Maximum Moisture Part III: Keeping the moisture in

We're charging through the Maximum Moisture series which is a critical topic of discussion. Especially for those of us with chemically treated hair. So far my discussion has been focused mostly around the weekly wash and set. Now it's time to move on to styling and beyond. I strongly believe in using the wash and set as a major way of injecting moisture back into the hair. Most of your focus during the weekly wash should be around the intention of impacting moisture levels (as well as strength) in preparation for the week ahead. Why? Because of the simple fact that your hair will be exposed to air. Yes, the same life-giving air we live in and breathe is the mortal enemy of our hair's moisture.

My heart nearly sank years ago when I was reading Wanakee's informational hair care booklet as she articulated the dangers of constantly exposing the hair to elements. As you may know I am a self-proclaimed non-protective styler who struggles constantly to keep my hands out of my hair. I love detangling with my fingers, or examining the ends for strength, or just playing in my hair for no apparent reason whatsoever. It's a problem I've been dealing with since I was a child after notifying my mother, at the age of 10, that her hair styling services would no longer be needed because I would be doing my own hair going forward. It was then my love affair with my hair began.

I fail miserably every time I attempt to hide my hair for weeks or months at a time. I knew this was a lost cause when I got my hair braided back in high school. Back then everyone was rocking extension braids and I wanted them badly. So, like others, I paid good money to have one of the best recommended braiders work her magic on my hair. Two weeks later, the braids were removed and I was rocking my hair like nothin' happened. It's just something I'll have to live with. So, as you can imagine, dryness is the achilles heel to the health of my hair. I am still seeking ways to impact moisture levels day after day. But I'll share with you some of the steps I take today to give my hair a fighting chance.

Just recently, within the last several weeks, I decided to air dry. No, I'm not talking about the normal air dry where you use no styling methods to dry the hair. I'm talking about air drying my roller sets. Setting my hair on rollers is pretty much a part of my weekly routine. This past month, I experimented with "normal" air drying where the hair isn't dried on a roller or with a styling tool. I failed miserably at this attempt because I had two things working against me:

1. I am three months post.
2. I'm shedding like a dog.

Put those two together and, for me, you have a recipe for insane tangles. So I decided after a few weeks of trying, that I'd have to roller set no matter how much new growth I had. I thought about sitting under a hooded dryer on maximum heat which didn't sit right with me. Fall is upon us and the amount of moisture in the air is minimal. Drying every ounce of liquid from my hair with hot air was no longer appealing. So last week I air dried my roller set, which I haven't done in a very long time. There's certainly great benefit in air drying. I'm now combining the moisture preserving aspect of air drying with the styling options available with roller setting.

Ok, so what do I do to maintain moisture after the style is achieved?

I've had two experiences that I'd like to share with you today.

In scenario 1, I wash, condition, roller set, and style. What's important to notate in this scenario is after I've finished styling, I take advantage of my fresh hair do by wearing my hair down for a majority of the day. What happens by night fall? My fabulous curls start to drop and I begin to see signs of frizziness and lackluster.

In scenario 2, I wash, condition, roller set, and style. What's important to notate in this scenario is after I've finished styling, I tie down with a silk scarf. Again, I'm not a fan of hiding my hair but I can not deny the power of preserving moisture with a silk scarf especially after the wash and set. This is the perfect opportunity to seal in and protect all of your hard work.

I've lived both scenarios and I'm committed to only living out scenario 2 from this day forward. Every little bit counts. There's another daily habit that I've just implemented to help with moisture but I feel like I'd make a bigger impact if I explain it via video. It's nothing major but it's worth mentioning. Perhaps someone will benefit from it. I'll be working on that video shortly for official release.

Until then, I should also mention that I rarely use moisturizers. Even though I know it's a necessity for the health of the hair. I am in no way condoning the elimination of moisturizers from your routine. If your hair is thriving with the help of moisturizers, the last thing you want to do is remove that step from your regimen. That could be disastrous. For me, it was more about looking for other ways to moisturize aside from just the help of product. There is one product I use, it's a blend of oils that combined in varying quantities. My goal, when I blended these oils was to create a formula that would help promote softness and shine on a daily basis. I also wanted to act like a moisturizer on the hair. What I mean by that is that the oil would not only make the hair look good, but it would also make it feel just as good. That was probably six months or so and I've been using it ever since. Just one product.

I'll wrap up this post for now but I will say that there's so much more on this topic that I'd like to discuss. I don't think we can ever exhaust this topic. By the way, if you've got some great moisturizing tips you'd like to share. Or even if you've got a bomb moisturizer you'd like to recommend. Leave a comment.

Wash day 5.18.09-My Keracare Humecto and Aubrey GPB experience

So yes, this past week's wash day was absolutely magical-thanks for asking.

I just returned from a four day mini-vacay to the Bahamas with the husband, desperately needing a wash. Over a week passed since my last wash and, during the vacation, my hair was exposed to harsh elements of island salt water along with the blistering heat of the caribbean sunshine. Add to that the fact that my absent-minded self forgot to bring along my satin scarf and you have a recipe for disasterous hair.

I came back with dry, tangled tresses in desperate need of some TLC. The minute I had the opportunity I began to saturate my hair with my trusty Amla oil and coconut/amla blend. The more oil I rubbed in my hair, the more relief I felt. As the oil soaked in as the dryness softened. Within a half hour, my state of my hair began to transform. That's when I knew everything would be alright.

After washing with my Hair One Conditioning cleanser, I broke out my secret weapons which were to fully complete the work of transforming my hair. You see, the week before I washed, I made two small hair product purchases. First, I was finally able to get my hands on the "new thicker richer" Keracare Humecto (the one with the bright yellow sticker on it).

Let me tell you people! This thicker formula is no joke..

I absolutely love the fact that I can apply this product on wet hair and have it stay completely put. There's no fear of conditioner run off in the shower (what a waste). Every ounce of product stays on on the hair strands doing what it does best. And of course, this product was amazing before so now it's uber-amazing...

Get some.

Not only did I get my hands on some Humecto but I also went back to the old school by scooping up some Aubrey Organics GPB balancing conditioner.

Yes. GPB.

While strolling down the aisle of my of my local natural foods store, I stumbled upon this oldie but goodie. After looking at the list of ingredients on the backside of the bottle, I knew I had to have this product back into my life. I don't think I own a conditioner this natural.

Take a peek at the ingredient list:

Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Wheat Germ Oil, Lactalbumin, Organic Rosemary Oil, Organic Sage Oil, Horsetail Extract, Coltsfoot Extract, Nettle Extract, Amino Acid Complex, Glycoprotein (from oyster shells), Balsam oil, Citrus Seed extract, Vitamin A, C, and E

According to the bottle, "nutrient-rich, protein-based GPB rehydrates and re-energizes your hair. Glycoproteins strengthen the hair fiber, repair the damage from salon treatments and restore softness, manageability and shine." GPB is Aubrey Organic's most popular product ever!

With these two products working together to mend my hair, I knew that everything would be o.k. It felt like they were working together to achieve a balance of moisture and strength in my hair. My airdrying experience tonight was magical to say the least. It's unbelievable how quickly my hair went from mangled and tangled to soft and moisturized.

While washing out this luxurious mixture, a thought ran across my mind. "What if I were to treat my hair to these delicious ingredients twice a week instead of just once?" Currently I wash pretty much every Saturday and that schedule is convenient. Deep down though I realize that if I really want to have supple hair, I need to implement some actions which will promote suppleness. One such action would be to wash more frequently. I've operated in such fashion in the past and know the benefits of a more frequent wash cycle. Moisture levels in the hair are maintained and hair loss is likely to reduce as a natural result.

My only concern with taking on a more frequent washing routine is the possibility of long term hair loss due to my unsuccessful airdrying stints. Today's airdrying result, however, has caused me to change my ways and believe once again that this frequent washing thing can work. So I'm taking on Wednesday (or Thursday) as an added wash day. Yes, it will be slightly inconvenient to wash in the middle of the week but I know it's all for the betterment of my hair. The reason I am doing this is simply so I can realize the following:

-Higher moisture levels in the hair.
-Increase of strength in the hair.
-A noticeable reduction in hair loss via breakage, shedding, etc.

If I don't realize these desired outcomes, then I may go back to the once a week wash and set. On the other hand, if I do notice a reasonable benefit to the twice a week wash, then the routine continues-no matter how much time and effort it requires.

Wish me luck people.....

My ayruvedic oil wash results!

Last time, I talked about this awesome ayruvedic scalp massage treatment commonly practiced in Indian spas. Today, I decided I would treat myself to a modified version of the process while standing up and tell you guys about how it panned out.

First off let me just say that the best part of my experience was getting to use my new applicator bottle I bought from Sally's. This thing is magnificent boys and girls! The pointed tip made applying oils to my new growth a breeze. I felt as if I had so much precision and control during the application. It is by far the best two dollars I've spent in a long time.

So in my bottle I mixed some jojoba oil, meadowfoam seed oil, avocado oil, and amla oil. I created four ounces of oil blend in total. By the way, I didn't create some secret formula, I just mixed some oils together. I didn't measure. I had other oils to chose from but these were the closest to arms reach. I did, however, use more amla in the mix than the other oils. By the way, I should also mention that I did use some conditioner on the dry hair before I added the oil.

So I stepped in the shower and dampened by hair. I made sure that the hair was only damp, not wet. For me the difference between the two is that water drips down the back when its wet. Once my hair was damp I started to apply the oil mix. I concentrated on the scalp because of the amount of new growth I would have to contend with. Plus I hadn't washed in a while and my scalp was an itchy mess. Honestly, I thought that four ounces would result in a large amount of oil run off. Boy was I wrong! My hair drank up the oil like nothing and still was begging for more. After I used up my entire mix, I put on a plastic cap and killed some time cleaning the bathroom. Good thing I did because while organizing by medicine cabinet, I found a nearly full jar of coconut oil! I immediately began filling my applicator bottle with it and used some on my already saturated hair.

Moments later I rinsed and experienced a slight feeling of uneasiness as I touched my oil-laden hair. Next I clarified with Suave shampoo and followed that up with my Hair One conditioning shampoo. The result? My new growth felt amazing....well- defined and moisturized. Once the shampoo was washed out, I no longer had that "my hair is covered in oil" feeling. Now instead, my hair felt stronger and protected. I conditioned as normal and airdryed. I even decided to skip the hair fixer this go-around.

This process didn't feel like a regular pre-poo, it felt more like I was giving my hair a luxurious treatment! I can absolutely see the value in "oil washing" (I just made that up...I think..) going forward. Especially when new growth is involved. I'm sure naturals would love this method because I can't keep my hands out of my "kitchen." Even now as I air dry, my hair is still feeling moisturized strong. I normally load my hair with oils to tame whenever I air dry but not this time. Even my beloved shea oil is getting a break. If I had to sum up the results in one sentence I would say that my hair feels like the oil is in my hair as opposed to on my hair.

I love it!

My (work in progress) airdrying routine revealed!

In last post, I explained some recent changes to my hair routine including the decision to airdry for the duration of the winter season. I made certain to clarify the fact that I once swore off air drying for the rest of my days.

Why?

Because my hair would always end up looking all crazy....
Because I could never get my ends to look right....
Because the middle of my head would dry days later than the rest of my hair....
Because the middle of my head would tangle into a million knots....
Because I could never really produce any type of decent style as the result of an airdry....
Because I never analyzed the airdrying process and how to perfect the results.

For the longest time, airdrying for me meant having to sport tangled unattractive hair until my next wash. Then came the day I realized that this was not the way to live. I knew in my heart of hearts that airdrying could mean healthier lengths. So I had to find a way. It was an absolute necessity!

Over the past few weeks, I've played out various scenarios in my mind of how I can create a decent result from air drying. Some of the scenarios I've tried have worked well. Some of the others were not as I had envisioned. I'll take you through my thought process. This may take a while so go grab a cup of hot cocoa and make yourself comfortable...


For me, the biggest obstacle to decent results was my inability to tame my ends during the drying process. My method of choice was as follows: After washing and conditioning, I would comb the hair back into a ponytail (while damp). Because of the fragile nature of the hair while wet, I used a (very) large tooth comb. I would then grab the loose ponytail and pull the hair up towards my crown and pin to the back of my head. Then I’d grab a satin or silk scarf and tie it around my head as a means on managing the new growth. After a few hours of drying, I would remove the scarf, take down the ponytail and use the cool blast setting to help dry the middle section of my hair.

This picture is when I airdry with one ponytail. Here I've pulled the hair up towards the front of my scalp and secured it with a bobby pin.


In this pic, I actaully parted my hair down the middle and created pigtails. This is one side, the other side of my hair looks exactly the same. Whenever I chose to airdry in pigtails, I pull the hair up towards the sides instead of straight up the middle. When I do it this way, the center of my hair seems to dry a little quicker. Once the hair is secure, I tie a silk scarf and go on my merry little way.


Both of these pics were taken while my hair was still damp.

This method has some obvious pluses and minuses:
Pluses:
+: My once wild and crazy new growth became as tame as a little lamb.
+: I spent much less time then I would have if I were to rollerset the hair.
+: The hair set in a relatively straight pattern. I didn’t have to flatten the big hair I normally experienced with a rollerset.

Minuses:
-Because I dried the middle section of my hair with a hair dryer, the sleekness I created with the satin scarf was compromised. In other words, the middle (and back section) would poof out depending on how moist it was when I loosen the ponytail.
-The large tooth comb I used did not allow for ample detangling power before tying it down. This meant that I still had to contend with viscous tangles later on in the process.
-I never used any direct heat tool once the hair was completely dry, in most cases, I would end up with straight hair in the front and sides and textured hair in the middle and back sections.

I have since modified my routine in order to increase effectiveness. What I’ve done as of late was to create two pigtails instead on one ponytail. With pigtails, I can detangle the two halves more easily in effectively. Once I’ve created the pigtails, I take the loose hair from one side and pin it to the other side of my head and vise versa. What I aim to do with this step is to have the loose hair pinned neatly to my head so that it has some structure in which to dry. It’s the structure that helps to create straighter hair.

I’ve also included a final step to my airdrying process that helps address the thick hair issue that I experienced in the middle and back of my hair. Caruso steam curlers. Please be warned that if you use the steam curlers on damp hair, you will only end up with damper hair. The hair shaft will continue to swell as the moisture is absorbed and you will experience frizz. If you chose to use any type of steam related curlers, YOU MUST WAIT UNTIL THE HAIR IS COMPLETELY DRY.

If steam curlers are not your thing, you can also choose some of these other setting options:
•Large flexi rods to create large curls or to bump the ends.
•Satin covered sponge rollers (again your hair must be 100% dry or frizz will happen).
•The low setting of your flat iron.
•Large Pocahontas pigtail braids.
•Bantu knots
•You can wrap your hair
•You can place your hair in a bun (before bunning, you want to thoroughly detangle and moisturize; otherwise, you may be causing more issues when your shed hairs and your tangles meet.)

My airdrying routine is still a work in progress but I am confident that I can tweak and adjust the routine to create the results I want. Those of you who have managed to put together a process that works, leave a comment and share!