I’m so through with the product junkie-ism. Why? Well, over the past couple of weeks there’s been a lot of discussion about some very popular, hair care manufacturers using wholesale bases and selling them as handmade, very expensive products. Check out the discussion on NaturallyCurly.

There are products that I like and products that I’d like to try, but there is no way that anyone with common sense — and who isn’t a Trump — can justify spending money on some of these extremely expensive products just because they are made for natural hair. I can justify it even less when manufacturers say that the products are handmade and research (or snooping around Goo.gle) shows that you’ve taken a wholesale base, repackaged it, upped the price 200% and cry about your blood, sweat and tears.

That’s just deceitful. I don’t have a problem with someone using a base to make their product as long as they don’t try to deceive people by claiming that the product is handmade from formulations and concoctions that they spent years creating.

Now, the companies on the NC thread seem shady. Are they doing this for all of their products — using bases and then lying about them being handmade? I don’t know, but there are too many coincidences for it just to be happenstance. Don’t get me wrong, there are people out there who are truly slaving over their products and running ethical businesses. Those people I get much respect to, but my pocket can’t — at least not right now. There are a couple of products I want to try, Qhemet Biologics Alma & Heavy Cream and Jane Carter Curl Defining Cream, but I have to put the breaks on product junkie-ism – unless I know that I can’t get the same product at a significantly better price.

So, after reading through the NaturallyCurly thread, I clicked through to some of the wholesalers they mentioned and my mouth dropped. I can get pretty much the same product for a fraction of the price? Why didn’t I know this a couple of years ago when my product junkie-ism was at its height? Really. Check out some of the products I plan to purchase at the end of the month from Essential Wholesale:

Olive Nourishing Creme* ($15.35 USD for 16 0z): Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Olea europaea (Organic Olive) Oil, Emulsifying Wax NF, Olea europaea (Olive) Butter, Palm Stearic Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum (Polysaccharide Gum), Mannan, Salix nigra (Organic Black Willowbark) Extract, Azadirachta indica (Neem) Oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oleoresin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid

Whipped Massage Jelly** ($7.54 USD for 16 oz): Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel), Prunus dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, Aloe barbadensis (Aloe) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Oenothers biennis (Evening Primrose), Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oleoresin, Azadirachta indica (Neem), Carbomer, TEA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid

Peppermint & Tea Tree Conditioner ($10.00 USD for 16 oz): Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe) Juice, Lavendula angustifolia (Organic Lavender) Distillate, Anthemis nobilis (Organic Roman Chamomile) Distillate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ricinus communis (Castor Seed) Oil, Stearalkonium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrolized Wheat, Mentha piperita (Peppermint) Essential Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Essential Oil, d-Calcium Pantothenate (Panthenol Vitamin B5), Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Rosa mosqueta (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Salix nigra (Organic Black Willow Bark) Extract

*I’d use this as a moisturizer.

**This one is a styler — from what I read online, one of the big name natural hair product manufacturers sells this as a styling gel. Just search the ingredients or go to NC for more information.

Right.

Now, shipping is a beast and you all know how much I HATE paying for shipping, but this is worth it. If I buy five or six products, paying $25 in shipping isn’t horrible (it ain’t good, but it ain’t that bad).

I never bought product anything from these particular manufacturers, so I’m not feeling too vexed or annoyed. I know people go into business to make money. I’m all for that, but I think that with this knowledge, I can control my bottom line. Spending $25 on 8 oz of a conditioner, when I can spend $10 on 16 oz of wholesale conditioner, I’d only be stupid not to.