Jamila of College Curlies writes:
Hey y’all! I just wanted to share a routine that I do to keep my hair happy between wash and/or style sessions. Throughout the week, I do the following three steps:
1. Saturate my hair with water or a moisturizing spritz (a la naturallycurly)
2. Add a water-based moisturizer (my favorites lately are Yes to Cucumbers or Aussie Moist)
3. Seal with an oil or butter (Usually a mix of shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and EVOO)
When I have in a protective style:
I do the three steps (spray, moisturize, seal) on each section before re-styling. After adding product, I re-style (usually two-strand twist) sections in the front of my head and at the nape of my neck. These are the areas that usually get shrunken or fuzzy pretty early, so it helps my style look fresh without having to re-do my entire head. I usually do this in the morning, so that my twists are good to go for the day.
When I’m doing a twist out:
I spritz and apply product over my entire head and then re-twist my hair in big chunks. It’s easier than trying to apply product section by section, because I end up taking more time than necessary (from sectioning and product application) using way more product than I need to. I usually do this at night, so that my hair has a bit of time to dry and set for the next day. (Remember to sleep with a satin/silk bonnet or pillowcase at night!)
I find that when I’m consistent with the three steps– my styles look better, feel softer, and are way easier to detangle when I finally wash or co-wash again. I’ve also been falling way off my deep conditioning routine, and I think that doing this daily has helped my hair retain moisture. Just a tidbit I thought I’d share. Stay fabulous!
I completely wet my hair every day with plain water before I put in my leave-in and seal. I massage my scalp as a rinse with cold water. I find my products work better and hold in moisture when I rinse off the excess product from the day before but my hair is not completely stripped like it would be if I shampoo. I shampoo my hair with a moisturing natural shampoo once a week…This keeps my hair soft and moisturized. I am a 4b so my hair is naturally dry…but I find this regimine helps me to maintain moisture. At night before bed I just spitz with a mixture of distilled water, honey, and aloe vera gel and cover with a satin bonnett.
I meant moisturizer lol. Bed time.
Juicy Leave In Conditioner by Naturalista Cosmetics is a misturizer and sealant. It contains a unique blend of natural oils and hemectants that keep my hair super soft and moist year round. The texture is pretty amazing too and a little goes a long way for me.
Anonymous October 4th 2011.
Oils and butters are sealants. Water is moisturizing. A spritz is usually a combination of water, oil and a humectant. Humectants attract water to your hair. Some examples are honey, molasses and glycerin. Start simply and don't get too product obsessed what works for one persons hair may not work for yours. Be aware of products with proteins in them, your hair may love or hate them. Common proteins are egg whites, silk, wheat, and milk. Aloe vera based gels tend not to flake but can have a slightly gluey feel if over applied, you may prefer that. Applying the cream and twisting the hair while wet may also help. I hope you find this useful.
LOOKING FOR UNDERSTANDING…..WHAT IS CONSIDERED A SEALANT..WHAT IS CONSIDERED MOISTORIZING…WHAT IS CONSIDERED A SPRITZ….ALSO HOW DO YOU APPLY CREAMS WITH THE TWIST AND AVOID HAIR FROM UNTWISTING AND BECOMING EASY TO FRIZZ?? I AM A GO HARD 4B, DRY AND THIRSTY!! HELP, IM STARTING TO GET ANNOYED…WHATS A GOOD PRODUCT THAT DOESNT FLAKE..
I find the more I moisturize with my water mixture and then seal, the frizzier my twists become. Any suggestions on how to keep it moisturized without causing great frizz?
Thanks for sharing, Jamila! I have a dry hair and I would actully like to try some creams you’ve mentioned.
Is it me or has anyone notice the the new lily of branding for their aloe vera gel seems to have a different formulation? My hair isn't act as nicely as it used to.
Now that the weather is getting colder I've been wearing my hair in protective styles more often – two strand twist. What I'll do after I co wash is apply some Curls Sublime Conditioner in my hair then immediately moisturize my hair wiht EVOO. Before I twist my hair I'll apply a butter to my hair then twist then grease my scalp with some vitamin E oil. My hair usually goes a 4-5 days before it starts to look dry but if I'm too busy to co wash and retwist I'll wet my hair then spray some oil on it. Then I'm good to go.
I just started using Qhemet's alma & olive heavy cream and the olive & honey hydrating balm and my hair stays so moist all day…I put some in on Monday this week for the 1st time and my hair still has a great shine to it and is not even close to dry, I'm attempting to make it all the way to Friday before re-twisting and re-moisturizing. These are great products for me & my hair is eating it up happily 🙂
i spray my coconut oil and water combination and call it a day.
I'm currently transitioning and I follow those exact same steps on the days I dont wash or co wash. I spritz, add cantu leave in and HEHH to moisturize and add a mix of coconut oil and shea butter or ORS rich moisturizing hair lotion.
I use a water based moisturizer (usually my favorite conditioner of the time) and I re twist every night. I seal the ends with shea butter and jojoba oil. in the morning I untwist fluff and then rub it with just a little olive oil. I havent thought about spraying it first. I am going to try this. I can already tell that the winter weather is going to make my hair dryer eventhough its only been cold here less than a week so this topic was right on time.
deep conditioning once a week and sealing ends with a coconut oil/water combo a few times a week during winter (once a week during summer) usually helps me keep my hair well moisturized
Spritz with water diluted knot today once per daily. Use castor oil on ends of 4 large braids at night every couple of days.
From what I hear, shea butter is not a moisturizer. It is more like an emollient; a sealant.
I apply a leave-in (Giovanni Direct), creamy water-based moisturizer (fav is Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream), and sealant (vatika/coconut oil or something shea based) to damp, freshly washed hair. If I'm wearing a protective style I moisturize every 3-4 days with a water-based cream like BRBC, then seal. If I'm wearing an out style, I smooth vatika/coconut oil over my hands any time I touch my hair (unbraiding/rebraiding/fluffing). Every 2-3 days I apply a water based moisturizer (usually a lotion like Shea Moisture Hair Milk) and seal before re-braiding at night.
Great tip for applying product ALL OVER and then start twisting! I need to save time and I will be doing this technique from now on. Makes sense..thanks!
Is shea butter a moisturizer? I wear twist outs most of the time. I retwist every other night or so w/shea butter. My hair is always fluffy and soft. Also every other night or so I put Jojoba Oil on a cotton ball and rub it on my scalp. My hair responds well to Shea Butter and Jojoba oil and not so well to certain products that claim to add moisture – unfortunately my hair hates glycerin alone or in products.
Thank you for the tip. I am now mixing conditioner(suave) with a small amount of olive oil and small amount of water, so that it becomes like a creme. I put some on each braid before a braidout and about 8 braids total for larger wave and curl pattern or more braids if less curl is desirable but more waves. I also found it is CRUCIAL to braid in the direction you want the hair to go.
So, I am currently wearing 2-strand twists that I will eventually take down for a twist out style. I spritz my hair daily with a mixture of water, glycerin, and EO, with jojoba, coconut, and avocado oils. Do I STILL need to seal my ends? It seems like the oils that I have in my mix should do the sealing, just like kitka82 mentioned..
I don't do all three steps day and night. I use a leave-in (Shea Moisture Shea Butter LI) that contains jojoba oil. Sounds like a sealant to me. Now I'm down to two steps. I only do it at night if I retwist my twist-outs, and only in big chunks so my hair stays *stretched* light and fluffy.
I am currently on Day 3 Hair and my scalp feels clean as a whistle.
@Queenofthe4s: No one "needs" to do all three steps. I tried applying product everyday and I suffered from product overload. I guess it's was because I only wash once a week and do not co-wash…
To each her own.
This may be a little to the left, but do we naturals REALLY need to do all three steps everyday (twice a day if you're doing it morning and night)to retain moisture? Sounds like product overload to me…
I use moisturizing and leave in products on the original set, and spritz and fluff with pure H20 every morning until my next wash/set.
i do the exact same thing, except once I take down my twists for a twist out, I don't redo them at all. i like the fluffy huge hair that swells each day. but i do the same steps:
1. spritz with aloe/water/essential oil spray
2. apply leave in or moisturizer
3. seal with castor or olive oil.
voila, "good" hair! lol…and by good i mean HEALTHY BABY
Vonnie
http://www.socialitedreams.com/
I forgot to add: I wear updos most of the time. This helps me retain moisture as well.
-Anonymous Dec 1, 2010 9:42 am
This is the hardest part of being moisturized.
On wash day, I apply a leave in (Yes To Carrots Conditioner or Shea Moisture DTM) and seal with shealoe. This keeps my hair moisturized until the next wash (a week later). I don't have to spritz or anything!
I have been wearing tst since October. My in between wash/re-twisting sessions have been that in the morning, I spritz my hair with Kemi Oyl Conditioning Spray, moisturize with Fleurzty Curls Nurture Cream and seal with Fleurzty Hydrating Hair Butter. At night, I moisturize and seal with the same products and sleep with my satin bonnet.
I pretty much do the same thing. I re-oil at night and re-twist (if I feel like it!! LOL) Sometimes I maight re-twist with my Cantu leave in and then re-seal with the oil. My hair/scalp is SCREAMING to be cleaned right now but I am trying to make it to Saturday. I re-oiled last night with me EVOO/Sweet almond oil/tea tree oil mix last night. I think I can make it to Saturday doing this!! :o)