Being Natural Abroad | My Hair Product Inventory Shall Thirst No Longer!

I’ve been living in a natural hair product desert here in Milan. Yes, it is true…I’ve search all over…. couldn’t find a hair store. I looked high and low…still couldn’t find a hair store. I went as far as London and Amsterdam and made special ventures to stores in order to get my hands on some shea butter but had to leave my jars of shea butter at the TSA checkpoints. When they said the words “You can’t take this on the plane” my heart sunk and eyes almost filled with tears (no seriously I almost cried). After these two encounters, I was at the end of the road when it was coming to what to do about getting products I could use. But let me tell you how God works…
I went to Rome this weekend and beforehand I did a Google search and my results came up pretty empty when it came to finding a store. But there’s always a ram in the bush! My eyes lit up when I walked into this tiny corner store near my hostel. I had wandered all over Milan in search of a place selling these specialty products. Anywhere where I could find some familiar brands so I could stock up on some gels, leave-ins, oils, and conditioners was what I was hopelessly in search for. At last, my search was over and my hair follicles were filled with joy to see shelves and shelves of products I could rack up on.
The first day I went there, I was quite overwhelmed and decided I needed a few days to sleep on it and get my barrings together. On the third and last day, I walked in that hair product isle in my truth and began to make my selections. Shampoo, conditioner, gel, styling product, oils. I was about halfway through the jar of Cantu Leave-In conditioner I brought from home, Tea-tree tingle conditioner was halfway gone, a tiny bit of JBCO was left, and the shampoo barely survived the 18 hour plane ride to Italy. It was time to enlaaaarrgeee my terrritooorryyyy … of products.
I came out the store with what I needed and then some. Jojoba oil caught me by surprise because I had never seen it on a store’s shelves and only online, along with almond oil. The shampoo selection was quite bleak and they all had sulfates in the ingredients. I will just stick to using an apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinse as a hair cleanser every 2 weeks for my hair. I’m excited to try Palmer’s conditioner. I’ve only been familiar with Palmer’s as the “go-to” cocoa-butter brand so it will be interesting seeing how their extension to hair products will be.
As I take down my twists, I can take them down in confidence knowing that I have all the products I need to style and maintain my natural hair. My cup runneth over in jojoba-almond-coconut oil!