by Elle of Quest for the Perfect Curl
My stash of Kiss My Face Upper Management Gel (old formula)
We’ve all been there before. We find our favorite products for our natural hair and it’s like the sky opens up and glitter rains down over our afros and curls. But then, the company decides to switch it up and change our formulas! The holy grail that you once thought was going to get your hair through winter and any other hair dilemma is gone. In my opinion, when companies change ingredients, they might as well not even call the product the same thing, because the ingredients are totally different and it will most likely behave differently on your hair. But why do companies do this?
It really could be a number of things, but in my experience it looks as if this is mainly driven by the almighty dollar. When a company increases in popularity, they have to produce more and a lot of the natural ingredients that we love make a hefty dent in their profits. So, they opt for cheaper ingredients and we’re left with watered down products (sometimes, literally) and frizzy hair.
One of the most disappointing ingredients changes that I will never (ever) forgive are the changes made to Kiss My Face Upper Management Gel. This was my and several others absolutely favorite gel, yet they decided to change the formula and make glycerin the second ingredient. Luckily, I bought twenty bottles when I found out about this change. Companies – let me make something clear to you: When you add a large amount of glycerin to a product, it is NOT the same product. And yes, we know about the moisturizing properties of glycerin, but there are several other ingredients that have the same moisturizing properties that are not as heavily affected by the weather or climate. Please, give us those instead.
But sometimes, a change may be unavoidable. The owner of Uncle Funky’s Daughter recently went through a messy personal situation that caused her to change the ingredients to the Curly Magic, leaving several of us in shock and disappointment. I was extremely happy to find that she is starting another line called Hello Curly that will have the same formula as the original Curly Magic. Mark your calendars, curlies!! The holy grail is back.
In the end, we can’t really control what these companies do to their products. But what we can do is choose what to purchase. If a company changes the ingredients to a product every six months, I’m not buying it because I don’t know what will happen in another six months. No thanks, my Izzy likes some stability with what I use. But I will say, if Curl Junkie starts switching up ingredients, I’m inciting at natural hair riot. Just saying.
Have you fallen in love with a product only to have the manufacturer change the ingredients on you?
About Elle: Elle is the owner and editor of Quest for the Perfect Curl, a collaborative YouTube channel and blog dedicated to promoting healthy hair through research and the sharing of information. A former product junkie, Elle promotes the importance of product ingredients, knowing your hair properties, and your climate when choosing what products to use on your natural hair. She also frequently explores healthy hair care practices and methods to achieve the “perfect curl,” which to her is big, healthy hair.
