Hair Care on a BUDGET

[Tenacious]

Ok, I'm a poor college student and I've seen many ladies' regimes and noted the very nice quality products that everyone is using. But what about those of us who want growth that are....ahem....financially challenged, per se?

I am about to run out of products. Here is a list:
Sta-Sof-Fro
Olive Oil
Castor Oil
BB Castor Oil

All I'll have left is:
Tresemme Anti-Breakage Conditioner
NTM Shampoo
MTG
WGO
Honey

So, are there any cheap, homemade alternatives that I can use on a budget? What can I do to save my hair with what I got? Thanks!

 

[lisana]

WGO is an excellent sealant for me
baking soda is a great clarifier and it cost less than a dollar
Is the Tresseme a protein? If it is, i think you should have a moisturizing conditioner.

I know some folks are using Vaseline lotion for hair moisturizer, so maybe you can use your body lotion in your hair.

 

[gymfreak336]

I am a college student too. Try shopping at discount stores like dollar general and what not. I find alot of conditioners there and leave ins. I buy my sunsilk from the dollar general. I now use more expensive products now like Joico but I buy in bulk and when its on sale.

Right now, Target (where in atleast in my area) has alot of hair care stuff on sale. Try checking out big lots if you have one near by too.

 

[lisana]

I have a ton of products and I am thinking about paring down, seriously paring down my product list....In a few weeks I am going to be offering some stuff on the swap board. I'll make a list in a week or so, I'll give you first dibs or all dibs, i don't care. You don't have to swap anything with me, you just have to pay for the shipping charge though. But if someone has some Mizani fufyll or Aveda antihumectant or some Chi infusion hook a sista up!

 

[bravenewgirl87]

CON shampoo and conditioner
Miss Key 10 en 1
Pantene R/N Masks and nourishing mask.

 

[charmtreese]

Cheapies dont really work for me. So in a pinch I like to use homemade concoctions. For instance I like egg & mayo protein conditioners, pre poos with oil, brown sugar scrubs, and shea butter mixtures for moisturizing.

 

[Tenacious]

Cheapies dont really work for me. So in a pinch I like to use homemade concoctions. For instance I like egg & mayo protein conditioners, pre poos with oil, brown sugar scrubs, and shea butter mixtures for moisturizing.

About the egg.. I know that the protein in eggs comes from egg whites. I happen to have 2 cartons of egg whites... Could i use that to make my protein conditioner??? Just curious.

Also, I do happen to have LOTS of Lotion (looks like I shoulda been buying more hair stuff). I guess I'll get by with this!!! Lets see if I can pull this off

 

[poookie]

i'm a poor college student too (and i'm bout to be poorer, since i just quit my part time job)

you'll need to invest in a good deep conditioner, a protein conditioner, a moisturizing conditioner (try cream of nature with the purple top for less than $4), a clarifying shampoo (suave has one for less than $2), and a good oil (castor oil's good, and they have it at wal mart for less than $3).

i think some great product lines to dip into (while you're on a college sized budget) are:

Elasta QP
Cream of Nature
v05 (some of the best conditioners are only 99 cents!)
and of course, suave.

but if you want to stick it out with what you've got, you can mix honey into any of your conditioners to increase moisture.

ALSO... if they've got a sally's beauty supply near you, go and look for the generic value product line. they've got generic versions of higher-end products for MUCH cheaper, and some of the cheapies work better than the originals (in my opinion!). most of them are less than $7.

 

[Tenacious]

I have a ton of products and I am thinking about paring down, seriously paring down my product list....In a few weeks I am going to be offering some stuff on the swap board. I'll make a list in a week or so, I'll give you first dibs or all dibs, i don't care. You don't have to swap anything with me, you just have to pay for the shipping charge though. But if someone has some Mizani fufyll or Aveda antihumectant or some Chi infusion hook a sista up!

Ooh girl, thanks! I'ma use my WGO til I get some more moneys... I dont get paid until next week....

 

[dreysonsmommy2011]

Also put that honey to good use! (Honey is a natural humectant) When my hair needs some added moisture I mix my conditioner with honey as a pre-poo.

 

[filthyfresh]

I'm a poor college student too, so I know your pain girl.

Don't sleep on the grocery store! Their hair care aisle is full of deals, because they don't really move much hair products in there. I got some Herbal Essences Break's Over Leave-In for $2.17. It's normally $5.50. Also, I shop at Wal-Mart. I got some Castor Oil (2 oz. bottle) for $1.29. You just kinda have to shop around. We have Costco here and Sam's Club. I got a liter of Hello Hydration for like $4. It's crazy.

 

[ajargon02]

I am about to run out of products. Here is a list:
Sta-Sof-Fro
Olive Oil
Castor Oil
BB Castor Oil

Well I don't know about the "bb castor oil, but you can get castor oil at wal-mart in the laxitive section for like $2 out the door. You can also get EVOO(extra virgin olive oil) from any dollar store. It won't be like the stuff that one would get in the bss, but it's better b/c it's for cooking and doesn't have extra crap in it.

So, are there any cheap, homemade alternatives that I can use on a budget? What can I do to save my hair with what I got? Thanks!

Well as far as homemade, I make most of my hair products, and it can get quite expensive. If you are rollin on a budget start with the dollar store. You can get moisturizing condish/poo there, and if you wanna try making stuff in the future, you do wanna make the investiment in buying QUALITY ingrediants. Remember you want the best for your hair, and with homemade stuff cheap doesn't equal quality in most cases.

 

[envybeauty]

Actually it is more about finding out about what works for your hair as opposed to budget. There are high cost things that will and will not work for your hair. Same with cheap products.

My hair actually likes some cheap products that I usually get on sale or can buy with a coupon from the sunday paper. I buy Hello Hydration Coconut Conditioner, Garnier Frutis Deep conditioning conditioner, VO5 clarifying shampoo. I too recommend shopping at grocery stores for hair products when they go on sale. Some stores sell VO5 products for like 80 cents on sale.

Clip coupons too as most large supermarkets double the value of the coupon if the coupon is less than 99 cents. So find a 75 cents coupon, double it to $1.50 and you get that off the price of the product at supermarkets. Walmart, Target, etc. do not double coupons. Kroger, Pathmark, Harris Teether, etc. do double coupons..sometimes they triple them too.

I did that a lot when I was a student and would walk out paying like half price for stuff after sale price plus coupons. That worked for hair care, groceries, etc.

 

[kombov_dymond]

Some of my favorite cheapies:

Elasta QP (Poos, Silk, Breakage Control Serum)
Aussie (Moist and 3 Minute Miracle)
Sally's Proclaim Line (Olive serum, and I think they have a version of ORS' OORP)
Africa's Best (Leave-ins, oils and mayo)
Sally's Generics
Suave, White Rain & VO5 Cons
Surge and Surge Oil
Drugstore Castor
Lou Ana Coconut Oil
ETA: MNT Products

These will always be in my rotation because they work for me.

HTH

 

[mzhotniz86]

check out the product exchange forum we have on here too. plenty of ladies (including myself) have to clean our closets out , and you can find some great 'discounts' lol. i have to check my closet and start cleaning it out again.