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?

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.

The not so Wash Day

So today was suppose to be a wash day, but things didn't go as planned. I did not The opportunity to wash my hair and I doubt I will get through it tonight. I still have to go home and cook dinner. I will wash tomorrow after u get home from the gym. I'm thinking about doing a braidout til I think if another style.

Yesterday I tried EVOO "pre-poo" yesterday. Well it was more like Real Queen's Greenhouse Effect. I put EVOO on my scalp and hair, put on a plastic cap, and a scarf. I went to bed and let it sit in. My hair was so soft in the morning. Too oily, but soft. It worked wonders on my new growth.

I think I have the potential to become a product junkie. I can't go in a store without stopping through the beauty supply aisle. I went to Sallly's and bought the tangle tamer. I'm really excited to be trying it out. I even got a $5 off any order $5 or more. So I plan on going back sometime next month when the new sales kick in. I have a few things on my "wish list" that I am dying to get. I will share my list in a later post.