When you do the “Big Chop,” you will try anything, I mean anything to get your hair to do something, anything, because your hair…well, it’s doing pretty much nothing…

Here are ALL of the products I have tried since December 22, 2015:

I used to be ashamed, but in all fairness, I tried all of them multiple times before I decided-no. Now, I’ve broken them down into categories of products. The shampoos and conditioners are all must haves, and I use each of these-just rotating twice a week. The clarifying shampoo, I try to use once every three weeks.

The oils are not for daily usage, but after a shampoo or co-wash, they become my first layer. A quarter-size dollop of coconut oil rubbed through my hair is a bedtime treat.

I use one or two of these creams and that curling mousse almost daily.

Once a week, I may indulge and use a gel rubbed throughout my hair, but I don’t like the consistency, crunch, or feel of these products in my hair. My hair is too thick to just lie down with gel on the edges, and I think the constant stress of frequent brushing of my edges is traumatic for my hairline.

Even before I “big chopped,” I started looking at IG pictures and Google images to seek hair inspiration. I knew that the tapered cut was my “hair envy” style, but my initial hair cut was just too short to duplicate the look. I continued to experiment with different products and many textures were revealed.

What I have discovered over the last six (6) months is that my hair loves avocado, olive, and coconut oils. Yes, to cream-based products; no, to gel-based products. Yes, to twice-weekly shampoos and co-washes; no, to oil-based conditioners. Yes, to creamy deep conditioners…always. No, to daily combings and pick-outs; yes, to finger combing and rubbing product throughout. I sweat at night. No, to head wraps, bonnets, sleep caps, or any other head gear; yes to satin pillow cases or plastic conditioning caps. At 47 years of age, I’m the one-leg-from-under-the-covers-cool-off-type. Nothing on my head or on my feet at bedtime.

Besides the essential oils every other day, my all time daily favorites remain: WATER, WATER, WATER-in my hair, to drink, to drink, to drink; Miss Jessie’s Curly Buttercream; Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Curl Activator Cream; and TGIN (Thank God I’m Natural) Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer. They all smell yummy and the creaminess of these products, as opposed to the gel-like gumminess of some products, are just what my thick, thirsty hair craves.