Sunday, December 1, 2013

10 Minute Deep Moisture Infusion: NO Time to Deep Condition


10 MINUTE QUICK FIX FOR DRY, THIRSTY HAIR

There's really nothing good to be said about dry hair of any texture--but dry coily hair is almost impossible to style. Trying to style coily hair in it's dry state is basically asking for breakage, damage, tangles and knots. Worse yet, the end result is almost certain to be dull in color, and non-compliant in style.

There's many things that cause dry hair (sun, wind, temperature, products, hair-care, hats/scarves and many more). How many things can you think of that infuse a deep moisture?


The first thing on my mind is a good, effective deep conditioning treatment. But who has time for all of that? I don't often have 3 hours to carve out of my day for my hair. Even though, we are talking about a once a week or once every 10 days occurrence--I still can't guarantee to do a proper deep conditioning treatment. I might even just decide to be lazy and skip it all together, which has been the case on many instances.

I'm sure lots of people can relate, and thus the reason for this post.

During these times of skipping deep conditioning treatments, I refuse to rip out my hair. There are a few quick but deep moisture infusion treats that I have for my hair:
  1. The oil rinse: Many curlies know about this wonderful hair treat! If you're not playing around with oil rinses, then you are definitely missing out. I've read lots of different ways that curly ladies do their oil rinse, and came up with my own quick version for an effective moisture locking treat. We know that oils do not provide moisture, but they work side by side with water in order to lock in moisture. I find that oils give my hair ends a great "slip" once it is properly saturated. HOW I DO MY OIL RINSE: After washing my hair with conditioner, I use warm water (not hot) to keep my hair cuticles raised. I squeeze out most of the water, and apply approximately 4 tablespoons of (olive oil) to 1/2 of my hair. I work that through from roots to ends, and then bun that side. Next, I do the same to the other half of my hair. While I am taking a shower, I let the steam from the shower do a quick steam treatment of this oil rinse. When I'm done showering, I release 1/2, and finger detangle, while I rinse with warm water. I find that this allows the oil to further spread and penetrate. Next, release the other bun and rinse with warm water. Lastly, I do a quick cold rinse of my whole head in order to close those cuticles and seal in this moisture infusion. This oil rinse, managed by the proper opening and closing of hair cuticles, is the perfect follow up to a conditioner wash. This treat has given me moisture for days--and takes me only about 15 minutes in the shower!
  2. The Steam Treat: If I have an old braidout that I don't plan to wash and start from scratch, I will put on a shower cap, and catch some of the steam from my shower. The shower cap is almost certain to let in steam. If you want more moisture, just forget about the shower cap, jump in the shower and let the steam do it's work. I love to add oils after a good steam. From there, I will style. Styling usually lasts me about 2-3 days after a nice steam and oil treat.
For now, these are the 2 moisture treats that I turn to for a "quick fix" that's under 10 minutes! We're all super busy, but we don't have to walk around with frazzled looking hair. I don't believe that coily hair has to be dry. For every drying situation that your coils must endure, be sure to add back some deep infused moisture that will enable styling with ease, lustrous coils that will avoid breakage.

My favorite oils that I keep on stash are avocado oil, sweet almond oil, and for some reason I keep ordering hemp seed oil. Can't yet decide what the hemp seed oil will do for me, but I love to add it to my braidouts. Goes without mentioning....extra virgin olive oil!!!!





Until Next Time,
            ....................................................................................Stay Beautiful


tia.

2 comments:

  1. Tia I really enjoyed this post. I've done the oil rinses a couple of times and have not felt over the moon about the results as post people. (I keep reading that they help with single strand knots) I will try leaving the oil on a little longer before I rinse it out. I use to do the quick steam trick all the time too while in the shower... I've got to get back to that,as well as using my beloved extra virgin olive oil on a regular basis, I've really gotten into a lot of other oils which isn't a bad thing.. but have to always remember what has always worked!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Chan, Thanks! Yeah, there's definitely a trick about opening and closing the hair shaft for the best outcome on an oil rinse. Just got to play around with it, because I'm sure it depends on hair porosity, product layers and all that good stuff. I love to play around with different oils too. Mix them together like I'm in the lab LOL!

      Delete