Petra writes:
Nikki I think I found a new staple to my hair regimen,I am a wash and go kind of girl so this routine is my *new* wash and go method for long lasting cottony, soft, moisturized tresses. I only just recently started talking about my use of grease on my hair as I’ve always been a closet greaser. I came out once all the blogs and forums exploded with curly confessions of going back to basics,… doing what mommy did and so needless to say I felt compelled….. and I came out too. *looking down avoiding eye contact*
Greasers Anonymous..Hi my name is Petra and I grease my hair!
For the past 4 weeks I have been experimenting with including all types of hair grease during my wash and go routine. I’ve used Murrays Carrot Oil, Organic Root stimulator Coconut Oil, and finally DAX pomade as shown in the above photo.
Let’s just say the results are stellar and my hair swag is a 10!
Grease benefits for me-
*moisture retention
*soft curls
*slightly stretched hair
Wash and go method
1.) Start off with dry hair separated into 4 sections
2.) Add olive oil to each section for ease of finger detangling before entering the shower
3.) Shampoo each section (I use Shea moisture, Moisture Retention shampoo)
4.) Add conditioner to each section and do a quick detangle
Do shower business
5.) Wash out most of the conditioner
Get out of shower
6.) Spray each section with my water mix (water and Infusium 23)
7.) Apply a little Dax Pomade to each section (smoothing motion, stretching hair)
8.) Apply Ecostyler gel to each section for hold
9.) Air dry
Co-wash – repeat all steps minus the shampoo
at night I just separate my hair into two loose pony tails cover with bonnet and go to bed.
The next morning…Fluff and go!
P.S., this anon. is 22 and apparently way more mature than some of y'all.
Some of you Naturals are acting just plain ridiculous!Grease is the ONLY cure for my itchy scalp. So, yes, I continued to use it after my BC. What works for some might not work for others. That doesn't mean you should jump all over women who want to try it. Y'all sound like bitter hair Nuns calling people "followers". You don't buy a product without hearing a few testimonials first!
Nothing else defines my wave and curl pattern better than good ole' grease, and Dax works great. For those seeking something more natural, yet inexpensive, lard works well. Yes, LARD, the kind thats bad for your body, is GREAT for hair. Down South you can pick it up in any grocery store and in Hispanic markets its called Manateca. Use like you would Shea Butter, but much less expensive, has NO smell, and doesn't make hair greasy.
Peace & Hair Grease, Y'all… Nique
Come on, people. I thought this was supposed to be about positivity and encouragement. Many people on here are continuously learning what works for their hair. We all have fallen into trends, fads, and have tried products that have passed and failed. Yes, many of my mom's methods from back in the day worked, but our hair changes textures a few times throughout our lives. So even what may have worked on our hair as children, might not work on our hair today as adults. Think of all the changes in just the way food is processed now; the way young girls are developing. In the nine years that I've been natural, I've tried many products, and it has taken me this long to really understand my hair. My hair loves oils. I adore Oyin's burnt sugar pomade, ever since they introduced it to the line. Do what works for YOU. If it's old school hair grease, use it. If its Pink Oil moisturizer, use it. If it's the new school methods of staying completely away from certain items, do that, but do what makes YOUR HAIR and YOU happy
I can relate. Grease on the hair protects hair and locks moisture in. Grease is nothing but oil in a solid form. I don't agree with grease on the scalp though, because of my skin type, but to each their own. I remember the girls whose moms used blue magic and dax on their ponies having the longest hair back in the day.
Looking for a grease to love and never let go nature's blessings by Mystic Essence
I'm usually silent on this stuff, but I must say that "butters" to me remind me of grease! Not that it's a butter, per se, but Some of Marguerite's Magic reminds me of grease (bees wax is one of it's ingredients). I use (sparingly) Nourish & Shine on my son's scalp and hair just like my momma used to when she did my hair. Whatever works. Just keep the info flowing and thank you!
WOW! That's all I can say…People are so willing to follow any band wagon, a total contradiction to all the natural hair talk curly nikki used to do…I guess she is getting board with real natural hair talk & is trying to bring you all with her….Use your own brains folks…smh
Good stuff! I noticed that my scalp was dry, hair loss/breakage was high and asked myself why not go old school? I always had long hair as a kid and beyond and yeah, I was a greaser too. Old school works, I use B&B now 🙂
Well, i'm not sure if when you say "grease" you are just referring to "oil" like olive oil, coconut, castor oils, if so then yes I grease my hair and think it does help. I read on a site about using the oils after you add moisture to your hair to help seal the moisture in. I also use oil and gel on my hair everyday and can get my hair clean with a sulfate/paraban free shampoo, I like the one Sally's carry with argon oil, i will have to come back later to post name, at work and for the life of me can't remember, lol long day. Also, I agree, you have to find what works best for you, but I feel like it's good to have these forums so that people like myself that is still learning about caring for natural hair can learn what are some options for us to use. So thank you Petra for the info
oops! i meant to say www.deccaplus.com haha. Sorry about that. Also I don't use any of the other products they offer, so I can't comment on anything else they sell on there. but the decca "grease" is awesome.
Hi all, I creep on here a lot n just had to add my two cents. I have a 'grease' that I use on my scalp every now and then….it's called decca (green kind). you can find it at www.decca.com I like it because it has a lot of great ingredients and stimulates hair growth (it grew back my edges very well a few times i had breakage). It does have some of the taboo ingredients such as methyl parabens n such…but over all I find this still works for my hair very well and is not waxy. A little goes a long way and I love it so much. Hope that helps!
@ dayday
The point of grease is to seal moisture in, which is why the ppl raving about it are using it on wet or damp hair. In the winter time the air is dry, there is no moisture in the air to get in the hair anyway, so "locking moisture out" is irrelevant. If you aren't cleansing and conditioning your hair properly it doesn't matter if you use grease to seal or not, your hair is not as healthy as it could be. And you don't need a sulfate to cleanse it, I am sure cocoaminopropyl betaine and other amphoteric surfactants can get grease out if you don't overdo the products in your hair. If u slather it all over everything then no lol, but that's where common sense comes into play. Too many people out there knocking things they don't understand, it's a shame. Learn the whole hair science story and then decide if a technique could work for you or not, then keep it moving one way or the other.
Crystal's Royal Secret has a "grease" that has no petroluem jelly and no lanolin….Herbal Hair Rejuvenater…It's all natural and it's THE TRUTH!
www.crsecrets.com
I've gone back to grease too!! I used it when I first went natural, not sure why is stopped but my scalp needs it and my tight coils in the back of my hair especially love it!!
I've been using it to seal my ends only and I can honestly say that it helps keep them moisturized. No snags with I unravel them and best of all it reduces the single strand knots. I don't know if I will start using it on my entire head but my ends LOVE GREASE.
I have no other choice but to grease. My scalp is extremely dry and thirsty, especially this time of year. No matter what I use, it is necessary for me to grease every other day. Since I no longer buy grease from the store, I've been mixing my own oils and using them without worrying about the bad things I'm getting with the good. I use a travel size spray bottle, 50% olive oil and the other % consists of vitamin E oil, raw & organic shea butter oil, carrot oil and a hint of tea tree oil. As of late I've been using castor oil instead of olive oil…jury is still out on whether it's working well. Will keep you posted.
Hey stepped out of faith, tired it and I must say that grease works…. I purchased a small jar of Kuza Hemp 1.99 from CVS,
* washed my hair
* moisturized hair with my daily moisturizer
* applied /Hemp in sections pulling to the ends, because I get fairy knots, because my hair is dry… let me just I have seen the fairs on the small section I applied grease to. I know they say dot use grease, i did it, and love it!
Just my opinion, but "greasing" the scalp with a natural product is definitely a healthier scalp option and a great idea. I use a mix of jojoba, grapeseed, almond oils and tea tree essential oil, feels fresh and so soothing! Why Dax? It's so thick and mineral/petroleum oil based, just thinking about it makes my scalp itch! But I guess to each his or her own!
And the band wagon strikes again. smh,keep in mind that grease locks moisture OUT and that you would have to use a sulfate/clarifying shampoo to get the grease off your hair. and sulfate shampoos will further dry your hair.
when my mom used grease in my hair it was a DRY crunchy mess and my curls got stifled(heck i didnt know that i had curls)! why return to that?
it may be good for a temporary style but not for long term health.
I bc'd 10mths ago and I do the same thing. But I grease my hair w/ Palmer's Coconut Oil Formula
i use this process before i blow dry but i was wondering if you apply the grease directly on the scalp, and how frequently do you wash your hair?
I tried the Dax on my hair and it was so/so but my daughter's 4a hair loved it! I can never keep it moisturized so I did all the steps Nikki suggested except braiding or twisting because it's short and it worked like a charm. Her hair was super moisturized!
Basically, I washed it, put in oil, leave in conditioner and the Dax and it was amazing how it felt. This will be part of her routine going forward. She did attract some lint but it wasn't that bad and she's 2 so she's always rolling on the floor anyway. lol
@Pamela
Try not to go the "nazi" route. It took forever to get that word out of popular use, no need to resurrect stupidity.
Anyway, Black-owned hair care lines such as Oyin, Quemet and Anita Grant among others offer an alternative to some of the old-school lines.
Thank you for sharing this method, as I love to do wash 'n gos. I already tried the hair grease trick for defining my twist-outs. My hair has never looked so good. Now, I will try out your method, using my own favorite leave-in and hair grease. I hope my curls love this particular routine, too.
On the low tho…(lol!) I never gave up my Softee greases, very light weight, pleasant smells, and natural ingredients incorporated into the mixtures. They even have specific formulas such as: castor oil, coconut oil (fav) mango oil, ect. Very economical too. Any dollar tree or dollar general carries a lil 4oz jar for a buck, don't like it…u don't waste any money or product, toss it in the miscellaneous bin! P.s. grease hair&scalp overnight, w&g, FABULOUS HAIR!
If your town doesn't have the pomade that you need (royal crown, blue magic, ultrasheed) check out thegreaseshop.com for all your hair pomade needs. they carry nu-nile, murray's, Lay-rite and imperial dax.
I gonna start greasing my scalp again (I could never gain the energy to go out and buy it again for some reason)… As for putting grease on my hair it is definite no. From what I have seen so far I can tell you guys use grease in your hair. Also, I hate the feeling of greasy hair build-up. Eek! That being said, whatever floats your boat and works for you, do it. I use sulphate containing shampoos 2 times a week, so I am not one of those squeaky clean naturals! 😀
I totally agree with you Anon 4:00, I will try most things but there are alot of factors involved with my decision making, that doesnt mean I am a waggonist (as they call it in Jamaica) what I am is an experimenter, and recently I'm an experimenter on a budget, Ive used grease on the fly before… but looking at blogs and forums and learning about its barrier effects got me thinking about my fine porous hair and if it could help me with moisture retention. Most important though I got the ideas from sistas speaking out and felt more comfortable talking about it as more experiences were shared. In the end we will all do what works for us, get excited about, until the next thing comes around.. Its not 'wagonist-negative' but rather 'curious-healthy hair goal, community love-positive'
I'm anon 12:18.
I'm not a "follower" (guess I made that obvious lol), but neither am I a "frowner". If someone is using a product and her hair is thriving, for example Chicoro and Stylepantry and Corinne, and the product in question is WAY CHEAPER than anything on the market right now, you better believe I am going to give it a try. I'm a college student and fear of being labeled a follower/bandwagon-jumper is not going to keep me from trying something new, especially if long-time users have LONG HEALTHY hair. Dealing with our hair is a learning process, and experimenting is part of that.
Someone said "DAX" didn't work as a child, but you have to take a lot of things into consideration:
a) did your mother treat you hair gently back then as well? or did she comb it like it was made out of steel?
b) were you deep conditioning?
c) moisturizing? locking in such moisture? sleeping with a satin scarf? and so forth on?
Instead of disqualifying products, do your own research, experiment. I always give new products 2 or 3 months to work.
Being a "frowner" and deciding not to try something because you don't want to be label a bandwagonjumper could keep you from discovering a great new (in this case old) product.
thats almost exactly how i used to do my WnG. i am thinking about going back to that too. my hair grew much faster then.
Anon 1:57, I personally resent being deemed a "Follower" just because I'm open to suggestions and trying something new. I thought that's why we were all here was to learn something new and discuss things that may have worked for our hair. I don't think anyone is saying that we HAVE to use grease, but that it's currently working for them and if we're interested we should try it. Every product I use since I've become natural has been because somone suggested it. I wouldn't have known what to do if it hadn't been for Curly Nikki and the ladies on this forum.
Doris, I honestly do not think that it worsk as effectively as shampoo for me, but I know women that shampoo only monthly and I also know that there are other clarifying options such as powders(ayurveda routines),applecider Vinegar works, and Mudwash So there are some options if you dont want to use shampoo..but Im lazy so.. I will clarify at least once a week with some form of clarifying shampoo
Petra, does co washing work as effectively as shampoo in removing any buildup? I really don't want to go back to shampoo.
I really don't think grease can be all bad. I had a relative who used to make homemade grease with petroleum jelly. My Mom used it on me and my sisters and our hair was super healthy and long. We washed it every two weeks with some basic soap, dried it under a hair dryer in four bantu knots and applied grease for a press n curl. I guess you could call it a grease n go. Lol! We then graduated to ultrasheen blue, then green when they came onto the market. My baby sister loved the green one so much, she used to eat it! Lol!
Crown Royal was another winner. My Dad used that on his hair and when he did our hair, he put some of that on it, threw some uneven ponytails in it and called it a day. 🙂
I'm happy with my current greaseless routine for now (which is wash,condition, leave-in and ecostyler and style on wash day AND dry twist out or bun on other days). But, you never know, I might decide to get ULTRASHEENED again in the new future.
Your hair looks super awesome!!
Wouldn't you have to use a sulfate shampoo to get rid off all the grease build up??? Oh wait, you were doing that all along too, right? LMAO! Man o man.
i never wanted to admit it publicly. you can understand my concern, right? curlies all over would be all up on me! or so i thought……it seems as though everyone is coming out of the greasy closet. i use coconut oil hair grease, and it yields great results. Fabulous twists and twist outs. And it leaves my hair soft, smooth, and shiny.
Followers…. It reminds me of this 80's movie "Can't Buy Me Love" Where they are at the dance and the guy starts doing the African dance and all of the kids even though it looks strange they all start doing it too and then all of a sudden it is cool. lol…..Do what works for you!!
TO K, Anon 12:18, Anon 1:13: So true. We know how this bandwagon would end 🙂
Thick Hair at 11:05, www.myhoneychild.com sells what she calls an sophia's old fashioned hair grease that doesn't contain any mineral oil or petroleum.
I was at the BSS yesterday and contemplated buying a jar of Dax, until I opened the jar and smelled the product. It made me nauseous. I opted for another petroleum based grease by African Gold that smells like coconuts. Gonna give that a try instead.
"Some of you all went nuts for the tangle teezer, then a couple of months later, here comes the "my ends are GONE" stories lol. So we'll see in 3 months how my hair is doing."
YUP! Which is exactly the reason I am keeping my current regimen (if it aint broke don't fix it) and I will stay tuned to see if about 3 months how folks are doing with the grease.
Because I recall my mother using DAX on my hair when I was a child and I don't remember my hair thriving the way it is now- DAX free….
please pardon my ignorance…someone mentioned curl activator earlier.
is that what people use to achieve/maintain a jheri curl? lol…
I've been wearing my hair natural since last year and have always used grease (African's Best). Makes a big difference after I roller set my hair.
I agree mix your stuff.. I haven't bout a $20.00 2oz jar of "miracle conditioning cream" in awhile.. . I'm a reformed curly girl lol and my hair has thanked me (at times haha)
Anon 12:31 I'll try the Vaseline Shea butter mix to see how that works!!!
Anon 12:03. For deep conditioning… The best thing I think is to find stuff in your kitchen and add to cheapie conditioner! Avocado, olive oil and cheap conditioner.. Is an example. To me nothing works better than that… I have some pre poo deep conditioning recipes her—–>
http://emilycottontop.blogspot.com/2011/09/hair-health-i-heart-my-scalp.html
You can mix up your own pomade using vaseline and shea butter or cocoa butter. Works great!
shasha
Mos def adding grease back into my regimine, heck my mama used it on me as a kid, my daughter's hair loves it and so will mine;)
Girl! Lord have mercy I have so many products… But ive been keeping it to simple these days… Queen Helene I've been using since I was a little girl! I never knew it was bad till a couple of days ago! Lol.. So I always have that… I use Shea moisture shampoo now, vo5 moisture milk, suave coconut conditioner… I think it costs like 65 cents at iroger.. Olive oil, Jamaican castor oil, coconut oil, Shea butter..(I mix my Shea with coconut oil).. Shea moisture masque ( I use as a leavein or for twists at night) I'll look at my product closet to see what I missed..
well said anon 12:18! I agree… smart chica, smart!
So I greased… Live in Amsterdam so it's 4 euros here, wayyyyyy cheaper than the 15 euro the sugar pomade costs.. Tried it last night, SOFT DEFINED HAIR. OMG! But, but, I'm going to give it two – 3months before I declare my love for it.
Some of you all went nuts for the tangle teezer, then a couple of months later, here comes the "my ends are GONE" stories lol. So we'll see in 3 months how my hair is doing.
Would you mind sharing your other products? I need a few more deep conditioners.
Wait…….Queene Helene right? ;0)
Please tell. Thank you. Your hair is beautiful.
LJ
Honestly I could probably get more days if I wore more buns, but lately I have not been
Hi margret, I shampoo generally on Sunday because I like to do a deep condition then… and I do a co wash around Wednesday or so… Because of the gym. So I'm getting about 3 days .. For the picture above I'm on 4th day today… I'm going to post how it looks today on my blog…
Check it out later it's emilycottontop.com
Petra,your hair is beautiful. I say if it works for you, go for it. We appreciate you sharing, like it was stated earlier…it worked back in the day when our mother's did our hair. How often are you washing? How many days are you getting out of each wash n go? Do you find it difficult to wash out?
Your welcome Pamela, I also agree that it's not about trendy, honestly it's about practicality and being more economical… And doing you! I also agree with the nazi thing
I will have to try this I have some blue magic coconut grease from before I went natural, I will see how it works for me.
To me, this isn't really about being "trendy". I think this is more about getting back to our roots, so to speak, and discovering that there was nothing wrong with using hair grease to begin with. Also, that people never really even stopped using it, they just weren't saying so for fear of being blasted by the natural hair Nazis
I use a mix of jojoba and olive oil in the same way and only have to do my WNGs once a week. I wonder if something like avocado butter would work as well as the grease? It's consistency is very creamy.
I sure wish there was a more natural alternative to Dax. If there was I would certainly jump on it! *Off to the kitchen to play mixtress*
I haven't been able to find the Dax pomade anywhere here in St. Louis. Looks like the only option I have is to order on line. Anybody in the Lou have any suggestions???
I'm sold! I too have been looking for something describing a Wash n Go using hair grease. Thanks for this. Going to try it this weekend! Question, does the grease help reduce the white residue that is sometimes caused by the hair gel before it dries?
I'm pretty much game for anything when it comes to trying hair products…even grease. But, I only do wash and gos and most forums and blog posts have been talking about using the almighty grease for twist/braid outs. Thank you for bringing the "grease based wash and go"! lol As soon as I leave work, I'm picking up my Dax and will try this tomorrow morning!
I will try this, thanks 4 the great tips!
Thanks for the compliments guys! I fluffed it this morning and it feels good… 4 th day hair is rare for me… So I'm happy about this… When I hit the gym we will see how she behaves!
What I found out was… My hair is soooooooo extremely porous … I just didn't know how to get it to retain moisture… I thought about the barrier effect of grease… And was like if I added my leavein and put the grease on top then it would protect the strand and seal in the moisture…. And it worked! ..
Thanks for the compliment Kelly!
I've been wearing WNGs exclusively for the last month. My routine is very similar to the OP's. I use SheaMoisture's curling souffle instead of Ecostyler and get great results most days. Adding grease might be too much with the souffle which is greasy on its own. But I may try a little grease after spritzing and then follow with a more traditional gel like Ecostyler. It's always good to have a backup since the SM souffle is hard to find.
Thanks and love your hair!
Oh boy. Sometimes naturalistas can be a bit too trendy. Now everybody's on this grease thing huh? In about 6 months yall gonna be off that and onto something else lol.
Grease and curl activator mixed together is the TRUTH!!!
Whatever works, floats your boat, or finds your lost remote! LOL (Couldn't resist the OutKast reference)… But any who, I know grease had been handed the death sentence by the "new natural movement." But it did work for us as kids, so why not now? That's not to say I will be incorporating grease into my daily routine, but after some experimentation I may have to consider it again. The last time I put grease on my natural tresses, my hair objected strongly by kinking up something terrible. I know I a lot of the greases and pomades are being made lighter these days, so it may be a matter of finding a brand that agrees with my hair.
Petra your hair looks lovely too, by the way! 🙂
^^^^ when I started experimenting, and was worried about y'all's reactions, that's exactly what hubby said. He was like, 'your hair is different than it was 4 or 5 years ago… maybe it would've responded differently or in a negative way since your hair wasn't as healthy'. hmmm….
Lol let me know how it works
I have been thinking about this grease thing and here is what I have come up with. Alot of us when we began our natural journey had damaged hair. As we transitioned and nourished our tresses we are at the natural state that we where as children. So maybe old school methods work better on that healthy natural hair and scalp that did not benefit our once relaxed tresses and damaged scalps
Grease for a wash and go?? Really??
*Searches Grandma's house for a jar of Green Dax* 🙂
I hope this works!!
-Neesha Cherie