We are. Yep, I said it. You mad? Allow me to explain. As a dubbed product junkie (I swear I’ve tried to rid myself of this title, but I just get bored and buy stuff), I’ve tried several companies and have witnessed many “gates.” By gate, I mean a scandal involving the company and its customers, and we sure do seem to have a lot of them…and since I like tea, let me give you a quick summary of some of my faves:
Miss Jessie’s: The tried and true neverending gate. Between the iffy ingredients, high prices, texturizers (on the owner and in their salon), marketing (turn your kinks into curls)…oh, the controversy. What’s not to love?
Mixed Chicks: The name says it all, and makes many women give an instant side eye. Then they tweeted #teamlightskin…and well, you know, the blogs blew up. Classic gate. The “oh no they didn’t” e-snaps were strong!
Karen’s Body Beautiful: What the hell is in that stuff?! No, I’m serious. The disconnect between the ingredients on the site and the bottles/jars has been an issue for about a year…and then there was that little video where Karen basically denied everything negative people say about the company? I won’t lie though, their shipping is getting a bit better, last time I ordered from them, I even got a shipping notice without having to call them three times to beg for it. FTW!
And last, but certainly not least…AFROVEDAGATE. **Sounds horns** This gate had it all. 100% + price increases in less than a year, virtually no customer service, ridiculous shipping prices, month long wait times for products, and…the use of bases while claiming your products are handmade!!! The nerve, the horror!!!
Now…looking back at these incidents, and some other smaller ones (jacked up shipping, rude customer service emails, products spoiling, etc), someone ALWAYS says they will NEVER, EVAH, EVAAAAAAH order from that company again. I know I’ve said it, and sometimes, I come back…sometimes, I don’t. But what makes us give passes to some companies while others are e-crucified? Y’all know Shea Moisture is getting sued because they said some ingredients were organic and they really weren’t, right? Or that Aubrey Organics has been fined several times for not listing their full list of ingredients on bottles (a PJ pet peeve!)? Or how many times has a product separated on you or spoiled too soon and you still buy from that company (and may even buy that exact product?)?
Simple. It’s because we’re biased, and ultimately, if our hair likes something, the wrongdoings of a company suddenly don’t seem so bad; like Dickey (who has also been on the verge of gate a few times, and I probably wouldn’t even care because Izzy loves the Curly Whip) says, hair rules. Also, I think that some of these companies make it TOO easy for us…like Mixed Chicks. I effs with Mixed Chicks (that little kid leave-in is noice), but come on…y’all knew better! I look at these situations and I just think to myself…”Why did you think that was a good idea?” or “Is it that difficult to fix?” It’s always easier to “go in” on a company for pure business tomfoolery rather than your batch of conditioner being runny once.
Anywho, I called myself out.
xoxo
questfortheperfectcurl.com 
Oh im calling myself out too! Especially the afroveda topic because its like waiting on custom-made rims to arrive from the orient. is it so serious??!!!! its a simple jar of hair product. i love the cocoa latte and because of the summer i havent touch the scrapings i have left. im sure i will purchase again unfortunately and literally have to prepare myself to expect it the following month. it sucks when you get reeled in on a product your hair loves but the service and lead time stinks!!!
hahahaha
I must be a goody-goody because not once have I tried any of those “gate” products. Bad reputations cause me to not even bother. Yeah, I know that individual success occurs; however, when there’s too many complaints (pretty much five for me), I pass.
Don’t look now but Mixed Chicks is advertising on your blog.
They’re automated. Shrug. A flat iron ad shows up all the time too. That one is funny.
This has opened my eyes to the natural hair care companies. Little did I know that there was so many issues!
Hi Elle,
I too am a PJ and wanted to know how YOU store your products? I have soo many that I try them and then on to the next. I worry that they could go bad at some point, but what would you recommend?
Thanks
Products should be good for one to two years after you open them. Some companies suggest you store their products in the fridge – I won’t buy products like that because I don’t think I should have to put my stuff in the fridge. However, if I have more than one of something, I’ll usually leave the back up in the fridge until I finish the first one.
I’m still mad that I paid 9.99 for a 2 oz dollop of MJ’s Super Buttercreme…. that junk was like a pouch of Capri Sun to my thick@$$ hair. Slurp, slurp, and DONE.
If anything sheisty ever goes down at Oyin Handmade, I don’t even wanna know. And no matter what happens with AO, I can’t let go of my GPB or my Honeysuckle Rose. Til the next best comes along, right 😉
I absolutely hate Miss Jessies. I went to Target when they began carrying the product and purchased a crap load of stuff, used it, and my hair was a hot funky stanky mess! Thank GOD Target accepts returns. I don’t like the smell, how much product you have to use, the price, and my hair was abysmal after using it. I love Kinky Curly Knot Today. My hair likes it and it’s a wonderful detangler. I had no idea about Shea Moisture because I like their line as well, but I’m still going to use it because it makes my hair look really great. I also love Curls Passion Fruit Sculpting Paste. It helps keep my hair from going crazy in the hot weather. I never tried MC because it wasn’t available in stores, and I had already found KCKT. But that whole hashtag thing is ridiculous. Why? Idiots. They’re just ostracizing customers who aren’t light skinned, so maybe when they start losing money they’ll grow up.
i am in there with you Elle! and yes with the AO Violation, i still ordered my beloved GPB conditioner! was tempted many a time to order Afroveda cocolatte thingy again! calling myself out!
I have to say I have no choice but Miss Jessies. I have a TIGHT curl pattern with hair that drinks products. I must have something super moisturizing and thick daily to keep it untangled and healthy.
If you can recommend a product(s) that does that for me I am all ears.
For me, the Meringue and Stretching Silkening Creme were not moisturizing at all, my hair was a hot mess after using them. However, if it works for you, use it, by all means! Have you checked out the HG list, hair boards, or reviews of other products?
I have but it just got to be too hard to know what was good for my hair and what was so-so. I use MJ for the product mix and that’s it. I can’t afford to try a variety of things. I went to the ATL hair show but very few samples were being handed out.
Qhemet has awesome products for moisture. My hair loves The Heavy Amla and the Coco Tree Detangling Ghee. I stock up when I place and order and I havent had a problem yet.
I haven’t had any issues with Qhemet either, and I can also buy it on the ground. FTW!
I agree this was a great post…I am a “PJ” but only because I haven’t really found anything yet that my hair likes…it’s only been a month since I BC’ed after transitioning for 3 months…so yeah my bathroom looks like a beauty supply store, with only one thing in it like…*Hangs head in shame*…One day I’ll find something I can’t live without…I am going to try Oyin next…
I am screaming laughing over here!!! this was some funny ish cause I have done that same thang ( yes thang) when it comes to some of my fave deep condish Eclos. I swore up and down I would NOT go into Ulta and you no I was there the other week. Shame on it all!!! lmbo
Hi Elle! Thanks for the post! You hit the nail on the head with this one!!!
I fell in the Miss Jessie’s trap by swearing I would not go back for a trim knowing that after my first experience how put off I was that 8/10 women that were there were getting a chemical treatment!
Going back the second time around, same thing!! Everyone getting a texturizer and the girl doing my hair had no clue how to handle it. From blow drying my hair without heat protection, to detangling my hair without a wide tooth comb starting from the root to tip, I will not be going back.
All the product I’ve purchased as been farmed out and won’t be purchased again.
What a disappointment and waste of hard earned money!!!
Elle, you are hilarious and so on point! There are so many companies jumping on the bandwagon with “curly hair” products that I have to be super cautious. Yes i’m a light-weight PJ but i will not give my hard earned $ to companies with poor service!! I haven’t tried MJ or MC but I’ve wondered what in the world MJ could be mixin up that would require a $58 price tag! Fo real??
The ONLY plus to Miss Jessie’s is that it’s available so many places that you should NEVER pay full price for it. I got the condish for free but heaven forbid I pay $48 for 16oz of DC…girl please!
I love this Elle! im not a PJ exactly..i let you be that for me on the tube but i do agree that when it comes to my hair i will get her what she likes even if ive had issues with something before… bad CS is a deal breaker for me..i hate waiting for something when the company act like they could care less if i recieve my product. and as far as all the company scandals…smh #fraud
Girl…youonn’t e’en know (yes I typed like that on purpose, lol). Sometimes when I hear about these companies I’m just BAFFLED as to how they stay in business. Just lying all over the place, planting reps on hair boards to praise them, saying off stuff about natural hair…I just don’t get it sometimes…
*sorry for the long post*
I am so not a product junkie and I found that out the hard way. I find what works and for the most part stick with it. I did my (not so) big chop last month after transitioning for 9 months (4-5 inches of hair). For the last two months, I was able to see what worked on my natural hair and so far, it has worked out well after the BC. I tried KBB and Oyin conditioners around the same time, I preferred Oyin slightly better and the customer service totally won me over. Both of the Oyin conditioners are definitely part of my staples. I didn’t even know of the KBB issues prior to this posting, but it took almost a month to get the products. That was a huge turnoff. I hate incompetence. I will not buy from them anymore because I just don’t want the headache.
I bought a couple of Curl Junkie products, but they did nothing for my hair (medium texture, medium porosity, dense, looser in the back and front, tightest on the left side). I co-washed my hair twice a day for a week to get rid of the conditioner and gave the curling creme to a friend to use on her 3-year old son.
I have been looking for products that would lengthen my hair because the left side shrinks much more than the rest and at the same time provide some hold so I can pat down the back hair so I don’t look like I have a mullet, but I am terrified of buying anything else in case they don’t work. Please help! Now, I use TJ Nourish Spa shampoo and conditioner for co-wash; Oyin Honey Hemp and Hair Dew as leave-ins; mix the Honey Hemp with avocado, yogurt etc for deep conditioning; and at times will use the KCCC for frizz control and hold. I found it to be a bit crunchy and it doesn’t really lengthen. I get good curl definition and minimal frizz from just my leave-in and coconut oil on dripping wet hair, but don’t like the mullet look I get from the looser curls at the back.
Please help me! What can you recommend? Is the PUR product the one I have been searching for?
Hmmm, I’m not sure how much help I can be…I don’t really look for products to lengthen my hair. I kind of let it shrink and do its own thing, but I certainly don’t remember any elongation from the PUR. I might get less shrinkage with Komaza Califia Styling Pudding, and I know the Blue Eco decreases my volume, but I’m not sure it elongates? I don’t really notice my shrinkage much, usually how big my hair is.
Thanks.
I actually wouldn’t mind the shrinkage if it didn’t make my hair look like it had different lengths and sort of lopsided. I guess I should embrace it as part of the beauty of natural hair.
I couldn’t bring myself to even try Mixed Chicks or Mizani True Textures. They both smell terribly…. like who did it and what for.
OOOOOh Elle! WOW – ok this is hilarious. I am guilty as well. I’ve been pissed about a particular line (shipping, customer service, etc.) and my disease pulled me right back to the keyboard to give them another chance. As for the companies in question regarding their ingredients, I am heated. (I have dedicated an article on that as well) If I find out the products I use are on that long a$$ list, I will be so disappointed. #straightfraud
Hey Miss Woman!
I consider myself a part-time Product Junkie. I don’t have an urge all the time, but when I do….yeah, I go hard in da paint! LOL
As for all the “gates”, I take note and file away for future reference. I, too, go by the ingredients that work for me, so I try to purchase accordingly. Now, if I hear the customer service is raggedy…I tend to think twice. Who wants the headache when EVERYBODY TOLD YOU they were a mess? 😉
S.N. On Mixed Chix…I shied away waaaay back in the beginning of my natural journey. Why? I’m not a mixed chick, so I figured the product wasn’t for me. And when The Gate (LOL) came along, I felt vindicated! “I knew that ish wasn’t for me!” Hahahahahahaha.
Hah! The Mixed Chicks bottle goes into this whole thing about it being for everyone…but that’s another thing where I was like…you did that on purpose, because you should have known better. And I agree, bad CS gets me over a product issue…I’m just like, “Ew…you fonky…” I also have a huge pet peeve for horrible PR and blatantly slick marketing. I was just on the Hair Rules site and on their styling it had, “Kinky to Curly,” “Curly to Curly,” and “Wavy to Wavy,” and I was like ummm what? Why did the kinky hair change but the others didn’t? Oh yea, because no one wants kinky hair.
LOL…I noticed that too on the Hair Rules site. 😉
I’m kinda bothered by everything NOW containing shea butter and argan oil…and Eco styler gel with OLIVE OIL…GTFOH!
It offends me that they think we all are so damn easy! OK…I’m better now…LOL
I know right? Most of the time I don’t even read the intro or descriptions on products because I KNOW I am going to get annoyed…I’m like…blah blah blah, just tell me what’s in it, mmmmkay?
damn… i didn’t even know about Karen Body Beautiful-gate. i haven’t had shipping/product issues. and now that i’m aware that this stuff goes on, it’s gonna happen to me; i have that kinda luck.
I told you about the Karen’s ingredients! At first I thought it was just the Sweet Ambrosia, but I have the Super Silky too and the ingredients didn’t match up. Heck the ingredients on my body butter were different!
LOVES it…I didn’t know about the SM lawsuit or the AO violation! I’ve not been natural long enough to call myself out, but I already know it’s coming. Like, I wasn’t trying to get down with turning kinks into curls…but I got some MJ during the AveYou flash sale. smh
Our hair likes what it likes, I guess. And yes, Dickey…hair rules!
Okay…I’m guilty as charged. After the Afroveda fiasco, I never said I wouldn’t buy from them again but I was truly disappointed and looked high and low for a replacement for the PUR whipped gelly to no avail. I milked that last tub and when I hit rock bottom, I took the plunge and “shamefully” placed my order. I paid $13.50 ea for the 9.5 oz. tubs (got 2) and thought, uhmmm, I only live about 6 miles from the office/production site, and would save myself the aggravation of the 3 week delivery wait by picking it myself (after placing order you are instructed to wait for reply email which will let you know when you can pick up your order). Tell me why it took a follow up status email from me to find out they had mistakenly put my order in the mail queue? It took 17 days from order placement to notification for pick up…yes, I did save the delivery fee but still dealt with the other crap. While signing for my items I looked to the right and saw a shelf stocked with products – it was a true WTH moment.
LOL! And see…I can’t even be mad at you. I love the PWG. I can’t get with Mala, but now that it’s sold at a few other shops online, I’m often tempted. But still…17 days??? See…what? And she is still adding new products to her line? Why would you do that when you aren’t sending out your stuff in a timely manner anyway? UGH!