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!
