Hot Oil Treatments

 For years, I've been doing hot oil treatments, mostly via pre-poo. They used to work a little, but then I didn't notice a difference. A couple of years ago, I decided to stop altogether because I was just wasting oils and time. I started to think my hair hated oil, especially coconut oil. I recently figured out that I was doing it all wrong. 

For my last three wash days, I did a hot oil treatment on freshly washed hair, and it has made all of the difference. Oils just don't penetrate on my dirty hair. This last wash day I saw the best results ever. 

To back up, I have chronically dry hair. Retaining moisture has been my number one problem for at least the last 10 years. One of the reasons I went back to getting my hair relaxed was my natural hair was so dry it caused damaged. I've always said once I find moisture, I know my hair will thrive. Now, I'm a little more optimistic of that happening.

So after I cleaned my hair with shampoo, I applied a mix of different oils (coconut, jojoba, grapeseed, wheat germ, and a few others) that I warmed up in a bowl of hot water to my hair. I saturated my hair with it, put my hair up in a clip, and sat under the steamer for about 25 minutes. I then rinsed it out. I noticed it was hard to rinse a lot of the oil, so maybe I'll co-wash next time. I then applied my deep conditioner and let it sit with a heat cap on it for another 20 minutes. When I rinsed my hair, it felt moist and heavy in a good way. I then rollerset my hair and sat under the dryer until my hair was completely dry. When I took the rollers out, my hair felt a little oily, but it had shine and body like I haven't seen in years. I was worried that I overdid it with the oil, but wrapped my hair anyway and went to bed. When I woke up and combed my hair out, I was shocked at how moist and manageable my hair was. The feeling is what I've been looking for all of this time! There's no frizz, my hair is moist and holds a curl, and my scalp feels smooth instead of it's usual rough and dry feel. Even wrapping my hair is easier and looks better when I comb it out. 

I'm hoping this is the key to my hair health and retention. I'll be doing this hot oil treatment for my next few washes!

Stress and Dryness

My hair is finally recovering after a tough year. I had a rough breakup, took care of my sick father until he passed away, handled my dad's affairs including renovating and moving into his house, and mourned the sudden loss of my sweet dog. All of that while trying to be a good mom to my son and stay on top of my new job had me all over the place. Stress really does come out in many ways, even in the health of our hair.

I thought my hair was doing okay at first. I wasn't spending much time on it, and was wearing buns and wigs on days I couldn't deal with it. I soon realized my hair wasn't in the best shape. It was dry and lifeless, wouldn't hold a curl, and didn't absorb products. Then, I noticed lots of shedding. I wore braids all summer, but looking back, I think that was a mistake because I wasn't dealing with my hair, I was just hiding it. And, I think that made it worse. When I took my braids out at the end of the summer, my hair was armpit length, but the ends were a mess. I got a good haircut, which helped a little, but I didn't like how it felt or how it looked.

My hairstylist at the time was using a no-lye relaxer on my hair. I had only used relaxers with lye until I started going to this stylist, so I asked her to change relaxers. That made a difference, but my ends looked thin, like my hair was over processed. I made the decision to go to another stylist who could bring my hair back to health, listened to me, and had me in and out of the salon (Very important!). She has been so helpful, encouraging me to stretch my relaxers and recommending new products to try. She also gave me a great haircut, adding layers and getting rid of the see-through ends. I've been using Hot Six Oil to moisturize and my hair loves it. It keeps my hair moisturized without weighing down. I'm still working on my hair's elasticity so that it holds a curl, but I think that will come with more moisture. 

A few other things I've been doing on my own to help my hair's health:

- Applying black Adore semi-permanent color every 2 weeks. I prefer my hair color more brown, but the black makes it look so shiny and thick! And, I feel like it conditions it so that it accepts products better.
- Prenatal vitamins. My hair really thrived when I was taking prenatal vitamins when I was trying to get pregnant and after I had my son. I had to find the right one for me because I have tried others (including Biotin and Hair, Skin and Nails vitamins) that did nothing. I'm liking the Nature Made brand.
- Wrapping my hair every night. I thought my hair didn't look good after a wrap. Now that it's healthier, wrapping seems like the best thing to keep my hair smooth and looking full and bouncy. I change the direction of my wrap every few nights.
- Gave up using all oils except the Hot Six Oil. I've tried almost every natural oil, but they either sit on my hair, or weigh it down. I'm saving my oils for my skin.
- Took a break from protein. I don't think my hair needs the protein I thought it did. I haven't used a protein conditioner in a couple of months and my hair seems to be doing better.

This past year has reminded me that life, our bodies and our hair change...that's okay, we just have to be ready to deal with that change and pivot when we need to!