The thought of having to deal with dry, frizzy hair doesn’t get any of
us transitioners and naturals smiling from ear to ear. It can
de-motivate you in trying out new hairstyles, and result in you throwing
an insult or two at your crowning glory. Before you get stuck in a rut,
here are a few ways you can gain back that moisture and put your days
of dry hair to bed!
Satin, Satin, Satin!
This is SO important in my regime. The nights where I have slept without
a satin scarf/pillow have left me with drier hair the next morning.
This sucks if you have just spent the night deep conditioning away, as
all that hard work goes down the drain! I know that it can be annoying
to go through this each night, but you will be glad you fought the
laziness when you wake up with softer, moisturised hair in the morning.
Read On!>>>
Consider Changing Products
If you have been using a product for a significant amount of time and
are yet to see any results, it might be time to let it go. Sometimes we
want a product to work so badly that we ignore the fact that our hair
isn’t receiving the love it needs. Identify which ingredients are
appearing in the products that do work for you, so you can make better
decisions when you decide to treat yourself to a new product. Avoid
drying hair ingredients such as; sulfates, non water soluble silicones,
petrolatum which can actually disrupt natural moisture instead of
providing it.
Moisturise Baby, Moisturise!
How many times have you heard this? Our beautiful kinks and curls thrive
off of the stuff! Hair that has been moisturised is less prone to
breakage, is stronger, and has a healthier environment to nurture hair
growth. Many natural hair textures absorb a lot of moisture, but have a
hard time retaining it, so it is important that you are sealing in
moisture with either an oil or a butter. Some moisturising ingredients
you should look out for are; avocado, honey, glycerin, aloe vera and
vitamin E.
Hang Up The Heat…
The heat appliances used on our hair work by drying out the water, and
any moisture we have in our hair strands. This can lead to dry, brittle
and damaged hair if care isn’t taken when flat ironing or blow drying
hair. If you think that heat tools may be the contributing factor to
your hair becoming dry, consider staying away from them as much as you
can. If and when you do use heat appliances, make sure you are using a
good heat protectant and that the temperature isn’t too high.
Water Inside And Out
For many of us, water has become the cheapest and most easily accessible
natural moisturiser in town. But, how many of us are drinking the
stuff? Try increasing your water intake if you are suffering from dry
hair, to allow water to get to work from both the inside and outside.
What has recently started working for me is putting my puff in a shower cap as of I was DC. It keeps on the moisture for me just fine
I use my shea butter mix twice a week and deep condition my hair once a week. Morning and night I spray my my hair with water. That's how I keep my hair moisturized.
We must have watched her same video! LOL Naptural85 is awesome! I had to find out what products work for me. My staple is water and my own shea butter mixture. I mixed in some sweet almond, rosemary, and olive oils for that moisture and repair boost and a splash of peppermint oil for that "fresh feeling!" I love it. A lot of trial and error and money on products that were not doing anything for my hair! Plus, I had to learn the proper way to detangle my hair. Now I'm well on my ways to longer, stronger, and more FABULOUS HAIR!!
Blessings!
the plastic caps one would use with a conditioning product or hot oil treatment. Some folks refer to them as "baggies."
What is baggying?
I'm still trying to understand my natural hair so I can give my hair what it need
This works for me, too…although, my hair likes a change in the batting order. My liquid (L) is usually just water (I wet my hair in the shower, sometimes using a little rinse out conditioner). For my cream (C) I use a moisturizing hair butter from Sweet Nature by Eddie. The Wisdom moisturizer is heaven & my hair loves it! My oil (O) is mix of JBCO and jojoba oil. I can get 2 to 3 days of moisturized hair with this combo most of the time. If I sleep without my satin bonnet, though, all bets are off!
Glycerin (plus water and Jane Carter nourish and shine) has been a God send. I've been transitioning for 18 months and for the first time my crown doesn't feel like straw. I've always had "hand in hair syndrome," but now it's really bad because my hair is soooo soft. Glycerin beats all my other oils. Also, I've been pre-pooing with Aubrey Organics GPB conditioner and as a result my hair loves water now.
A good steam in the shower after taking a shower keeps my hair moisturized in the morning then I quickly seal with an oil and style. At night I moisturize with a leave in if it feels like my hair needs it. I also find that I cannot go more than a week without washing my hair. It feels like my hair gets a good drink when it is washed. Deep conditioning with every wash has really helped me but these days am so lazy and always in a hurry so only deep condition for 3-5 mins then rinse. I need to go back to DCing for 30mins.
Since I live in the driest state in America, I went old school and did what I did when I had a curl. I also changed products. I'm using Carefree Curl Products to moisturize and put a bag on my hair when at home. Just like fabwtalk, I drink alot of water. With temperatures reaching 110 plus, I have to protect my body and hair.
Natural hair care salons employ steaming. A steam dryer works wonders, with natural herbal conditioners. See the book by Jeanne Rose, the master herbalist: Herbal Body Beauty Book, full of herbal conditioning recipes. If you are in NY visit the wonderful herbal store : APHRODISIAC (spelling) located in downtown Greenwich Village to purchase fresh herbs to make your conditioners and I believe the San Francisco Herb Company delivers by mail. Jane Carter Solution products are very good. You do not want to use a conditioner or any hair formula full of man-made chemicals.
My hair was so dry and breaking all the time. Deep conditioning has been a life saver. Also when I come out of the shower, I lock in the moisture with argon oil I put in a spritz bottle. I also don't brush or comb it dry.
I use Shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie. I apply it while my hair is damp and braid it up. I wear a wig and that keeps my hair really moist! (I know I need to shed the wig..maybe one day)
Take a look @ your ingredients. I notice that with my hair anything with aloe being in the top 5 left with less than desirable hair. Since then, I haven't had an issue.
Water is a huge deal (inside and out) to combat dry hair. I can always rely on my water and EVOO combo when needing moisture on the outside and the proper water intake on the inside also helps. I have noticed, when I am not drinking enough water my skin and hair pays for it. I make it my business to refill my glass at my desk everytime it gets empty even if I'm not thirsty. This is a good way to keep water on hand and get the proper intake because if you see it there you will drink it.
I have done all of the above and they haven't helped my low porosity hair. So I have started baggying and cowashing which have been great in keeping my hair moisturized.
I tried the LOC method yesterday and this morning, my hair was like straw. I don't know if my "cream" isn't a real cream or not but I decided to change the letters around and do the LCO method. Typically if I put oil (I use castor oil) on the outside of my hair, my hair stay moisturized. I love my curly hair but if I can't get this moisturizing system down, I'm going to have to go get my hair pressed more often.
i use the shea butter coconut curling creme & my hair loves it – i wear my trusty satin bonnet to bed every night & on days that i am just sitting around the house i also wear it…………..
when i first started off my hair was dry as the dessert with all the butters and oils then i switched to liquid leave ins and have never looked back. Porosity is very important for having moisturized hair so learn it
I would be absolutely lost with my EVOO. I use it to pre-poo, add it to my conditioner for deep conditioning, and sealing in moisture after washing.
Afterwards my hair is soft and feels full of life again!. I recently took out braids and my hair was a mess, but after using their Naturally You deep condish, my hair took to it very well (surprisingly) ( I was never a fan of motions before, even in my relaxed days) it completely gets my hair coated.
Im now on day 4 post wash day and my hair is STILL feeling great, and Im gettin compliments left & right abt how good it looks. I must also say that a good leave-in, and oil/butters, are great for sealing in all of this DC's goodness! I personally use JBCO, Raw African Shea Butter, & Giovanni's Direct Leave in. And twisted up my hair w/ Olive Oil Eco Styler Gel.
i've never heard of the motions DC. how "wonderful" does it owrk for you? i've mixed reviews about motions products in general. . .
I got my moisturizing tip from Naptual85 as well 🙂 I sprits my hair morning and night (mixture of water, deep conditioner and oils) even when I wear braids as a protective style. I been key for me as well.
My hair loves loves water, that and Aloe Vera Juice. I make sure that any styling products and leave-ins that I use are water based 'cause oil or butter based products tend to weight it down.
I try not to go more than a few days without washing or co-washing. I always use a water based leave-in and then seal with an oil under gel for wash n' go hair or seal with a pomade after the leave-in for twistouts. Sometimes in between washes to remoisten at night I apply additional a water-based leave-in. Lastly, I always sleep with a scarf or sue maesta but never just out even with my satin pillow case.
I tried the water spritzing daily but finally found what worked for me so I'm sticking with it.
Here are a few water based leave-ins that I've had success with:
Qhemet Biologics Burdock Root Butter Cream
Oyin Hair Dew
b.a.s.k. Silk and Honey Latte
Favorite (pomade) sealers:
Original Moxie Hair Bling
Jane Carter Nourish and Shine (doubles as a body butter)
To keep my hair moisturized I use water, leave in conditioner, essential oils and cream. I always wear a satin bonnet to bed (lol, I even did that in my relaxer days). I also drink tons of water to keep me hydrated inside and out.
A simple concoction of water with 7-8 drops of rosemary and lavender essential oils, followed by a couple of drops of grapeseed oil keeps my hair soft and moisturized. My hair loves water, so I do this almost every night. I was sealing with shea butter in the winter, but as the weather became warmer, it started to just sit on my hair and dry it out.
I shampoo or cowash weekly and steam every 1-2 weeks. I eat really clean for the most part and drink about 1-1 1/2 liters of water a day. I have never had a major problem with dryness as long as I moisturize and seal every night, or every other night.
I make sure I deep condition my hair at every wash session, I still prepoo which also helps with moisture. I don't use shampoo anymore so I do acv rinses which leaves my scalp feeling clean & my hair soft. I also leave my conditioner in my hair now which has help me to retain more moisture than I've been able to retain in my two years of being natural.
These are all great tips. Drinking tons of water & weekly deep condtioning have worked wonders for my hair. My hair is really dry this summer. I think I need to change my leave-in as I've been using it for awhile & moisturize twice a day to combat dryness.
Over the weekend I went to the beach. I knew after getting out of the water (salt water) my hair will be dry. So I put in my hair before getting in leave in conditioner (Silicon Mix) Another thing that I thought about doing is mixing some leave in conditioner with some water as well. Other than that, organic coconut oil keeps my hair moisturised all day!
*mayo, honey, and eggs
Adding oils and aloe vera juice to my leave-in conditioner keeps my hair moisturized. I try to DC once a week, and I'm trying to find a staple for that. I'm going to try mayo, honey, and oil and see how it works. The last DC I used was by ION and it worked well. I drink at least 68 ounces of water every day, and I'm trying to increase that a bit, too.
Using the LOC method on my hair has been a God send when it comes to moisture. I use Oyin hair dew as my liquid (L), grapeseed oil as my oil (O), and Qhemets twisting butter as my cream (C). I just emulsify some of the butter in my hands and apply it all over. It ended up being too heavy for my hair as a twisting butter but works great for me this way!
I'm definitely at the point where I need to change my products. I've used the same moisturizer for years without problems. But, recently, it hasn't been doing its own thing!! I keep hoping it will return to the days when it worked!! I need to let go of that relationship!
My hair loves Deep Conditioners! I've recently learned that I have to DC about every week (2 weeks at most) in order to keep in bouncy and soft 🙂
I've been using Motions Naturally You Deep Conditioning Masque and it has been working wonderfully on my 4a/4b hair!
I'm finally getting this hair moisturizing thing under control (after 2 years of being natural) Hallelujah! lol
Watering my body inside and out, deep conditioning is God sent for when my hair is dry. Satin pillow case or satin scarf, moisturizing and sealing and no heat helps me retain moisture and not have dry hair, I also retain length as well when I do these steps.
Megan Montgomery
@Myrtie you're dead on, I also got that tip from Naptural85 and do the same ritual.
The fact of the matter that AIN'T going away is that Natural hair is prone to be dry. There isn't a "magic" product that will keep it from being that way for too long, so put in the work or you get what you give.
For me, I use the Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner mix in my hair after washing and even as part of my daily moisterizing spritz, and I only deep condition monthly now. It works for my hair and it has been thriving, so that works for me.
I must do bonnet or my hair is mad at me!
Moisture is a huge need for my dry hair, shea moisture deep conditioning masque and water is my friend!
I am sitting at my desk right now with a head full of dry hair. It is hit or miss for me. Some days the leave ins, stylers and moisturizers work and some days they don't. Just when I think I have found a holy grail product it seems to stop working. So, I have done all of the above, but I still have my dry days. 🙂 I am looking for a quick and reliable fix. 🙂
I got a tip from watching Naptural85 on YouTube and I spritz my hair in the morning and night with water and seal it with a light application of shea butter and my hair is definitely feeling the difference. So yeah it might be daunting to think about keeping your hair moisturized, but so far doing it everyday twice a day has been the key for me.
I think natural hair is just naturally dry and there is only so much you can do about it. I sleep with stain scraf, deep condition, try different products, spritz with water and dont use any type of heat and my hair is still dry. Using products only temporary fix the problem…