(This post is not in any way sponsored by DevaCurl – ugh, I wish. I am not being compensated for writing this and while there are links in this post, they are not affiliate links. This is just my honest opinion, based on my personal experience)
I regularly spend about $146 on hair products.
Does reading that make you cringe? Because I cringed writing it.
What does $146 get me? Four items — shampoo, conditioner and two stylers. How long do they last? It varies from product to product. I can get five months out of my shampoo; stylers is more like 2.5 months.
Trust me, I know this is a ridiculous amount of money that could — and likely should — go toward the $55K-ish of debt we’re working to pay back.
Yet, like my weekly Starbucks treat, I do not hesitate for a moment to shell out cash for these four products.
How do I justify this kind of expense? To understand, there is an important thing you need to know about me.
I have naturally curly hair. A lot of it. And I love it. But I also hate it.
Life with naturally curly hair
I hated my naturally curly hair as a teenager. And in response, I committed every curly hair crime in the book.
Box dye it black? Check.
Cut it short without considering the impact on the curl pattern? Check.
Use a clothing iron on a towel to straighten it every day? Ugh. Check.
Looking back, I am surprised my hair didn’t fall out or break. It should have. I treated it so, so poorly.
Which is bizarre because, on the rare occasion when I left it to its own curly devices, I would get so many compliments. People always wanted to know if they were natural; when I said yes, the next comment was almost always to the effect of “I wish my hair was curly like yours.”
“No, you really don’t,” I replied, almost every time.
As a teenager, my curls were a burden — a frizzy, unruly albatross I did not want to deal with.
Embracing my naturally curly hair
The trouble, of course, with trying to make naturally curly hair straight is that it does not work very well.
Sure, with the right amount of heat and time I could achieve the sleek look I was going for. I did it almost every day in high school and through a good chunk of university, too.
But it was risky business. All it took was a little rain or sweat to undo all that hard work — and make it look even worse.
I can’t remember exactly when I unplugged the flat iron, but I do know when I finally decided to embrace my natural curls: March 2017.
That was when I attended my first curl seminar with Krista Leavitt. One of Canada’s leading curly hair experts, Krista is a fountain of knowledge; I learned so many tips and tricks in that afternoon session that have totally transformed my hair.
I also learned all the products I had been using were a big part of the reason why my naturally curly hair refused to behave the way it should.
It was a game changer.
DevaCurl: the difference maker for my naturally curly hair
Why were my products failing me? Because they include ingredients that are not good for curls — specifically, sulphates and silicones.
On her site, Krista explains why these products are bad for curly hair but it comes down to this: sulfates are too harsh and drying for curls, while silicones lock out moisture. If you have naturally curly hair, you know what happens when your curls can’t get enough moisture (hello, frizz city).
Unfortunately, finding products free of these two things is quite challenging. I have yet to find a single curly girl friendly product in a store where I live, and let me tell you, I have looked.
So while my husband spends like, $5 on a huge bottle of shampoo that lasts him forever, I spend…a lot more than that.
Here is the breakdown:
- DevaCurl Low Poo – $30 for 12oz
Typically lasts about five months, the longest of all the products. I only use a small amount on wash days. - DevaCurl One Condition – $59 for 32oz
Typically last 2.5 months. I used to buy the 12oz bottle for $30 but I go through a LOT of conditioner. I have thick, fine hair that dries out really easily. On top of regular conditioning, I often add a little extra as a leave in and use a little bit when I refresh in the morning. - DevaCurl B’Leave-In – $27 for 6oz
Typically last about 3 months. This gel-like product helps my curls clump out of the shower. I use this right after I shower and in the morning as part of my refreshing routine. - DevaCurl Ultra Defining Gel – $30 for 12oz
Usage varies on this one. Sometimes I can get 3 months out of a bottle, sometimes less. It depends on how often I have to refresh my hair in the morning.
Why it’s worth it
So how in the world can I justify regularly spending about $146 on hair products when we’re trying to pay back debt?
Honestly, it comes down to this: they work. The difference in my hair since I switched to DevaCurl has been night and day.
I still have the occasional bad hair day, but they are few and fair between. My curls are healthier — they clump together well, they’re less frizzy and honestly, they just look better.
And maybe it will sound vain, but when my hair looks good, I feel good. If I only have time to do one element of my beauty routine, I will always choose setting my hair. When my curls are behaving, I feel confident.
And hat feeling, that confidence, to me, is worth the expense.
Final Thoughts
There are some people – OK, probably a lot of people – who would consider spending $146 on hair products ridiculous. I can’t say I blame them — that’s a lot of money on something that is, in a lot of ways, frivolous. I get that.
But for me, the confidence boost I get from having well maintained curls is worth it — and the only way I have found to attain that goal is to use the right combination of curly girl friendly products. That makes DevaCurl worth it to me.
Leave a Reply