Jojoba Oil

A few weeks ago I purchased some Jojoba Oil from GNC to make Kimmaytube's leave in conditioner. I saw it on the shelf last weekend and decided to try oiling my ends nightly with the Jojoba oil instead of the Vatika oil. I have been oiling nightly since Sunday and the difference is amazing. The Jojoba oil is leaving my hair soft and I don't have a lot of oiliness when I touch my hair. I was going to wait until after week 2 to review - but I am so impressed that I had to say something now. I will go more in-depth after next week. I was supposed to continue to use the Vatika oil for scalp massages and I haven't even touched it.

I am in love Jojoba oil.

My Hair: Pre-poo (update)

I have been combining these items long enough to now provide appropriate feedback - Jasmine oil and Castor oil.

For the last few shampoos I have been pre-pooing with a 50/50 mix of Jasmine oil and Castor oil. The results after each wash have yielded extremely soft hair that did not feel anywhere close to being stripped. This mix has also helped me tolerate the intense smell of the Jasmine oil.

To do the pre-poo:

1. In a empty container I combine equal parts of Jasmine oil and Castor oil. I swirl the container to make sure the oils are mixed. Then I apply liberally all over my hair length (starting about 1/2 - 1 in from my scalp) and leave on for a minimum of 1 hour. Shampoo, condition, and style as usual.

See the tutorial below:

Pre-Poo

Pre-pooing or Pre-wash is simply a pre-shampoo treatment, which is applied to the hair and/or scalp, left on for a period of time and then shampooed out. Some people like to apply oil, conditioners, or a combination of the two.

Benefits

Pre-poos can help protect hair from the harsh shampooing process and ingredients. The majority of the buildup we are trying to remove is really on our scalp therefore, your hair really only needs the conditioning aspect of your wash routine. Pre-pooing with oil or conditioner can help establish a barrier between the hair and the harsh detergents in the shampoo.Pre-poos also help condition the hair.

Ways to Pre-Poo

You can apply oils (warmed or not) to your hair length and/or scalp and leave on for the amount of time you find appropriate for your hair. That can range from a few minutes to overnight.

You also have the option to apply oils and conditioners to dry hair and cover with a wet towel. Similar to deep treating your hair or steaming.

And finally you can apply the product, cover with a plastic cap and sit under the dryer for a few minutes. The heat really helps the hair absorb the product. This is how I like to pre-poo my hair. As a result of my recent reading about coconut oil, I am going to try that next time under the dryer.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4584486_pre-poo.html

http://www.bvhairtalk.com/2008/02/15/black-hair-care-the-benefits-of-pre-pooing/

Coconut Oil

This past week I have been applying coconut oil to the length of my hair before I go out into the cold dry winter air. In the evening when I return home my hair is really soft and just feels great. I am so in love with coconut oil and after reading about it's capabilities I understand why.

Some key points:

"Historically, coconut oil has been used as a hair dressing in the developing countries in

the tropical regions of the globe where the coconut is cultivated extensively. Prolonged

use of coconut oil has been known to lead to healthy looking long hair, suggesting that

it may prevent damage to the cuticle in grooming procedures involving abrasion."

"It is well known that wet combing is accompanied by the breaking of the surface cuticle cell because of its brittleness"

"...the performance of coconut oil in reducing protein loss was better than that of mineral

and sunflower oils. Coconut oil performed better as a pre-wash rather than a post-wash

conditioner"

"damaged as well as undamaged hair benefits from application of coconut oil as a pre-wash conditioner, whereas in the case of sunflower oil and mineral oil, there was no effect. The effects of coconut oil were also positive in a salon test. In both normal and bleached hair, treatment effects in reducing protein loss were significant, whereas the same findings were absent in the case of mineral oil and sunflower oil."

“Coconut oil is mostly a triglyceride of lauric acid and is hydrophobic. Application of Coconut oil as a pre-wash conditioner coats the hair and inhibits the penetration of water into the hair. A small part of it is also absorbed in to the hair during the wash when the fiber is swollen. Introduction of this hydrophobic component reduces the swelling propensity of the cuticle, which limits the upward curving of the surface cuticle. This reduces the chipping away of the cuticle cells, which reduces protein loss, as observed in this work.”

I strongly recommend reading the research article in its entirety on your own:

Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil on prevention of hair damage

http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc2003/cc054n02/p00175-p00192.pdf