Revisiting Old Habits

Photo credit: Google Images

As I look back at old post I realize that my hair is more healthy now than it has ever been. I credit this success being from the products I used, but most importantly the techniques I used. When I first started my hair journey I washed and deep conditioned my hair every week and moisturized and sealed often. Pre-pooing, or pre-shampooing is the one technique I feel contributed significantly to my health of my hair. Pre-pooing is a treatment applied to the hair before shampooing. 

The purpose of a pre-poo is to maintain or add moisture to your hair after it shampoo. Shampoo is known to strip the hair of it's natural oils. Pre-poo is most commonly done with an oil or conditioner. However you can use other things such as honey. I have used them all and I feel they all work great. If I had to choose a favorite it would definitely be honey. Although it can be messy, it leaves my hair amazingly moisturized! When I pre-poo with a conditioner I MUST follow up with a deep conditioner in order get the best results. 

Some time ago I cut out pre-pooing my hair. I started deep conditioning on dry hair and felt this was the same thing as pre-pooing. I failed to realized that I skipped a key step, following up with a conditioner after shampooing. Even though I use a sulfate free shampoo, some of my hair's natural oils are still stripped. This leave my hair not being as moisturized as it should be. I am currently 8 months into my transition. As my natural hair becomes more prevalent, I notice my hair is more dry. I need to do everything I can to retain as much of my hair's natural oils and thus I have decided to make a few changes in my hair regimen.

First I will go back to deep conditioning after I shampoo. This will ensure that I'm adding the moisture back into my hair after it is stripped from the shampoo. Next I will begin pre-pooing again. I will probably pre-poo mostly with oils and/or honey because these two work best. I'm hoping that by adding these two steps, my hair will become more healthy and moisturized during my transition. I will have a post on my "revised" hair regimen soon. 

What are some techniques that you simply can not live without during your wash day? Do you Pre-poo? What's your favorite product to pre-poo with?

Product Review: Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque

Ingredients: Deionized Water , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Argan Oil , Vegetable Glycerin , Emulsifying Wax , Sea Kelp Extract , Panthenol (Vitamin B-5) , Essential Oil Blend , Avocado Oil , Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Hyssopus Officinalis Extract , Salvia Officinalis Leaf and Equisetum Arvense Extract (Sage) , Soybean Oil , Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot)

**From walgreens.com** 

Promises:  Our all-natural intense treatment masque deeply penetrates to moisturize and repair over-processed, dry, brittle or damaged hair. Sea kelp trace minerals detoxify hair follicles of impurities and residue. Argan oil restores shine and rebuilds hair elasticity. Shea butter deeply moisturizes and repairs damage to hair and scalp.

How to Use: After shampooing, massage into wet hair and leave on for 5-45 minutes. Add plastic cap and moderate heat for deep penetration.

My thoughts: The only things I like about this product is that is smells good and it has a semi-thick consistency that melts into my hair. This product did not condition my hair at all. It left my hair super dry and it felt like I had not deep conditioned at all! I tried this on dry hair as well as wet hair after shampooing and got similar results. I dislike this product so much that after two uses I REFUSE to put this back in my hair. It made my detangling sessions painful! I used this product last week and if I had time to rewash and recondition my hair I would have in a heart beat. I would not be repurchasing nor using this product any longer. I rate this product as a 1/5. 

Organic Root Stimulator Olive Hair Masque

Ingredients: Aqua (Water) , Polysorbate 60 , PEG-150 Stearate , Cetyl Alcohol , Ceteareth 20 , PEG-20 Hydrogenated Lanolin , PEG 40 Stearate , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Polyquaternium-7 , Cetrimonium Chloride , Behentrimonium Methosulfate , Cetearyl Alcohol , Polyquaternium 37 , Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate , Dicaprate , PPG 1 Trideceth 6 , Glycerin , Dimethicone , PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate , Hydrolyzed Keratin , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond) , Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive) , Panthenol , Hydrogenated Olive Oil , Amodimethicone , Trideceth 12 , Hydroxyethylcellulose , DMDM Hydantoin , Disodium EDTA , Citric Acid , Methylchloroisothiazolinone , Methylisothiazolinone , Caramel , Parfum (Fragrance) , Benzyl Benzoate , d-Limonene , Hexyl Cinnamal , Lilial , Linalool (From Walgreens.com)

Promises: An intense treatment conditioner that helps restore heat and color damaged hair. Infused with natural and other ingredients, this product will revitalize and detangle the hair, leaving it soft, shiny and smooth.

How to use: Remove excess water from hair after shampooing. Place hair masque in palm of hand, apply liberally to hair. Comb hair to ensure coverage from root to end. Let sit for five minutes without heat. For severely damaged hair, place a plastic cap over the hair and sit under a warm dryer for 10 minutes. Rinse hair thoroughly with warm water and proceed with styling. Not recommended for daily use.

My Review: One of the first things I noticed about this conditioner was how thick it was. It's thick, but it melts in your hair and doesn't seem to just coat your hair. I have tried this conditioned on dry hair and well as freshly washed hair and felt the conditioned melted into my hair. It smells really good to me. It has a sort of minty smell to it. It's not very strong unless you use too much and don't rinse it out well. This happened to me once. It makes my hair extremely soft! It seems to condition and detangle my hair all in one which is a plus. I do notice this this works better on my hair when it is freshly was opposed to dry hair. This may pose as a problem for me because I like to d/c on dry hair. It eliminates me having to jump back in the shower which can save me a lot of time. Another thing I didn't like about this conditioner is that if you use too much you have to rinse your hair thoroughly or your hair will flake. This happened to me when I was in a bit of a rush. I didn't notice the conditioner was in parts of my hair until I blow dried. Being that this conditioner melts into your hair you have to be very mindful in not applying too much. Overall I give this product a 8/10. I'm not sure if I will be repurchasing only because I prefer a conditioner that is not this thick.

Have your tried this product? What were your thoughts?

Wash Day

My wash day took place on Tuesday, just in time for my interview (which I got and accepted the job). I sprayed my hair with water and applied my Organic Root Simulator Olive Oil Hair Masque deep conditioner. This was my first time using this conditioner and I was pleased with the results. I left it in my hair for about an hour before rinsing it out in the shower.  It left my hair buttery soft and moisturized. I will be posting a review for this product in the near future. I shampooed with CON Argon Oil Shampoo and did a 1 min conditioner rinse with NTM Daily Deep Conditioner. I then t-shirt dried my hair and added my leave in, which was the CON Argon Oil leave-in spray. I added a small amount of GVP's Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum and blow dried on medium warm heat. Next, I added a nickle sized amount of IC Fantasia Heat Protectant serum. I flat ironed and styled my hair in a traditional wrap. My hair was light and silky. I was in love with the results!

After my interview

After two days of wearing my hair down and straight, I curled it with about 6 bantu knots. Due to the heat my hair reverted back straight by the end of the night. Surprisingly, I didn't have a lot of frizz. It was nice while it lasted. Today I wore a mid-bun. I don't think I will be adding any more heat to my hair for a few months. I'm thinking until the end of the year. I plan to roller-set frequently during the fall. If I want a straight look I will more than likely do a silk wrap. In the meantime I plan to perfect my braidouts and bantu knotouts. 

Hair Haul and Relaxer Prep

I was planning to relax my hair in next weeks, but something came up that pushed me to relax this week. I went back in forth debating on if I would stay with the no-lye relaxer or change back to a lye relaxer. I decided to go back to the lye relaxer, but changed to the Organic Root Salon Professional relaxer in normal. I am currently 14 weeks post. I usually relax at 16 weeks post.

To prepare for my relaxer I went out and purchased Aphogee 2 Step Protein Treatment. It was my first time trying it out and I will be using it again. It left my hair strong, yet hard. So I decided to do a deep condition with CON Argon Oil Conditioner (official name can be found under my regimen tab). After I DCed my hair felt soft, but strong.

To prepare for my relaxer and restock on my hair products I purchased

1.  Organic Root Salon Professional relaxer in normal
2. Elasta QP Olive Oil and Mango Butter Moisturizer (I LOVE this stuff!)
3. Eco Style Gel in white bottle
4. ORS Olive Oil Hair Masque sample pack
5. ORS Neutralizing Shampoo
6. Tweezerman Stainless 2000 5 1/2 Shear

I will be posting soon with my relaxer update!

Wash Day

Saturday was a much needed wash day. I had done the bare minimal to my hair since I last posted of my wash day. Truthfully I'd been in a bit of a funk since I graduated and I'm in what I call "limbo" or between stages of my life. I'm studying for my boards(NCLEX) which I plan to take next month and looking for a job and things were not happening fast enough for me. I was reminded GOD is always on time and that things will fall in place the way HE wants. I have it bad trying to plan my life and getting disappointed when it doesn't work out my way. I'm slowly doing better with that. To top off my funky mood I have been having some medical issues. I'm not sure what is going on, but I hope to have some answers soon. Just keep me in your prayers!

On to my wash day. I decided to deep condition on dry hair for a couple of reasons. One, my hair loves it more than on wet hair. Two, I wanted to see if the Argon Oil Intense Conditioning treatment worked better on dry hair because so far the product was not on my list to repurchase. I mixed about 1 tsp each of honey, hemp oil, and EVOO with my conditioner. I mixed them together and applied to my hair with an applicator brush. I will definitely be making application of conditioner a part of my regimen. It's a little time consuming, but every strand was covered and moisturized. I left the conditioner on for about an hour with a plastic cap and a hat. This is one of my versions of DCing with heat until I get my dryer. When I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair it felt amazing!!! My hair was soft as butter and I finally realized what slip was! I washed with L'oreal EverStrong Hydrating shampoo. I love this stuff. For a sulfate-free shampoo it sure does lather up and clean the scalp very well. I think I'll do an official review sometime this week.

I detangled in the shower under running water and I think I like this method better than doing it after I get out the shower. My hair detangled with ease! I t-shirt dried for about 15 mins then I applied my leave in: CON Argon Oil Leave in and sealed with One N' Only Argon Oil. I airdried and wore a low pony tail.

Over all I can say this was a successful wash day. After my hair air dried it still felt super soft! Sorry I have no pictures.

Quest to find a Good Deep Conditioner!

I'm currently on a quest to find a good moisturizing DC for a reasonable price. Right now I'm currently using Mizani Moisturfuse. Although I love this product it's about $14 plus tax for a ??? oz bottle. While I can still fit the Mizani into my budget I want to see if I can find something that is a little cheaper. Maybe this isn't a good idea. You know the saying, "don't try to fix it if it aint broke"? Well I'm trying to fix what is not broke. This is a HHJ so what's a journey without some trial and error? I will try 3 DCs before I go back to Mizani Moisturefuse:

1. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner
2. Creme of Nature Argon Oil Intensive Oil Treatment

3. Some other Deep Conditioning Mask (Not sure of a brand yet)

I will probably try the conditioners in this order. I already purchased the Neutrogena Triple Moisture and will be using it this weekend. I may try the DC for a month before deciding to keep them or give them the boot! I will be reviewing each product at the end of the month right here on my blog. I may even try mixing my own DC if I don't find something that I absolutely love. 

What are your staple moisturizing deep conditioners?