New Pre-Poo Formula

I finally remembered to pre-poo for this week's wash day (yay!). Due to my hectic week, my intentions of braiding my hair every night (like I did last week) flew out the window. So my hair was quickly becoming a tangled mess. I decided to whip up a pre-poo with conditioner - something I'd never tried before. When I have remembered to pre-poo in the past, I've only used coconut oil, which was great, but it doesn't give me enough slip for a thorough finger-detangling. By using my moisturizing conditioner as the base to my pre-poo today, I was able to finger detangle much better.

What is a pre-poo? It is pre-conditioning your hair with moisturizing products (particularly oils) that can penetrate the hair shaft (like coconut oil) prior to washing your hair. To experience the best results, pre-poo the day before wash day.

Here's what I used to pre-poo today:

• moisturizing conditioner (base)
• castor oil
• olive oil
• apricot kernel oil

I didn't measure anything but just eye-balled it to make sure it wasn't too drippy. Then I sectioned my dry hair with my fingers and began applying the pre-poo starting at the ends. To prevent my hair from tangling again, I twisted up each section after I was done.

Once I worked all the pre-poo through my hair, I took out all the twists and pulled my hair into a high bun. I slapped on a headband and some earrings so I could run out to do a few things. And that was it! So simple. I hope I can incorporate this into my regimen. I'm so excited to see the results when I wash my hair tomorrow! :)

What do you use to pre-poo?

Green Tea Rinse

Source

As I continue to research natural hair care techniques, I find more and more interesting stuff. Like the use of herbs in cleansing and conditioning the hair. Who knew that cup of tea could be good for your hair, too?! I was sure surprised at this!

In my week of braid-outs post I mention using green tea as a rinse to top off an all-natural wash day routine (i.e. no store bought shampoos or conditioners). I prepared the tea and allowed it to cool. I rinsed out my squirt bottle and filled it with tea. I doused each twisted section of hair with the tea. And can I tell you, it felt SO GOOD!! It was absolutely invigorating! And my hair was soft, well-moisturized and sealed to boot! ;) I will definitely be incorporating this into my regimen as often as possible. It's a great conditioner and sealant due to its acidic nature.

Have you done any tea rinses? What kind of tea did you use and what was your experience?

A Week of Braid-Outs

Last week I began the week with a slightly different wash day. My goal was to cleanse, condition and detangle my hair using only natural products. Until recently I'd always been skeptical of all-natural regimens. But another blog that I've been reading recently has been leading me to believe that it is possible - and maybe even yields better results.

With that in mind, I cleansed with an ACV rinse using distilled water instead of tap water for the first time. My goodness, the slip was amazing! It was much easier to finger detangle my hair. I could literally feel the difference with the distilled water. It was awesome lol.

Next, I conditioned with a mixture of oils: coconut oil, olive oil, a little castor oil and a little jojoba oil. I had no idea what I was doing but my inner-mixtress was feeling creative! LOL! I finger detangled some more, twisted the four sections then put on a plastic shower cap while I finished showering. After about 5 minutes I rinsed my hair. There was lots of slip due to all the oil and my hair felt very soft. Right before hopping out of the shower I rinsed with a green tea rinse (brewed with distilled water) - I'll post on this later because the results were phenomenal!!
                                     
When I got out of the shower, I was all prepared to braid my hair and seal with my natural oil blend and gel as usual. But when I saw how oily my hair was, I realized I could skip the oil and get away with using only a little gel. I braided it up, slept in it and had to release them before they were dry the next day. However, once my hair was out of the braids I saw how truly oily it was - too oily! So I decided to co-wash again and leave in some conditioner. I once again braided my hair and released them the following day. It wasn't as oily but was still quite moisturized.

The following night I did something that is normal for many naturals but something I'd honestly been avoiding because of laziness and scheduling: I braided my hair up before going to bed, moisturizing with a light, creamy and water-based leave-in which I focused on my ends. The next morning...WHOA!! I was super happy with the results!! Buttery-soft, defined and detangled hair!!
                              
I did this all week. By the end of each day, the definition would fade and my hair would get bigger and fluffier, threatening to take over the entire city LOLOL!!! (Now I understand why some naturals have nicknames for their manes because mine certainly has a personality! And I can't help but wonder what God was up to when He gave a reserved and quiet gal such a big, loud head of hair.... ;)) Sometimes I let it do its thing; other days I attempted to rein it in, lol (that's right, "attempted").

By the end of the week, I began to see and feel lint build-up when I ran my fingers through my hair, so I knew it was time to wash. But aside from the over-oily start of the week, I was really pleased with the results of my braid-outs for the week...and proud of myself for committing to braiding and moisturizing my hair each night. :)

This pic cracked me up! I look like Pinocchio!! LOL!

I did something different: instead of sticking bobbi pins in the front
to keep my hair out of my face, I kept the front braid in at the base at first.
I really like this idea. The simpler the style for me, the better.
I'm definitely going to use this again.

Took the front braid all the way out to see the full results.

I parted my hair on the side at an angle when I sectioned it for braiding.
It had been a while since I'd parted anywhere but dead down the center.
I really like the side part. It gives an entirely different look and feel.

All of the pics capture my hair right after let-down. I meant to take pics of how huge it looked by the end of the day! Maybe I'll post pics of that later ;)