***Originally posted 11-25-09***
Many of you in the natural cyber world know of
"Grow It!" author, Chicoro and how knowledgable she is when it comes to natural hair. (
She's got the healthy hair to show for it)
She graciously took some time out of her busy schedule to share with the AGrlCanMac community her take on moisturizing and sealing afro textured hair, especially for these cold winter months that have arrived.
Check it:
A. The goal of the method is to keep hair moisturized as much as possible between washes. The method I use is based on evaporation rates of moisture or moisture loss on the hair. Every product we put on our heads, for sealing allows for some type of evaporation of moisture on and sometimes in our hair strands. Pure alcohol, which I don't recommend putting in our hair, evaporates the fastest, for example. Somethings like shea butter or petroleum jelly are more occlusive. They
seal the hair but moisture still can escape, but at a much slower rate. So,they are good sealants because they can slow down the evaporation of moisture on the hair strand.
1) What I suggest is that you start with clean, conditioned wet hair. First you use a water based product or leave-in. If you don't add anything else, this will most likely dry and take the moisture out of the strand by the end of the week,
especially if you don't wet your hair for a week or so.
2) The next step is to then seal in that water based moisture, from the washing and from the leave-in, on and in the hair strand. I usullly like to leave an oil based product on my hair for step number two. I might use a walnut oil/aloe vera gel mix. Olive oil, castor oil and coconut oil work as well. It really is a personal preference.
3) The last and third step is to use an emulsified product to lock in the water. Remember, the water is sealed over by the oil. I like the big no- no which is petroleum jelly. It works for me so I use it. An emulsified base is simply a product that has ingredients of oil and water that have been combined by adding some kind of binder (or-holder- together ingredient) to make something more creamy or solid. Some butters like shea are already solid. But creamy leave-ins and pomades are a form of emulsified products.
You can do a water/aloe/oil mix and count this one mixture as layers #1 (water based) and #2 (oil based). Then, just put your heavy emulsified or more solid or more creamy product on top of this mixture on your hair.
If you comb your hair everyday, I do not recommend this method. When I use this method, I usually wear a baggie, and don't touch my hair to comb it out until the next wash day. I do wet down the hair on the endes with a mixture I make that is water based, on a daily basis.
