Store Shelf Products vs. Al Natural: My Take

A while ago there was a deep debate on my twitter timeline (which is mostly women of the natural hair twitter community) and the debate was whether you can still achieve healthy natural and long hair using store shelf products that typically contain "not so great" ingredients. I remember my point was that I know the relaxer was a very big no no because it, for a fact causes breakage (which i noticed along my hairline) but what about the same products that we all grew up on and momma swore by? I personally always had long hair. I didn't have a problem with breakage until I was 15 years old and decided it would be fun to experiment with color. That's when the real breakage came. But what about that good ol' Blue Magic hair grease? In my opinion it really does the same thing that shea and the oils do. Gives the hair moisture. Yes of course it contains mineral oil/petroleum which can stunt hair growth but what if you just apply it to the hair shaft and not your scalp? The hair is dead but not the follicle. I never liked greasing my scalp anyways. But What if you aren't as financially able/inclined to spend the amount of money that these natural hair companies are asking for? What are you going to do? Go to the nearest beauty supply store and buy what you can. Of course my analogy would be like comparing the use of store shelf products to alcohol consumption. Don't over do it and you'll be fine! lol Going out to drink every now and then is okay. Have a few drinks party with friends but don't over do it. If you do you start to see some serious side effects like a beer belly (bleh!). Same with hair products. Try to keep at least one or two natural products around. Like shea butter! Shea butter can be found anywhere and if not locally the internet is the best place. Also try your hands at homemade conditioners and even oils that you would normally use in the kitchen (i.e. EVOO). Mix it up, use what you can and go to the store for the other stuff.