The hair care industry is changing in 2023, and with it, our perceptions of the products we use. A growing number of people are reevaluating the cosmetics they have been using for years due to new realizations and a desire for easier, healthier routines. This movement of "slamming" products that no longer fit with environmental or personal values is what some people are calling this.
We frequently have a deeper connection with hair care products than just the aesthetic ones; they can affect our self-esteem. Although many people are discovering that giving up certain products can be a freeing experience, it can be difficult to let go of well-known brands because of this emotional connection.
More people are adopting minimalist hair routines this year, reducing the amount of extraneous products and concentrating on what actually works for them. Take a look at the hair cosmetics that people are giving up in 2023 and the reasons behind this growing trend.
- 2025: Self-isolation and parting
- 2025: business loss
- 2025: moving around the world
- 2025: returning home, to myself and into myself
- How I live now
- I have changed, but my environment has not
- I came up with a rule – went to implement it
- And she would have done it
- I deserve the best
- No people
- Cosmetic losses and gains
- Philip Kingsley
- Advent calendar Rahua
- Nuxe
- Leonor Greyl
- MiShipy
- Vieso
- Balmain
- Oribe
- Gisou
- Mone
- Kerastase
- Lazartigue
- Video on the topic
- Decluttering decorative cosmetics + Packing a cosmetic bag for the near future | Part 1
- DECLUTTERING COSMETICS | Bronzers, Highlighters, Blush, Powders | Part 3
- I threw out HALF of my cosmetics | Spring decluttering | Reorganization
- Cleaning, storing and decluttering cosmetics❗️🔥😍🫶🏾#cosmetics #decluttering #eyeshadow #cosmeticsstorage
- Decluttering cosmetics
- CLEANING + DECLARES FROM COSMETICS 😱😱😱
- BIG GLOBAL Decluttering cosmetics / Throwing out old decorative cosmetics, varnishes and brushes!
2025: Self-isolation and parting
I experienced two unpleasant events simultaneously in 2020, and both had a significant impact on my life. The well-known epidemic comes first. As a result, I discovered that I was not a part of society, just like others.
That is to say, a great deal of items—such as purses, coats, caps, shoes, makeup, and clean hair—instantly lost their significance and necessity.
Since I had no idea how drastically my life would change starting in March 2020, I threw everything that had become obsolete on the shelves with the intention of returning to it later.
Nothing in my life changed in the previous year. Realizing that I simply hid during such a significant event seems strange to me. She pawed over her eyes, pretending not to see anything.
The second significant incident was a heated argument with a man, following which I moved to a different apartment and took everything you owned. I also had a lot of possessions. Really. A great deal. Items.
Dozens of pairs of shoes, hundreds of books, countless articles of clothing, a few home decor pieces, etc. Moving was difficult not just because of the mental pain but also because of the financial and physical costs involved.
We reconciled a few days later, and when I returned, I told him there would be no more times. since I vowed never to do this again.
When I went back to my boyfriend and my job at the end of the summer, everything appeared to have improved. No, not really, though.
2025: business loss
I had to resign from my position in early March 2021, and I did it badly. And then, after a few months, my own company, which I had invested as much as a small Moscow apartment, crashed and burned.
The only thing that prevented me from sinking into depression was an impossible but incredibly motivating goal that I raced toward, putting everything else aside. However, these two incidents taught me the lessons I chose to ignore in 2020:
- I must take care of myself as much as possible. Everything for myself.
- I no longer want to interact with people whom I deliberately did not choose. This means, now I will spend 99% of my time at home.
And only in the middle of 2022 was I able to realize the second lesson, if I had firmly fixed the first conclusion in my mind and carried it through myself, bringing to life the changes that led to the changes you know me as today.
2025: moving around the world
In early March 2022, my partner informed me that we had to depart from Russia. Do you have any idea how much I detest the week of February 20–March 10?
Though it’s unfortunate that the kick came with a soldier’s boot, the current circumstances did, in fact, serve as a catalyst for the much-discussed trip to America for his business affairs.
And I had to deal with having to take stuff with me once more in March. for an unspecified amount of time. To a location that was not yet known (it was originally planned to be Miami). I was frightened. I carried two and a half suitcases full of makeup, some clothes, and no idea how I was going to survive.
I was always busy sending suitcases full of stuff to Russia and asking people to bring me stuff from there between the beginning of April and the end of December. These unhealthy movements cost an enormous amount of money, time, and effort. I had the fleeting notion that perhaps I didn’t need so many things at that precise moment.
In every aspect of my life, I am anything but a minimalist. Not that I didn’t like this whole trend; I just realized very fast when I tried it on that it wasn’t my style. More of everything is what I like to see.
Living out of a suitcase, however, undermined this belief.
2025: returning home, to myself and into myself
2023 January: I went back to Russia. Yes, a really awful thing happened very quickly at the end of February and the beginning of March. Alright, I’m already used to it. And all of a sudden, I realized that my life has changed.
That I had been hiding in my previous life for the past few years, ever since the coronavirus arrived. That would be approximately in 2019.
2019: give it some thought. When I realized it had been four years ago, I was horrified. At the age of twenty-three, I was not yet free from the events of the years that followed. I had undergone a complete transformation in terms of appearance, thought process, and outlook on life. Everything had changed.
And as I sit here in 2023, I see that most of the items around me were purchased by that individual. That was me when I was younger. Of course, a few things were added and changed, but the core consisted of items that were purchased between 2017 and 2019. And aside from irritation, these things generally make me feel nothing at all.
Furthermore, regrettably, unpleasant events are kindly erased from our memory by piecing together time intervals so that one roughly corresponds to the other.
Selling Oleg’s old laptop, which was made in 2016, made me realize this once more. I consider "bought a couple of years ago, almost new, well" to be standard.
No, fuck, it’s not new; it’s been this year. Seventy-years. It is practically unnecessary, was purchased for a pittance, and has long since outlived its moral usefulness. This old piece of iron that occupies my living space is not a "cool almost new thing."
Numerous things experienced this, but this is among the most notable instances.
I’m learning to accept that a series of events have changed my life and that the tools (things, habits, etc.) at my disposal are insufficient to help me achieve the goals I set for myself. And now everything I own is a burden. No more "if something happens, I’ll sell it and make a respectable amount of money," please.
After everything that has transpired, I now have three distinct criteria for the things I want to own: they must provide me with happiness, financial gain, or both.
All combinations are acceptable (beautiful and comfortable clothes bring me benefit and joy at the same time), and you should pay close attention to the "joy" category (the right way is to buy something cute, but completely unnecessary, another notebook, for example). Ideally, everything should be together (a laptop or smartphone are excellent examples of this).
I now take a close look at every purchase I make because, to me, the other side of this equation looks like this:
Everything I own will eventually require labor, funds, and my time.
When purchasing, I have to consider this and weigh the potential losses I may incur from owning this item.
I have to keep in mind that when the time comes to part with this item, I’ll experience regret (because it’s so beautiful), greed (because I paid so much for it), annoyance (because it doesn’t go with anything), and other unpleasant emotions.
Because of this, I now consider the following questions before making a purchase: "Will I be able to part with this thing with gratitude, not irritation?"; "Will it be hard for me to part with this thing?"; and "How much effort and money am I willing to spend to save it if something happens?"
In order to repeat it at the end, I also ask myself if I want to repeat it, if I’m willing to save money over the course of the item’s estimated service life, and if there’s a chance to purchase it for less money or find a replacement.
This already represents the material aspect of conscious ownership, but it’s not insignificant.
I got rid of over a thousand items in February (don’t worry, this includes office supplies and adorable postcards). My goal for March is to get rid of 100 items, and I’ve already completed about one-third of the way.
The following is a list of items I’m getting rid of:
I’ll reiterate the tenet that guides my life now: "everything should bring me money, benefit, or joy."
Naturally, all of this also holds true for hair cosmetics.
In 2023, a lot of people will be eschewing hair cosmetics that feel overly heavy or unnatural in favor of products that emphasize the health of hair and its natural texture. The "psychology of slamming," which encourages people to embrace simplicity over excessive complexity in routines, is one factor driving this change. Finding lightweight, efficient products that complement a more understated, feel-good approach to hair care is key.
How I live now
I’ll outline the topics we’ll be covering here in brief before going into further detail on each.
- Space, habits and reactions should change along with the person.
- Newly invented rules should be implemented consciously and regularly.
- The Ideal Girl helps me make the right decisions.
- I deserve the best, not just good.
- I don’t like people, so I feel more comfortable throwing away a thing than trying to sell it.
I have changed, but my environment has not
In my opinion, the surrounding area ought to alter if we do, whether on purpose or not. Surrounded by objects, people, and habits from the past, it is impossible to be a new person.
Regretfully, this won’t happen by itself, and we’ll continue to act in the same way under the new circumstances rather than taking the necessary action. These are scientists who research human behavior; I did not come up with this.
A picture from September 19, 2017 is on the left, and a picture from March 7, 2023 is on the right. Seeing this even makes me feel offended.
You could have a child and nearly send him to school in six years. And I held onto things that I had never used.
I came up with a rule – went to implement it
First of all, I must admit that I’m a little offended that I suddenly became enlightened during the marathon, when you’re required to use the products that have been declared, and that I ultimately used everything at once. Well, whatever.
Second, I now genuinely assess everything based on my criteria. That is, I check for compliance on literally everything I touch.
Furthermore, many things are noncompliant.
And she would have done it
My life is centered around the ideal. Every day, I aim to achieve the ideal. In all things. This is what motivates me in life. The beautiful do not demotivate me; rather, I abhor all forms of body positivity and acceptance. Faster, higher, stronger is my motto. Greater in quality, scale, and beauty.
But I am weak, just like everyone else. and unyielding. And in my mind, there are still more stop factors. That’s why the Ideal Girl helps me out when I’m struggling.
I wonder if she would make use of this. Would she keep doing this if she felt the same way I do now? And in this case, what would she do?
I then use this response to apply to myself. I’m not sure what to call this kind of depersonalization, but it helps me decide. I’m happy with the outcome right away because it eliminates the need for me to battle my deeply ingrained negative habits—all I have to do is follow the example of the perfect person. What if he’s not real?
I deserve the best
This is a phrase that I’ve heard a million times, from genuine helpers to mascara advertisements. I didn’t understand it when I heard it because I thought I already had the best.
This year, I also came to the realization that the best isn’t always the most costly, finest, or most abundant. This is exactly the best—that is, what I consider to be the best, subjectively speaking.
Using cosmetics as an example, it looks like this: I have natural hair and expensive cosmetics. A product is always functional. However, some operate flawlessly. And for a long while, I was unable to cross this thin line that separates "good" from "excellent."
Since goodness is goodness. Good is better than what is readily available to many; it is neither bad nor unsatisfactory. It’s still not "the best," though. And even though I had the option to use the best, I kept using the good ones.
Since I stopped doing this, the amount of simply good cosmetics and everything else that is simply good has been going out much faster. Of course, if I set out to calculate it, the gain in efficiency of any sort is minimal. Because there is a huge difference between "bad" and "good," but a much smaller difference between "good" and "excellent." However, it is present.
In addition, a variety of warm-ups, variations, alternating patterns, and other tambourine-based dances fit in here. Why do I need the remedy if it doesn’t work perfectly?
No people
Speaking with a nice person would give me more strength than anything else. And speaking with an unpleasant person would be the only thing that would take them further and leave a bad taste.
If this is not your line of work, you are purposefully taking opposing positions with this new acquaintance by trying to sell them something. Getting as much money as you can for your product is your goal. His goal is to minimize his expenditures.
I rarely sell anything because I dislike being in situations where there is clear conflict. It helps my mental health far more to just toss things in the trash.
I know this approach has drawn some criticism already, but in my opinion, there is no right or wrong response when it comes to the questions "I will get money, the person will get the necessary thing, we will extend its life, and then the packaging will be disposed of" and "the product will end up in the trash after me" versus "the product will end up in the trash after being sold second-hand."
I’m not sure about you, but where I live in Russia, there isn’t a culture that values protecting the environment or showing respect for others. You are a good guy if that is the case. But everything I cannot give to my grandmother, I will discard until these moments come regularly.
Cosmetic losses and gains
Finally, let’s discuss my "losses."
*A quick life tip I use, by the way, is to put a red tick next to products that have left me in my diary on my profile for whatever reason. Monitoring what and when has run out is quite simple. A green tick appears next to products that are still in use.
Philip Kingsley
I won’t be making this again because I ran out of peeling in February—which was oddly the only product in this category—but I will consider making another one in the future. I’m currently examining Sim Sensitive, which was highly commended here.
However, the tonic was given to my grandmother because, as I’ve already stated, I don’t require it and I don’t have any scalp issues.
Minus two products from the total.
Advent calendar Rahua
As I previously mentioned, I ordered an Advent calendar for myself in November of last year and actively unpacked it during the entire month of February. The post is still in my drafts.
It had twelve more products in addition to the one in the above photo. I only tried five of them; one ended up being flushed down the toilet, one caused me pain for fifteen uses, and one gave me miraculous hair for three days.
You can find out which one was which by reading the unpacking post.
Minus three products from the total.
Nuxe
For some reason, I treated myself to a shimmer oil from Nuxe while I was in Paris. I tried using them, but I didn’t like how thick the texture was; it felt gross on the skin and quickly glued my hair together into greasy strands. I was happy after I listed it on Avito for a throwaway 1000₽.
One product less than the total.
Leonor Greyl
I purchased some items from this brand in February of last year and some in the fall while visiting Paris. However, I didn’t open them until this February and was disappointed right away.
Although the orchid mask did not work on my hair, at least it makes sense in some way, so I was able to set it aside and send it to my grandmother. It was also given to my grandmother in an unopened miniature from Paris, which I also possess. Minus 2 units and 1 product from total.
Vitamin B2 ampoules for hair loss. I used them twice a week for the full course of 12 ampoules, and I’m not happy with the outcome. My hair started to fall out less, of course, but I’m not even positive that these ampoules are to blame for that. Total less 12 units and one product.
Resurrection Shampoo. A sulfate that doesn’t foam at all. He was kind to his hair, but I detest it when he acts like a raccoon and slaps water with his paws to make foam. I require the shampoo to produce a thick lather and thoroughly rinse everything. So he gave up on me for grandma after a few uses.
One product less than the total.
MiShipy
Korean babies have been my constant source of agony. I use the capsules either on dry hair or as a leave-in for the following day because they don’t smell very nice and absorb completely on damp hair, leaving no crumbliness or shine behind.
I finally finished them in March.
Minus 10 units and 1 product.
Vieso
I was thrilled that I only ran out of the honey series’ shampoo and conditioner miniatures. Without a doubt, I’ll take another look at them when my makeup runs out.
I also distributed an ampoule containing honey and argan oil as part of the gift exchange. Minus four products from the total.
Balmain
The night serum is one of my favorite products of 2022. With the help of this product, I’ve been able to elevate my hair to a completely new level and have a completely new perspective on night care.
I strongly recommend the serum to anyone who can afford it because it truly improves hair quality. This serum proved to be much more effective for me than the Kerastase night serum.
However, I discovered at the end of February that I never used to sleep well when my hair smelled clear. Regretfully, I had to give it up and flush the tiny remnants down the toilet to keep myself from being tempted to finish it.
In addition, the moisturizing conditioner that I had opened during the summer marathon ran out. I will not repeat it, but it still receives a "solid four" from me.
Minus two products from the total.
Oribe
I’ve said it before: I have a complicated relationship with this brand. I have only tried their conditioners thus far, and I’m really pleased with them; I don’t like their shampoos at all.
I gave my grandmother the miniature shampoo for colored hair, and I’m sure the miniature shampoo for blondes will go there too. I smeared the conditioner on myself until the very last drop because it has such a remarkable effect. All shampoos gave me the impression of wooden roots; they are just unpleasant to use.
Minus two products from the total.
Gisou
Though it’s not the most well-known brand, I was captivated by its visually appealing Tik Tok videos and pink jars. I tried three of the four products that were offered, and I promptly threw out two of them.
I listed the oil for sale on Avito since it made my hair oily right away, no matter how much I used or how I applied it—dry or damp—my hair looked terrible either way. However, it had a very amusing side effect: my hair’s bottom ten centimeters developed noticeable curls. If there were no oily stretches along the entire length, that would be awesome. I was glad to receive the money, so I don’t regret losing it at all.
I declared in the nighttime marathon that the night serum for hair loss was suffocating. One day, I just poured cosmetic honey down the toilet because I couldn’t stand the way it smelled.
I also wanted to talk briefly about the mask. It’s a good multipurpose mask that has a smoothing and softening effect; I almost ran out of it, but it should last until April. sturdy, attractive product. However, attractive products aren’t for me anymore.
Minus two products from the total.
Mone
Cosmetics under the Mone brand are sold in beauty salons. I bought this mask a long time ago; I don’t recall when I did so, but I do recall not liking it right away. I handed it over to my granny.
One product is subtracted from the total.
Kerastase
After a year of being exposed, lamellar water was given to Avito. I don’t even want to try it after reading all the reviews and realizing it’s not my thing.
I sent it to someone else and listed it on Avito with a discount.
Samples of rehydratants masks. I’m so glad I gave them a try! I have frizz, softness, and shine in my hair thanks to their amazing work! I fell in love, and as soon as I have a window open in this category, I will buy this mask.
Total less 3 units and 2 products.
Lazartigue
I received a tiny bottle of oil as a gift, which was sufficient for a few applications. It’s a really plain oil, kind of like Alfaparf, so I didn’t really like it. I’m not going to say it again.
One product is subtracted from the total.
Psychology behind slamming | Hair cosmetics to ditch in 2023 |
Slamming refers to the feeling of frustration or dissatisfaction that can arise when people use certain products, expecting great results, but the products fall short. | Sulfate-heavy shampoos that dry out hair. |
It can happen when we’re influenced by marketing or trends and keep using items that don’t work for us. | Thick silicones in conditioners that cause build-up. |
Identifying slamming can lead to a more mindful approach to choosing products that genuinely suit your hair type. | Hair sprays loaded with alcohol, which make hair brittle. |
It’s evident that our relationship with hair products is changing as 2023 goes on. Many are beginning to realize that we might not be benefiting from the innumerable bottles that clog our shelves. This change involves more than just streamlining routines; it also entails being conscious of how our decisions affect our mental health and sense of self.
Psychology is a major factor in why we hoard certain products, but it can be immensely liberating to let go. We give ourselves more space for confidence and self-expression by limiting our possessions to what is absolutely necessary, freeing us from the weight of needless clutter.
In the end, adopting a healthier, more deliberate approach to hair care involves selecting hair cosmetics that genuinely work for you and getting rid of those that don’t. This mindful way of thinking helps create a stronger sense of self in addition to saving time and space.