The internet is filled with content with recommendations of products for type 4 hair so I thought I'd do a post on the products I didn't like and would never recommend.
As I Am Leave-In Conditioner
This product was recommended to me in person by a woman with beautiful type 4 hair so I was hopeful. She raved about how moisturising this product was and I literally bought it the next day. I can't tell you whether or not it's moisturising because I never left it in my hair long enough - every time I tried to use this leave-in and added anything on top, it would immediately pill! The one time I let it dry to see if the pills would disappear, I had so much flaking that my hair looked grey! My friend who she'd also recommended this leave-in to had the same experience.
Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding
Woooh chile! This ridiculously expensive product, with all its unfavourable ingredients, was a snowball fight in my hair from the very first application! In addition to the flaking, it left my hair feeling so sticky I immediately has to wash my hair again. If I ever had to give a product 0/10 it would definitely be this one.
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Leave-In Conditioner
I used to absolutely love this leave-in but then Shea Moisture did the unforgivable and reformulated it. What used to be a moisturising product, became a watery mess that left my hair oily but not moisturised. Shea Moisture need to tell me what was the reason!
Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream
Everyone raved about this product so much so that, 6 years after I purchased it the first time, I bought it again just to see if I had used it incorrectly the first time! In both instances it did absolutely nothing for my hair, other than leave it feeling coated in a way I did not like.
Carol's Daughter Healthy Hair Butter
This hair butter had a beautiful, whipped consistency and was definitely a staple at the time (circa. 2012) but to be honest, it was just glorified shea butter. There are better, and cheaper, alternatives now.
Honourable Mentions
Giovanni Direct Leave-In Conditioner, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Oyin Handmade Hair Dew. I have written about these before so I'll just leave a link to my thoughts on them here.
I'm sure you've noticed that quite a few products on this list are leave-ins. I've had such bad luck with them, that I started to believe they were a waste of money and time (some people still feel this way 👀). I have since discovered leave-ins that I love, so let me know if you'd like my recommendations. Are any of these products your holy grail or do you agree with me? Let me know in the comments below.