Moisture is very important for natural hair and is one of the key factors for obtaining and maintaining healthy hair. When hair is dry it feels brittle and hard and it's prone to damage and breakage. When hair is moisturized it feels soft, silky and is more manageable. Natural hair requires a lot of moisture so after each shampoo or co-wash you want to seal in that moisture with an oil of your choice.
Keep in mind that if you're transitioning from relaxed to natural you're dealing with two different textures and that natural hair is dry. Natural hair thrives on moisture and you may notice that at different phases of your transitioning your hair will immediately absorb the moisture you apply to it and you'll have to apply it again. Be sure to moisturize the hair from root to end.
Two basic ways of moisturizing the hair is with water or oil. Water based moisture is usually straight water or a combination of water, vegetable glycerin and essential oils. Oil based moisture consists of shea butter, olive oil, castor oil, sweet almond oil, etc. When moisturizing with oil you may want to take in consideration the type of oil you use during the time of year. For example it's common to use lighter oils such as jojoba, sweet almond, and coconut during the summer and heavier oils such as shea butter and castor during the winter. Bottom line, find out what works for you.
Basic Hair Moisturizer/Spritz
1 cup distilled water
1/2 c vegetable glycerin
or aloe vera juice or gel8-10 drops lavender essential oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
Pour and store in a spray bottle. Shake well before each use.
Shea Butter Moisturizer
4 oz shea butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp jojoba oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
5 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops of rosemary essential oil
(optional) Thoroughly whip together with a hand mixer making sure that no lumps of shea butter remain. You can also put the shea butter in the microwave for 30 seconds (no longer than that or you compromise its beneficial properties) to soften it up a bit. Store in airtight container once thoroughly mixed.
2 comments:
Is it too much to use a water AND an oil moisturizer at the same time?
Not at all. Since water tends to evaporate fairly quickly it's best to add oil on top to seal in the natural moisture from the water.
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