Advice to a newbie on keeping 4c natural hair moisturized and ayurveda routine

[sahara123]

Hi everyone,

I am a newbie on this forum, so please excuse me if I don't know the answers to these questions.

I experienced major hair breakage of my natural 4c hair, so I subscribed to learn from you and to have more motivation on my hair journey. I prefer using ayerveda products because they are more natural. Is there a challenge going on so can join please?

I have been pre-pooing with coconut oil, castor oil, black seed oil mixed with some ayurvedic powders (amla, brahmi, bringraj, shikakai, fenugreek and a bit of MSM powder). I have doing it but I don't really like it because my hair feels oily and brittle, although it's certainly super nourishing. I need to wash my hair at least 3 times before all the oils go and sometimes I still feel some powders in it. Then I deep condition with shea moisture treatment, which makes my hair super soft.

How efficient is pre-pooing with hot oil treatment please? Won't the oil on the hair block the deep conditioning I do afterwards? How do you handle this? Or do you do each step on different days of the week?

My hair is very coily and dry. Are products like S-curl better for moisturizing? I love Shea moisture leave-ins but they contain some oils. So are they really moisturizing products? What would be better to moisturize 4c natural hair please?

I thank you in advance for all your advice and thanks for having me on this forum

 

[VictoriousBrownFlower]

ayurvedic powders can act as a protein on the hair making it dry and brittle if used to often.... The same thing with coconut oil.... I would say get rid of the prepoo or prepoo with something moisturizing. If u want u can blend a avocado banana honey and castor oil maybe even some aloe vera juice to make ur own moisturizing prepoo. Then dc with shea moisture after shampooing. What leave in are u using? Are u moisturizing and sealing throughout the wk?

 

[sahara123]

Hi,
Thanks so much for your advice. I have been looking into trying aloe vera for moisturizing. I will try it
I have not got a proper regimen yet that's why I thought I would ask you ladies for advice.
I have not been moisturizing and sealing during the week. After deep conditioning, I just put some shea moisture castor oil leave in but I feel its a bit oily. What would you recomment as a moisturizer please?

 

[VictoriousBrownFlower]

i love qhemet biologics amla & olive heavy cream for moisturizing and kinky curly knot today as a leave in.... And always seal with an oil or butter.

 

[oneastrocurlie]

My hair wasn't a fan pre-pooing with oil. My hair too felt oily and brittle. DCing, applying my leave in to soaking wet hair (using a little more water to spread) and styling my hair soaking wet has been a game changer for me to keep my hair moisturized.

I also don't seal with oil. For me it keeps moisture out plus my stylers all have oil already in them.

 

[mzteaze]

You might want to look at your recipe. Many rookie mistakes can be traced back to overusing too much of the Ayruvedic powders too early in your journey. The powders are worth it but start light and work up.

Right now, it sounds as if you also need to decrease the FREQUENCY that you use this oil as well. Simplifying your routine should help you avoid brittle and dry hair.

 

[colorful_coils]

Welcome to the forum! You'll definitely learn a lot from being on here - the ladies are extremely knowledgeable

Try the oil without the fenugreek and MSM. Both can be very drying for the hair. Sift the other powders before putting them in your hair to make getting it all out easier.

I'd also try using just coconut oil and skip heavy, non-penetrating oils like castor. That will make it easier to wash the oil off and might make your hair feel softer. If coconut oil still leaves your hair brittle, olive or babassu would be good substitutes.

Pre-pooing helps you retain moisture and avoid hygral fatigue when you wash your hair. If done right, your hair should be clean but not stripped OR oily after you shampoo. So your deep conditioner won't be blocked by any excess oil.

Don't give up on pre-pooing yet! I think with a few tweaks, you'll really start to see its benefits.

 

[snoop]

Welcome to the forum!

I have been pre-pooing with coconut oil, castor oil, black seed oil mixed with some ayurvedic powders (amla, brahmi, bringraj, shikakai, fenugreek and a bit of MSM powder). I have doing it but I don't really like it because my hair feels oily and brittle, although it's certainly super nourishing. I need to wash my hair at least 3 times before all the oils go and sometimes I still feel some powders in it. Then I deep condition with shea moisture treatment, which makes my hair super soft.

First, in regards to the oils. Does your hair like coconut oil? It is one oil that makes my hair feel hard if I use too much of it. I only use it to detangle and even then it's mixed with conditioner so it counteracts the hardening effects on my hair. Also, as someone mentioned above, castor oil is very heavy, so I wouldn't use too much of it in your oil mix if you use it at all.

It sounds like you are doing an actual ayurvedic treatment instead of a pre-poo, at least in the way that I've seen a number of people do it. When I do an ayurvedic pre-poo, the powders/herbs are infused into the oil, so that in the end I'm only using the oil and not a paste, if that makes sense.

After shampooing/cleansing my hair, I'll use a the powders as a paste -- mixed with water and maybe a little bit of oil to do the treatment, then follow up with a deep-conditioner to counteract that strengthening effect on my hair. The conditioner also helps to remove the powder when you're washing out your hair. By any chance, are you using any water to mix your powders? If you are using so much oil the powders will stick to your hair.

I've also changed up the way that I rinse the powders out -- instead of rinsing in the shower, I hang my head over the tub and run the water from the tap so that the water pressure moves the herbs out of my hair. When the water starts running clear, I fill the tub up with water and dunk my hair into the water, but not my face. I then hover over the water and start scooping and pouring water into my hair with a plastic bowl to see if any powders come out. One final rinse under the tap and then I'm done. But as I said, my next step after that will be to condition and then I'll rinse out under the tap just to make sure that the water pressure and the slip of the conditioner will usually take everything out of my hair. For reference, I'm also 4c and my hair is cottony.

Ayurveda has a bit of a learning curve and part of that is trying not to use everything because it's "natural". If you think of the herbs as medicine for your hair then you realize that you can't use any and everything or your hair can OD.

Second, if you are washing your hair 3 times to get the oil out, you've used too much oil. I would suggest a light application of oil to pre-poo with. As though you were sealing your hair.

My hair is very coily and dry. Are products like S-curl better for moisturizing? I love Shea moisture leave-ins but they contain some oils. So are they really moisturizing products? What would be better to moisturize 4c natural hair please?

I'm not sure about Shea Moisture, but if you are using a cream or lotion it needs to have oil in it. Water + emulsifyer + oil = cream or lotion.


One last question: You mention that your hair felt oily and brittle, but that "it's" super nourishing. Do you mean that your hair was nourished or that you believe that the herbs are nourishing? You may have to change your ratios in order for them to work on your hair or as I mentioned above -- and other posters talked about -- the way that you introduce the herbs to your hair can have an affect on how they interact with your hair. I find that masks (herbs mixed in water or yogurt) are the most strengthening. If your hair isn't used to them, then I would suggest starting with a gloss (herbs mixed in conditioner). (In both instances, I mix the herbs with some water first.) Infused oils work really well as well and I don't find them to be nearly as strong as the other two, but they are still very effective.



Here is the current ayurvedic hair challenge: here
Also, if you use the search function there is a wealth of information on ayurveda!

Good luck!

 

[faithVA]

I have found that keeping it simple is better. I say clarify your hair and start over. Start with a good moisturizing shampoo, conditioner, leave-in and styler. Use only that for 30 to 60 days and then reassess your hair. Skip the oils and extras. Stick to a regular frequency of cleansing and conditioning your hair. Weekly would be good to start with. With too much going on, you may not know what your real hair feels like and what it can do. After you have allowed your hair to settle in, then add things back if you need to.

 

[Rocky91]

I second @faithVA (hi, Faith!!). This all seems very unnecessarily complicated for someone just starting out on this journey. I’d recommend going back to basics and I’ll give a few recommendations. You can get all of these at Sally’s, which is open right now.

moisturizing shampoo and rinse out-design Essentials almond and avocado is excellent
Deep conditioner-silk elements mega silk conditioner or stick with your current Shea moisture since it is working
Leave-in- design essentials almond and avocado leave in
Sealant-you could seal this in with your Shea butter
twist or braid to style and stretch. Wear out or pin up into simple, low-tension updos.

try this consistently for a month and see if it works.

 

[sahara123]

Hi ladies,
thank you so much for all your advice!
I realize that I haven't been doing things right and I need to simplify my routine
I have been mixing all the ayurvedic powders with the oil and then deep conditioning so I guess it is too much and the oils are probably blocking the moisturizing effects of the conditioner.
I usually rinse and shampoo my hair in the kitchen sink so all the oil doesn't drip on my face. Then I shampoo again in the shower lol.
My hair feels less dry than when I started but I think I am going take a break castor oil and maybe try mixing the powders with just water instead and do it less often.
Thanks for your advice!

 

[Newhottie]

Welcome! You should just set up a simple regimen first with a moisturising dc one week and a light protein the next (you can use your Ayurvedic mix for this).

After a month you can revisit after checking the condition of your hair and what it needs.

Do a search for moisturising conditioners to see which you may vibe with. I like Aussie moist treatment (Not the plain conditioner) or Happy Devas 100% natural conditioner.