Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Multi Purpose Products

I was talking (chatting) with Nuri the other day and I realized that I do quite a bit of non-hair related things with my hair things.

I often find myself in the possession of one too many bottle of conditioner, or a full bottle of shampoo that I just don't like, or won't possibly use up before it has collected some dust.  I like to try my products in multiple ways in my hair before I write them off, but sometimes it can't be helped- it's a fail.

First, I do try mixing conditioners I don't like together, or using one weak one to dilute a thicker or more expensive one.  If it's a gel I will try mixing it with oil, and most leave ins I'll try on wet and dry hair.  So what if the results are fail, fail, fail?

Sometimes, depending on where you got the product you can bring it back for a refund.  If not, you can try swapping it locally or with your friends (I got 2 almost full jars of KCCC that way!) But if you don't feel right giving someone a dirty, (don't judge!) half full bottle with a torn label, here are some other ways I use my products to get my money's worth.

Conditioner:
  • Particularly V05 yummy smelling variety (blackberry/sage - .88cent nom nom) - I use conditioner mixed with water in a spray bottle as wrinkle releaser.  About 10:1 or so is usually diluted enough to smell good and work well without feeling like more than a mist.  Spray it on wrinkled clothes (except silk and polyester) shake or smooth them out and skip the iron.
  •  Shaving lotion.  I have not purchased shaving lotion in years and years.  This works with almost any conditioner, and even shampoo if your skin is not sensitive.  I like to use shampoo to shave my armpits because even after soap- sometimes you get a deoderant deposit that clogs the razor blades.  Shampoo does well to cut through, and conditioner melts the texture of any hair, much like it does the hair on your head.
  • In the summer if you swim, a rich slathering of conditioner before you hit the pool can help your hair stave off some of the drying chlorine and salt.  I rinse most of it out (cloudy pool halo is not cool!) but the softening and preparing to be wet WITH conditioner seems to work for my hair far better than just plain ole water.  And because this is a conditioner you will apply liberally- and not long enough for a deep condition, it doesn't really matter what it is.
  • Pedicures- yes I do my own.  conditioner and a pumice stone get my feet soft and smooth and I don't need to put lotion on afterwards.  Plus most conditioner smells great and I find less irritating to my skin than heavily scented gels and lotions.
  • If you have a peppermint or mentholated conditioner the smell can help tremendously if you have allergies or a cold. I once paid a grip for a mentholated body wash that my skin didn't even like.  I got Suave's rosemary/mint conditioner and my hair was like meh.... but my allergy prone sinuses opened right up.  That bottle went quickly squirted and spread haphazardly about the shower lol
At less than a buck a bottle, the suave and V05 conditioners live in my cabinet for co washing and all the uses above.  Sometimes I just grab them when I see them on sale or in the scents I love (did I say V05 blackberry/sage?) 

Here are a few other things I re-purpose:
Shampoo- degrease your tub after co-washing, remove grease spots from clothes, clean hair brushes or spot clean upholstery, clean sneakers or shoe insoles (by hand-doesn't irritate skin very quickly), wash hair curlers and other accessories that build up products.
Oils- Lotion, oil cleansing, mild sunscreen, cooking, insect repellent.

And we all know about aloe vera gel and the butters right?

1 comment:

  1. Great post!...Lol, I thought I was the only one who used conditioner while doing their pedicure's. It works great around the cuticle to soften and clean them up:))

    Take care,
    zainab1
    AuNaturale007.blogspot.com

    zainab's vintage & more-
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