As most of us on Healthy
Hair Journeys know, one of the most important aspects of growing and
maintaining healthy hair is the practice of moisturizing and seal. For those
who are new to this whole process (as I once was) moisturizing and sealing is
so important because hair--especially African hair-- is more susceptible to
breakage when it is not moisturized. Every kink, coil, curl, and bend in the
hair strand weakens the hair slightly, and is a potential point at which the
hair can snap and break, taking away valuable length. Since I absolutely
love food, I try to make parallels between food and life, so think of hair as a
piece of spaghetti. Dry, it is virtually impossible to bend the spaghetti
without breaking it into pieces; however, once the spaghetti is boiled and the
water has time to penetrate, it is easier to move and maneuver the spaghetti
without worrying about it breaking as easily (granted, if you tug and pull like
crazy, it will still snap). Our hair is essentially just like that. To keep our
hair malleable, we have to ensure that our hair is moisturized all. the. time. So
now that we know the importance of moisturizing hair, what exactly should we use to do the job?
MOISTURIZERS
Water. Water. Water!! I
cannot stress how important water is in terms of moisturizing. Water is the
essential substance for survival in every living thing, so of course, it’ll be
important in maintaining healthy hair. There are many ways to apply this to
your hair:
1.
You can
do my tried and true method of simply spraying/spritzing hair with water—simple
and to the point. It’s water in its purest and simplest form; no need for all
the extras.
2.
Mixing
the water with a humectant such as glycerin to pull moisture from the air to
your hair. Extra moisture? Bonus! If using glycerin, you might want to do a 3:1
mixture of water to glycerin, since pure vegetable glycerin is quite sticky to
the touch and can leave your hair feeling like your 2 year old cousin was
touching your hair after eating a jumbo lollipop….sigh.
3.
The
commercial route of premixed moisturizers. Make sure, however, that the first
ingredient on the list is of course, water. Anything else in that first slot,
and you might as well put in back on the shelf. Also, when using commercial
products, stay away from items that include mineral oil or petroleum on the
list, as they can coat the hair strand and the scalp and block any moisture
from penetrating.
**When I moisturize, I
always allow the product to sit on my hair for about a minute or two before
putting the oil on to seal.
SEALANTS
Now, when it comes to
sealing, I ONLY use natural, and I mean 100% natural oils. My hair has always
been very “light” so the slightest bit of product can weigh it down and leave
it looking oily (a problem I had, even when I was natural). It was important
for me, then, to find an oil that was light enough that it didn’t leave my hair
feeling like an oil slick, yet would coat my hair enough to protect my strands.
Living on an island, the easiest oil for me to come in contact with was coconut
oil (it’s like EVERYWHERE down here) and since I had heard of all the benefits
of coconut oil, it was the first natural oil I tried and absolutely fell in
love with. I also occasionally use castor oil (I’ll go more in depth in a
future post) but typically only when I know I’m going to be home for a while,
or when I’m fair into my relaxer stretch. Trust me; no one wants to see product
heavy hair walking down the street. Most times, I don’t use more than a quarter
sized amount of oil to seal, but it will differ from person to person based on
hair texture, length, and porosity.
Remember after doing all
this work to tie your hair down with a silk scarf or bonnet to protect your
hair even more if you are going to sleep or lounging around the house. If you’re
going out, just tuck your ends under to protect them even more.
So, just as a quick recap,
here are the steps in MY moisturize and seal routine. Ahem.
1.
Spray
hair with moisturizer (water) until damp.
2.
Do the
“noodle dance” (does anyone remember PB & J Otter???) for about 2 minutes.
3.
Use a
quarter sized amount of natural oil and coat the hair from ends to roots.
4.
Tie with
a silk scarf or throw on my handy dandy satin bonnet!
Hope this was at least somewhat helpful, and
if there are any more tips or ideas, feel free to leave them in the comments
below!
Happy Hair Days!
