying for one.
Didn’t try any of these,mostly because of cost. Shea Moisture is possibly in my future. I wanted to hold out on the TT and hear a few more reviews after I heard people express concern about it causing split ends. I have decided against it after hearing more of those complaints. My denman brush and I get along really well. 🙂
i love me some miss jessie’s it correct for kinkier hair it may not be worth it to spend but my daughter and i both have fairly curly hair and it helps our curls stay in place while keeping the frizzies away
Sad to say I’ve jumped on 4 out of 5 of these crazes. I paid $18 for a small jar of Miss Jessie’s curly something or other. Was not impressed with the results. Shea Moisture was just “meh” to me. The shampoo did not adequately cleanse my hair and scalp, the smoothie left residue on my hair, and the deep treatment has zero slip and has “aiight” moisturizing properties. I think henna made my hair more wiry and reduced its elasticity. Never jumped on that hair steamer. Seemed like a luxury I could fore-go. I do still like the Tangle… Read more »
1. I just bought a TT with a coupon a month ago. I don’t use it on my hair (too hard to hold and had split ends during stylist using it) but I will use it on hubby’s hair when it’s full of conditioner.
2. I never bought a Huetiful steamer, I can’t afford it.
3. I’ve never tried a Miss Jessie’s product, I can’t afford it.
4. I’ve never tried a Shea Moisture product.
5. I’ve never used henna.
Maybe I’m not natural? O_O LOL!!!
Girl, you and me both…although I’m 2 for 5: 1. The only true craze I jumped on was the TT. I still like it but I don’t use it very often, mainly because I think it’s a little overkill for my fine strands. 2. Even if I was into steaming, I can’t afford a Huetiful. 3. Although MJ’s been around for a while, I only bought my first MJ products during the last BOGO. The Stretch creme did nothing for me, but the Curly Pudding worked surprisingly well for my WNGs. However, I just tried it recently for a braidout and…um…NO.… Read more »
I own a tangle teezer. I didn’t use it long enough to experience the breakage everyone was talking about. I lost it.. I just found it yesterday under the guest bed in my craft room *snort*
I still want a hair steamer, and Miss Jessie’s is wayy too pricey. I will stick with my belle butters, thank you very much
http://thetaleofgoingnatural.blogspot.com
As with fashion, I make/follow my own hair trends and do what works for me. The only item from this list which ever interested me were the Shea Moisture products. After trying several items, with mixed results (DT Masque made my scalp itch; Hair Milk didn’t provide enough moisture as a leave-in; Shampoo was a bit too harsh for my hair type; Coconut Hold and Shine Mist did absolutely nothing for my hair), the only product I continue to use is their Thickening/Moisture Mist. For the most part, I mix what I need in my kitchen and supplement with a… Read more »
My hair is too thick for the Tangle Teezer to be practical. I have to break my hair down into tiny, tiny sections to accomodate its short bristles. *shrug* I just realized that Shea Moisture was sold at ALL Walgreens (its only in select Targets, and our Target’s are not amongst them) and tried it out. I like it! Plus, no shipping and it isn’t a million dollars. I’ve been using the curl enhancing smoothie and the replenishing conditioner for co-washing. I like Miss Jessie’s cause it works– my definition be it from a wash and go or twist out… Read more »
shea moisture is the ISH for my hair. When I tried their old formula/batch (last year) I pretty satisfied. Now that I’ve tried their products again this year, I notice they’ve altered their formula…which is even BETTER than last year’s formula! woo!
The Tangle teezer was a fail for me…it’s just sitting thats my £10 spent on nothing lol
Haven’t tried heutiful , sheamoisture (would try if they were available in the UK),miss jessies(probably wouldn’t because of ingredients),henna…errm have no interest in trying out henna
i love my denman though and am thinking of trying D31 i have tried detangling with just a wide tooth comb (normally i use the wide tooth comb and then follow it with the denman) and i didn’t like my twistout
I will not be buying either the Huetiful steamer or any of Miss Jessie’s products because I don’t like the prices. I Bought the TT. While it did an excellent job of getting through my coily/hypercurly hair, a lot of hair was ending up in the brush whenever I used it. Of course, during that period, I was wearing plaits that I put in and left in for 3–4 weeks at a time, and I think that accounted for some of it. At any rate, for the last three weeks I have been trying detangling with my fingers, and so… Read more »
yep yep yep, my hand is up, i followed all the crazes! 1. Tangle Teezer — teezed my hair into breakage, had to go! 2. Huetiful Hair Steamer: couldn’t justify spending that much on a steamer, so i got a hooded dryer which i am in love with! 3. Miss Jessie’s products: tried all the stylers (loved them all) and the Deep Conditioners (hated them): stopped using them, too expensive and i get same results with many other cheaper products. 4. Shea Moisture: loved everything i tried, unfortunately, too difficult to get here in Europe. 5. Henna: tried it twice and my… Read more »
Haha I’ve been natural for 5 years and out of this whole list, I’ve only heard of shea moisture…guess I need to stay more current…
You haven’t missed anything.
I think Kinky Curly should be added to the list. I don’t think it lives up to the hype either. That’s just me cause my hair never responded the way it claimed. It just dried out.
Kccc was superb hyped up too! For a month or two, when I first wearing my hair out I was crazy obsessed with curl definition, but now it’s all about the Afro babyyy hahahaha
Great list, there should be a part two! I haven’t really jumped on any band wagon (probably because I’ am a broke college student) so I can’t really afford to be willy nilly with my pennies. Though I might hop on Shea moisture because the price is right and can be found easily. I would love to see the hype about the HH steamer because for a 100 bucks it better be worth it
Never got a Tangle Tweezer,
LOVE my Huetiful Steamer *WorthThe$$$$*
LOVE SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Line
Miss Jessie’s is mortgage $$$ SheaMoisture kills are their birds w/ONE stone 🙂
Just bought Henna & keep looking at the stuff biting my nails.
Celebrated my LAST perm on 8/10/10 soon my BC on 12/22/11 !PopStyle!
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less fragrance + lower prices + no white flaky after effects = a better miss jessie product
Watching You Tube Videos of women using that new miracle product, the Tangle Teaser made it very clear. Actually, what did it was the sound of the brush ripping through hair. Though it seemed to glide with ease, that noise was enough to turn my stomach. Not for me.
Miss Jessies has a lot of ingredients that I’m not sure about. I’ve tried the TT in my hair but I think I’ll stick with my Denman. Shea Moisture has been good so far. Love the lotions but can’t deal with the Coconut. It makes my hair itch like crazy! Hair steamer just cost way too much!
Yes to EVERYTHING on this list except Miss Jessie’s. I have yet to be wowed by their products!!
I love Shea Moisture!! One of my favorite products!!
I’m using this forum as a plea to all of the product marketers mentioned in this post to GET IT TOGETHER and start selling more of your stuff at the Targets in RHODE ISLAND. Seriously, there are PLENTY of colored girls in this state that REALLY need good products. Motions and Lets Jam! just isn’t cutting it anymore…
Well, I have the Tangle Teaser and because I use it monthly along with weekly finger detangling, I love it! I won’t be retiring it at all! As for the Huetiful Hair Steamer, would love to try it one day, but it is out of my budget for now, Miss Jessies is a try for the future, only if I can catch a serious sale(too pricey)! Shea Moisture products, so far are the BOMB! Lastly, I have never tried Henna and I am not sure I ever plan to! #thatisall#
I only got involved with only 1 of these crazes,without even knowinng it was a craze.I’m glad I purchased the Shea Moisture products because they are life savers for y 4b hair.
As for the other trends,I was not really interested because the TT scared me,the Steamer is too expensive,Miss Jessie’s is a joke and I’m afraid of what henna will do to my poor hair…
I just bought Shea Moisture products from Walgreens last night and twisted my hair with the styling milk mixed with aloe vera gel. So far so good. I’m so glad to see a decent natural hair product in a local store. I’m afraid to try henna. I’m 31 and I have grays that I inherited from my mother that I would love to cover, but the thought of applying color of any kind worries me. I wouldn’t want the health of my hair to suffer because of my vanity, you know? I’ve heard of Miss Jessie’s. Never tried it and I never… Read more »
I just use my Tangle Teezer and Henna. Everything else is not enticing.
Here’s a funny experiment:.. Go on a busy square and try to gather people around.. when you feel like you have enough people around tell them: Ok peops, JUMP JUMP!! Record this and notice how many people will at least jump one time just because you told them to 🙂 some people love to follow , others to lead and they’re a whole bunch who just dont know what to do.
I haven’t tried most of these because, in a nutshell I’m cheap and don’t like to try things without a ton of research to back up spending the money. Tangle Teezer — Nope. Not sure how it it’s different from those 99 cent round Annie brushes. I heard about the snagging, too. Never had that problem with the Annie. Miss Jessie’s (and Shea Mosture) — I also never got around to Miss Jessie’s. I tried all the so-called ethnic/curl definer products in order from least expensive to most expensive, and each product gave me worse results than the one before. No definition,… Read more »
I LOVE Shea Moisture and that Curl Enhancing Smoothie they have is amazing on my hair! However, I have not tried the rest. I could not get Miss Jessie’s because it was too expensive and I was eyeing that steamer, but thought, nahhhhh
Never did the steamer I find I didn’t need it. I haven’t tried Miss Jessies, I was fine with Curls for what I need and my spritz mixture. Tangle-Teezer: I didn’t have to try it on of the salons the salon I went used it on my hair for trim, after that never again, I could hear my hair breaking. Shea-moisture: Didn’t need to found my balance with, spritz, oils, rinses, conditioners, and butters without it. Current styles with my texture (kinky) seem to hold well with Curls Soufflé Henna: I tried it and instantly hated it, smell, washing it… Read more »
Well.…
1. I love my Tangle Teezer. I have yet to experience breakage or chewed up ends. Maybe that’s because I only use it 1x/month.
2. Shea Moisture: The only product I’ve used is the Black Soap shampoo. My scalp says “Thank You”.
3. Never used henna or the steamer.
I love Shea Moisture Products and my hair steamer. I used the heating cap and had good results, but they don’t compare to the results I get from the steamer
Boy, I got caught up in quite a few crazes! 1. The Magic Star Jumbo Rake Comb by HerculesSagemann. It’s just OK and helps out a little but it wasn’t worth $20plus. 2. The Jean’s Green product line. It was just okay; surely not worth the $95. And right now, I’m into the JustNatural shampoo and conditioner set. It’s a little high, at $56 (the set, plus shipping); but at least my scalp is not all irritated from the chemicals in other sets. Sometimes being a natural can be just as costly as a relaxed; until you find what works… Read more »
I have only tried henna and indigo once so far, but plan on doing it again this weekend. I did not find it messy or smelly at all. I know the actual chemical makeup and what you add to the henna can cause a slight difference in the smell. I ordered from mehandi.com and followed their instructions to the letter. I have even given others the website to give henna and indigo a try instead of using big name commercial dyes.
I use the Kinky Curly line. Didn’t see any mention of it here. It works GREAT for me. I have been using it the entire time i’ve been natural which is about a year and a half. i don’t even try other products anymore.
The only tried & true product on this list for me is the Shea Moisture line. It provides moisture for a decent price. When Miss Jessie’s first came out I ordered it and was utterly disappointed but I should have known better b/c it was too good to be true. I have learned my lesson and choose to keep it simple. Expensive does not mean better.
I definitely prefer Shea moisture to Miss Jessie’s products because of the price and we can’t forget the fact that some of Miss Jessie’s products contain mineral oil. And the “Shea Moisture Raw shea butter Moisture rentention shampoo” hmmmmm … That thing is sooooo good !
I would also add Coconut oil and shea butter to the list.
Been wanting to try the Shea Moisture line. In fact was just eyeing and pricing some of the products in my local CVS just now before writing this comment. I’ve heard of the rake comb. I use my fingers for detangling and on occasion a wide tooth wig comb. No desire to try this plus it just seems like it would cause breakage anyway. Huetiful is way too expensive for my budget. If I’m going to spend $100 it will be on a variety of products that meet my styling needs. As far as spending money on pricier products, my… Read more »
I like Shea Moisture products and Giovanni Direct-Leave In and Deep Moisture shampoo and conditioner. I also like VO5 conditioners for co-washing. Finally, I really like my Pibbs Kwick-Dri Professional Hair Dryer. It’s really fast!
Shea Moisture products work extremely well for me especially the curl enhancing smoothie… LOVE IT!! 🙂
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