How To | Choose Products for YOUR Hair in 6 Steps with Guide

I'm in the market for a few hair products.  Although I enjoy DIYing, I also like having products on hand to use at times when I don't have the luxury of whipping up a batch of some goodness in the kitchen - read: too lazy to bother (it happens, I'm human).  If this describes how you feel sometimes, this guide is for you!

Before purchasing any product I put the potential candidates through a rigorous assessment.
Assessing products that would ultimately be used in YOUR hair should be an area in which you invest your time, and give a high degree of attention.  I guarantee you would prefer that the time was spent up front before even using a new product, than after the fact, when unfortunately, the product does not bode well with your hair, or worse, causes a hair goal set back.

To assist in the assessment, I created this simple and handy guide.  These are the 6 steps I use, and I find them very successful at revealing the RIGHT products to use - you know, that that leave you with hydrated, strong, conditioned, shiny, cooperative, HEALTHY hair.

Flow through the guide, and put it to the test!

When you test the guide, let me know!  Are the products it reveals those you would have otherwise chosen? How do they work for YOU?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By using a trusted source, such as the NaturallyCurly.com lists, you start the assessment with up to 4 steps already covered.
1. Trusted Source
2. Quality Products with High Efficacy to elminate time spent filtering through low quality products that do not deliver 
3. Products with Natural Ingredients to reduce the use of harsh chemical substances in your hair care (if this is important to you) that may cause damage to your hair and general health
4. Products with proven ability to work on (specific Characteristics of) Your Hair Profile using the rankings and reviews of trusted sources with similar hair profiles to yours

Next, follow with
5. The 3 Rules to Select the Right Products for YOUR Hair to narrow down the list of products.  (i) what you NEED
 (ii) product CHARACTERISTICS
 (iii) ability to deliver RESULTS.
 You should have no more than 2-3 products to assess in each category that you're in the market for (shampoo, deep conditioner etc)

...................................................................................................................................................................

* Note Your Comfort Level with the Overall Ingredient List, at a Glance, if the ingredient list is full of confusing hyphenated chemical ingredients and/or does not indicate the natural or common name along with the scientific genus that the ingredient is, that's a red flag.  Once this simple test is past, the product advances to the next step.

Then

*Find 'Your Ingredients' in each product to assess its's ability to deliver for you.
Don't Know Your Ingredients?
Simply flip the products you already have around, those that you love and use all the time because they never fail you, and look for recurring ingredients that they all have.  These are 'your ingredients'.

In how to Find the Best Products for YOUR Hair I spoke about ingredients being the determining factor, beyond all label promises and online reviews.  Therefore, in selecting new products, seek out YOUR ingredients in ALL products regardless of what type of product it is. Products containing these ingredients have a higher chance of working well with your hair and helping keep it healthy. 

................................................................................................................................................................

This guide assesses the presence of your ingredients in the Selected products to ascertain how they rank in addressing the characteristics of your hair profile and on each products' Characteristic's ability to deliver Results as would be their purpose.

Using myself as an example, My Ingredients are

Water
Glycerin
Honey/Caramel
Aloe Vera
Shea Butter
Oils - Penetrating: Argan, Avocado, Coconut, Olive; Sealing: Castor, Grapeseed, Jojoba

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge this winner on the Editors' Choice List...

For me, this wins over ALL others, for all categories, ALL the time!!!
And definitely passes the assessment

Use this guide to help you identify, select and choose the RIGHT products for YOUR hair that will keep you on the path to achieving and maintaining healthy hair.

~ Josie Jo ~

What steps do you take to assess new products?
Have I left out any?