If you have ever been to your local beauty supply store, you know that are tons of hair products catered to our African American hair to choose from. Black hair care is a booming business, and those crazy about their hair (like yours truly!) definitely contribute to that wealth. Instead of roaming those aisles aimlessly and picking up anything that looks good, we ladies need to know what to look for in a product that will truly be beneficial to our hair health. To help us with this dilemma is Philip Pelusi, a stylist, photographer, product artist, and owner of Tela Design Studio in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District. He gave me some great advice when it comes to selecting hair products.
- Choose products that actually put moisture and strength back into the hair. Look for moisturizing ingredients to rehydrate dry, parched hair like Hyaluronic Acid, Cassia Angustifolia Seed, Guar and Red Algae.
- Look for gentle cleansing agents that won’t strip out color or chemicals such as Sugar Cane, Sugar Maple, Fennel and Apple Seed.
Look for strengthening ingredients to fortify weaker and often chemically relaxed hair fabric such as Wheat and Cystine Protein Silicone micro emulsions as well as Silk, Soy and Lecithin
- For added protection, look for products loaded with antioxidants like Green Tea, Sunflower and Orange and Lemon that help ward off the damaging effects of free radical pollutants that break down hair fabric.
- Look for water soluble ingredients that protect that hair but don’t build up or attract dirt such as oils. Try P2 by Philip Pelusi Soft Wax, Forming Wax, Honey Molding Beeswax, Polish and Brilliant Hair.
Fine, limp overly curly hair needs weightless moisture plus strength to build body and structure. This hair type also needs heat protection that will protect the hair but not deflate volume. Try P2 by Philip Pelusi Age de phy Shampoo and Age de phy Conditioner, Intense Hydrating Treatment, RepairHair Smart Styling Treatment, ReCurl Smart Styling Treatment and BrilliantHair.
- Coarse, an unruly curl or frizz needs more hydration and slip to smooth hair, whether it is worn curly or straight. This hair has more structure but still needs strengthening because it is naturally more delicate and often times exposed to heat and chemicals. Try P2 by Philip Pelusi Moisturesheen Shampoo and Moisturesheen Conditioner, Deep Hydrating Hair and Scalp Treatment, RepairHair Smart Styling Treatment, Decrease Smart Styling Treatment.
A big thank you to Philip for sharing these awesome tips!
Need more expert hair advice? Then look no further
The Stylist and Hair Care Expert from Crème of Nature tells us what we need to know
8 Tips for Washing and Conditioning our hair from stylist Eden Pereira
Celeb Stylist Kimmi Hendrix gives great tips for styling African American Hair
Photos courtesy of: Philip Pelusi
Fierce 
Nadege
/ February 21, 2010Thanks for this post. I agree with you about the wide array of products geared toward textured hair. What we rarely find, are products with the ingredients you listed. Thanks for introducing us to Philip’s line. The tips were also very valuable.
fiercebeautyandfashion
/ March 3, 2010These tips were great! I know I’ve bought products that promised the world and delivered nothing so its always good to know from an expert what to look for!
Thanks so much for checking out my blog! 🙂