Oils for sealing in conditioner and smoothing hair instead of gels:I really liked the results of this and my dependence on hair gels have significantly been reduced from twice a week to once in a blue moon when I use just a tiny bit to 'tame' my edges (once in the last 2 months). I like that my hair comes out super soft and touchable without being frizzy. I also get a good amount of poof that I love. Also means one less step and product to use. H-mm maybe that's two less steps since I also don't have to oil my ends the next day. I've tried both Coconut and Extra-Virgin Olive Oils. I like both but mostly use EVOO now. Some observations: when using the Coconut oil my hair came out softer and the strands felt smoother; stronger even (and the smell is great!). But it gets dried out by the next morning and I have to scrunch more in. With EVOO I didn't have to do anything to my hair until next wash (2-3 days) and I still got soft defined hair. Which all makes sense since coconut oil penetrates the hair strands while EVOO coats. But you probably already knew that :p. One last thing; since I haven't been using gel I haven't felt a need to clarify all but once in 8 weeks.
Making my ACV solutions diluted enough to leave-in: I'm now using about 1/4 teaspoon of ACV to 16 ounces of water.I've been using this as my final rinse and instead of rinsing out with cold water just leaving it in. This minute change has made a world of difference as far as breakage and my strands elasticity goes. I've noticed over time my strands started holding moisture for longer periods of time and it now takes almost twice as long to air-dry; which means porosity is also improving. That's good, because my fine colored treatded and highly porous strands need all the help they can get in that department. Because it's so much more diluted there is no more horrible smell but I still get the benefits of smooth shiny strands. My hair is LOVING this!
I made my own leave-in concoction for those days that I don't want to be bothered with a wash-n-go: Nothing fancy just the same old mix I used back when I wore mostly braids. It consists of: water; a drop or two of ACV; couple squirts of one or two of my favorite cheapie conditioners (currently use VO5's Moisture Milk & Volumizing) and EVOO. Yeah I know that's what I used as a leave-in anyways but the difference is that it's a lot more diluted (moisturizing) not that I mix it directly with water instead of just what's already n my hair, and I have it all in a spray bottle now which means one simple step and I'm good on moisture for the next 2-3 days. Yes, I AM THAT LAZY!!
09/28/10 ETA: Another small thing: I've also been paying more attention to my kinkiest areas and trying to remind myself to be a little more gentle, apply more moisture/conditioner/oil to that area. I had to basically TRAIN myself to be more consciously aware of that area and my handling of it. I'm so use to it now that I just seem to mechanically go through my routine not even thinking twice about what I'm doing. I'm seeing less broken strands when I de-tangle my nape. It's so important to keep in mind the different textures one might have and care for them accordingly. And not to just care for your hair based on your most prevalent texture's needs. So maybe that's more like a Big change and something I'm really happy I finally figured out, albeit the hard way. But hopefully putting this out their someone may not have to waste a lot of time trying to troubleshoot unnecessary breakage.
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| This is a pic of my nape section that broke off from wrapping, and rough handling. As You can see this section as a tighter pattern than the rest. Since it's also at the very back and not really visible when I wear my hair down it can be very easy to just complete ignore or not pay enough attention to until it's too late |
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Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what your thoughts are on this topic! :)
~*BW*~