Teamnatural_’s Instagram page is one of several Instagram accounts you should follow if you want an abundance of natural hair porn… erm, hair inspiration. They repost thousands of user submitted images of all types of natural hair styles, lengths, shapes, and colors for you to scroll through. Recently, @teamnatural_ requested that people submit photos of their product stashes–or their collection of hair care products–using the hashtag #TNstash. The output was… well, I’ll let you see for yourself.
In some pictures, we lost count of how many products were shown, but the numbers easily exceed 100, verifying that a good chunk of natural women suffer from clinical product junkeeism*. Here’s a definition from DIY Hair Care Blog:
Product Junkie– A person who just loves to buy hair products. They don’t care how much it costs, they just love trying out new products. Also, known as a shopaholic. These natural hair ladies will buy their staple products in liter sizes during sales and always stay abreast about new companies and products.\
While the number of products one chooses to buy is a completely personal decision, there is something to be said about the trend of having dozens and dozens of products for your natural hair. One the one hand, pjism may be blamed on the myriad hair products advertised to elongate, stretch, and define your curls, coils, and kinks. Perhaps some product junkies are unsatisfied with their texture and are always looking for a magic product. Alternatively, product junkies could be proud supporters of (predominantly) black owned businesses that cater to women and men with natural hair.
I only use a handful of products (partly because I’m frugal and partly because I know my hair just needs a bit of shea butter to be happy), and try not to buy a new product until something has run out, so I had to ask a few self-diagnosed product junkies about their take on the practice.
The responses I got were surprisingly straightforward. There was no texture-hating, miracle product searching at play; rather, product junkies were simply shopaholics. They collected everything from sunglasses to handbags to shoes, and hair products were no exception. People who love to (and have the money to!) shop, LOVE to shop, and no category is exempt. This quick survey provides supporting evidence for Jarmelia’s condensed definition of a product junkie as a shopaholic that collects hair products. Plain and simple. Going back and looking through #TNstash, I’ve redirected my attention away from the number of products to the organization of the products. I could definitely get a few storage ideas for my hair products as well as the rest of my toiletries!
Are you a product junkie? Do you think the natural hair community should be concerned about product junkeeism? What does product junkeeism mean to you? Leave your thoughts below!
*there is no real diagnosis of this condition.
I’m a recovering product junkie but I agree with your assessment – I’m not trying to change my texture or anything (I love my hair texture) or search for some miracle but I simply love to buy stuff and try new things! My hair product junkieism is nowhere near as bad as my cosmetic and makeup problem 😀 I’m trying to get better by only buying something new when the old thing runs out, and honestly, my hair PJ problem is going away on its own because I really like the things that I use on my hair and don’t want to change for fear of wrecking it.