For my freshmen year of high school I begged my mom to perm my Afro straight. I no longer wanted to wear kid braids, I wanted to be sleek and “in style”. I promised I would take over taking care of my hair, which would be easier permed than in my natural state. After a long campaign of barraging my mom with the pros of being permed, she finally bent the knee.
We went to the hair salon and for many years later my hair routine was as simple as: wash weekly, deep condition every once and a while and style. When my hair’s new growth would appear I felt inconvenienced from my straight hair agenda. I would hold out for a few weeks with twist outs that were successful due to the texture of my new growth. But once my curling cremes no longer gave my desired result, I was back in the salon, immediately.
THE END OF MY PERMS
This cycle came to an abrupt end a few months into our pandemic’s lock down. Life was unrecognizable and each day was filled with uncertainty. Being forced out of my routine of gym, work and distractions — my focus recovered. I suddenly had an abundance of time and I spent it looking deeply in the mirror everyday. My hair no longer complied with the regiment I subjected it to. My ends kept breaking and nothing I did to appease my hair worked.
So I cut it all off.
For the first time in my life I saw my curls grow and it was exciting. Or at least I thought the hair that was growing represented my natural curls. But I soon learned that what I was enjoying was just scab hair. Curly Nikki explained, scab hair is the hair underneath the scalp that has been affected by previous chemical treatments.
Around month four my hair introduced itself. Its thickness took over and all of the products I purchased that promised ease, only upset my hair. They did not moisturize my hair and the ease of washing, conditioning and styling my hair vanished. After another failed wash day I googled why Mielle no longer worked. I was greeted by multiple articles announcing that the company was bought out. As a result of the buy out, all of Mielle’s product formulas changed.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER AND SO IS CREATING YOUR OWN PRODUCTS
After giving so many popular hair care lines a try, I learned that Mielle was not the only company that changed their product formulas. This realization changed what I saw when I viewed a store’s inventory.
Our shelves are full of products that do not uphold the promises their advertisements sold us. A lot of the products that we are familiar with and trust in our homes are full of harmful chemicals and fillers. Our loyalty to brands stem from: familiarity, routine and ignorance.
I am currently writing an article that addresses how consumers are being affected by corporate greed. Capitalism made it possible for companies to align their goals with profit versus consumer safety. It allows the FDA to make regulations a game and not a means of protection for consumers. According to Linda Katz, the former director of the office of cosmetics and colors at the FDA, the process of adding chemicals is long and bureaucratic.
In my article, I also review a Jergens lotion advertising and its ingredients label. I want to show how the acceptance of harmful products was carefully curated by companies. But, I also introduce the benefits of breaking the cycle of passive consumerism by creating our own products.
When I cut my hair off five years ago, I did not know that I thrusted myself on a path of making my own products. I have enjoyed sharing my research findings with others and helping people protect their health. As well as being able to provide healthier product options to my community has been very fulfilling.
SHARING MY FINDINGS
Due to the diverse way that we consume information I have created multiple forms of content to promote my article. Besides creating this blog post on WordPress I have created posts for other platforms to share my findings:
Linked In
LinkedIn is where all professionals gather and share information on job listings or projects that they are involved in. On this platform, potential employees may read this article and reach out to explore collaboration opportunities. According to the social shepard there are over 69 million companies on LinkedIn. Besides a possible business venture, LinkedIn offers a diverse age group of users. Millennials make up to 60% of users but every generation is accounted for on this app. My goal is to reach as many consumers as possible to spread awareness which is why this platform is a great first step in doing so.
Instagram has been the platform that users go to for visuals. In the self-care arena of the app all content is simplistic and exudes ‘clean’ aesthetics. There is a wall post that I created which prompts users to click my article’s link in my bio. I also posted this image on my page’s story once a day with my article’s link as the primary way to inform users. Users viewing my story would only have to click once versus if they view my post they would have to click my page then click the link in my bio. I will lose some users’ interest just because of those two extra clicks. My main goal on this platform is to get the attention of consumers to break their cycle of passive consumerism. I also would like to gain the attention of creators who focus on self-care products for possible collaboration projects or consultation ventures.
X
I created my post to pop out against the sea of images and videos on X. Being able to add the article’s link gives X the edge on Instagram. Users can see this image and click on it out of curiosity and encounter my article. My goal on X is to get as many eyeballs on my article in the self care community.
I hope that my article will inspire others to start to take a closer look at their self care products. It has inspired a series on Tik Tok that I launched that addresses whether heavily advertised products are safe for consumers. Knowledge is power which is why I intend to share all of mine with others.