Nexxus Blew My Curly Secret

[05/01/2022: UPDATE AT END]

BEVERLY HILLS—What do you tell a little girl who thinks she’s ugly with chubby cheeks, thick lips and out of control curly hair down to her bum? Her peers are stick-thin, have thin lips, boasting perfectly straight well-managed hair.

They are the standard of beauty… she’s not.

You give her a bottle of Nexxus Versastyler Artistic Designing Lotion and tell her, “You are a gift of God and one day others will want everything you have. Be thankful.”

That’s what my mother did. She knew this as she had even curlier hair than me and she was drop dead gorgeous. Although I didn’t believe her for another 10 years when everyone wanted hair just like mine!

Versastyler is like water, only slimier and has a powerful defrizzing effect that doesn’t weigh down your hair. Even days after you’ve washed your hair, you could reactivate it with water and it would look like freshly washed hair. The product, in fact, wasn’t even specifically advertised for curly hair. Nevertheless, it was my secret to controlled curls since I was four.

Before Nexxus Discontinued My Secret
Nexxus VersaStyler was the secret of my Curly Hair magic! This 5 ounce bottle was $90 off of eBay.

After shampooing, I applied the Nexxus Versastyler and brushed my hair through to the ends. While my hair was wet, I’d simply scrunch it up a few times and boom…. frizz-free hair.

The frizz was gone. The hair was smooth and the curls were separated by the formula. It was amazing. This was a regular staple in our home.

If I stayed over somewhere without bringing it, there would be drama. It was jumping from salon to salon until a bottle was located.

In all my years, this is the only product I couldn’t survive without. My mum soon learned to stash backup bottles for me. I wouldn’t wash my hair without it. It was necessary. More necessary than water or chocolate.

I began to feel my curly hair could be pretty. I rarely went a day without being complimented on my hair. I would openly share my secrets: olive oil, coconut oil and then Versastyler. It was magical.

I was finally at peace with my natural, God-given hair!

In 2012, I had spent the summer at the Lake House and noticed they didn’t have it. I didn’t think much of it because the local stores keep a scarce supply of hair care products.

However, when I returned home, l I realized it wasn’t anywhere to be found in the regular places I’d purchase it.

Panic struck when I heard those words “It’s been discontinued.”. This is where the five stages of grief began: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, yet… acceptance will never happen.

After Nexxus discontinued my Secret, I have been on a desperate attempt to replace Versastyler.
After Nexxus discontinued my Secret, I have been on a desperate attempt to replace Versastyler.

Hurriedly, I traveled from store to store all across Los Angeles County then later going as far north as San Francisco and picking up whatever remnants they had… which were recklessly discounted to $5 per bottle at times.

Mortified, I made a connection with Nexxus headquarters to confirm my worst fear. It had indeed been universally discontinued. When my begging them to reconsider, doing all the name-dropping possible, didn’t succeed, I began my search for a replacement… without success.

Nexxus offered us a free coupon for their replacement product as a courtesy. Yet, it was just another formula that does curly hair no justice. It’s terrible, crunchy, and weighs the hair down.

I resorted to eBay, paying hefty prices of up to $175 per bottle. Yet, those bottles of Versastyler doesn’t feel like the real product after sitting on the shelves for years. It smells funny and it’s always a gamble that my hair will turn out well.

I’m back to being a child, left with frizzy out of control fly-away hair desperately buying every curly hair product I can find. Nothing seems to work. I never know how my hair will end up. Will it be frizzy, straight, curly, or a flat-out mop head mess? It’s always a guessing game… and my parents are no longer here to console me with a solution.

If you miss Versastyler and want to see it remade email us. We will contact you if we find a way to get them to reconsider the loss of this great product.

UPDATE (05/01/2022): Versastyler has been reincarnated and works perfectly without the cancer causing preservatives used in Versastyler by Nexxus. Please support the movement at thecurlwater.com.