All naturals to the rescue

[fine_beauty]

Since doing my big chop, I've been struggling with dryness and cruchy feel of my 4a/4b hair. I condition wash every morning, add leave-in conditioner and some antidandruff ointment before putting on my wig for work. When I get back from work and throw my wig aside for my hair to breathe till the next day, I have to constantly keep wetting it with distilled water.
I tried sulfur 8 braid spray and all day long, the hair has stayed moisturized but I honestly hate it's oily/sticky feel.
Does anyone have any method other than using shea butter (I want to do that as my last resort) to perpetually keep my natural hair moisturized.
TIA

 

[Tracy]

Not natural - but how do you feel about curl activator? Glycerin (the main ingredient in most brands) is a wonderful moisturizer/moisture retainer/humectant.

 

[Mahalialee4]

Also you may want to add honey to your conditioner with a little olive oil and use a plastic cap for about half an hour after you shampoo. That should help. Also oil the ends with a touch of evo while still wet after and before you style it. Oily or greasy feeling should not be there. Otherwise use johoba oil. Bonjour

 

[fine_beauty]

Thanks Tracy, I tried s-curl and no show. It used to work for my relaxed hair but my natural hair gave s-curl a beat down. I might have to try another type of activator. Off to search the recommended ones on the board.
Thanks again!

 

[fine_beauty]

Hi Mahalialee4,
I know honey does have an sticky feel too. Do I wash out the honey,conditioner, olive oil combo or keep it in?
Patiently awaiting your reply.
Thanks in advance

 

[Mahalialee4]

Oh yes my dear, out with everything in a nice rinse out. But the moisture should remain. You could do this as a conditioner wash as well. Hope this helps. Bonjour

 

[fine_beauty]

Thanks, I'll definitely do this. That reminds, the honey and conditioner combo greatly assisted me in unraveling the bad tangles that I had prior to my BC. I couldn't spare the time I knew I needed to unravel all the tangles.
I'll keep you updated.
Thanks again

 

[miss_brown]

It seems like the only thing you're missing is some type of oil to lock in the moisture. Try putting a light oil on your wet hair (right after applying your leave in), and by the time it dries, your hair should remain soft. My recs are olive, avocado, and jojoba oils.

 

[Innocent_Kiss]

Here's some questions that might help you pinpoint your problem

Do you use shampoo? I'm sure you don't since you know about conditioner washes, but if you do, you might wanna cut down on shampooing because it dries your hair out.

You might also wanna review your conditioner. I'm transitioning and conditioning washes dry my natural hair out. It works for everyone else but me

Do you use a wig cap or did you line your wig with satin, silk, or any other non absorbing fabric? If you didn't the wig can be absorbing moisture from your hair throughout the day.

You might need to clarify. Over a period of time you can get build up from products on your scalp and hair. This prevents conditioner and moisturizers from penetrating the hair shaft -- so it's basically coating your hair instead of penetrating. If you want a homemade and effective clarifier you can make at home, check out the Baking Soda Clarifying Treatment (scroll down some)

You might also wanna look over the antidandruff treatment you're applying to your hair. If you want an antidandruff treatment that's more natural you can try combining essential oils like Lavendar, Tea Tree, and Rosemary. You can click here to find more oils that nuetralize dandruff. Then again, your antidandruff treatment might NOT be drying your hair out. Look at the ingredients and if there's anything that you can't identify try researching for more info on it at google.com or some other search engine.

I know you want shea butter to be your last resort. I know what you mean. It's ucky feeling and hard to apply to the hair. I'm gonna try this Whipped Butters recipe from snowdrift.com. They show you how to make your butters a better consistancy for easy applying.

Are you drinking enough water? It's important to consider what you're putting inside your body, too.

Remember, water is moisture so you should try focusing on sealing that moisture.

It's a lot of factors that contribute to dry hair. I hope these questions help find a solution. God Bless!

 

[SVT]

I agree with the others. Try applying a small amount of oil while your hair is wet and after you've applied your leave-in conditioner. I like using Vatika oil. It's light and has lots of good ingredients.

 

[fine_beauty]

Innocent_Kiss,
You made a lot of sensible deductions here. Every now and again, I tend to fall off the water drinking bandwagon and I have for a while. I'm gonna try mahalialee4's suggestion after doing the baking soda clarification(sp?) and when time and funding allow for it, I'll search for the essential oils you listed.
I do use a wig cap and it's made of rayon if I'm not mistaken though it feels more like cotton. Yeah, I should search for a satin wig cap. I definitely hope the conditioning washes are not the culprit because my hair loves water ( I think so) and it keeps the flakes at bay.
Hopefully, these suggestions and deductions should make a difference.
Thanks ladies

 

[Innocent_Kiss]

[ QUOTE ]
myhairsos said:
Innocent_Kiss,
You made a lot of sensible deductions here. Every now and again, I tend to fall off the water drinking bandwagon and I have for a while. I'm gonna try mahalialee4's suggestion after doing the baking soda clarification(sp?) and when time and funding allow for it, I'll search for the essential oils you listed.
I do use a wig cap and it's made of rayon if I'm not mistaken though it feels more like cotton. Yeah, I should search for a satin wig cap. I definitely hope the conditioning washes are not the culprit because my hair loves water ( I think so) and it keeps the flakes at bay.
Hopefully, these suggestions and deductions should make a difference.
Thanks ladies

[/ QUOTE ]

You're welcome

I know what you mean about the water thing. It took about a good month or two (or three

) to be consistant. Now it's really the only liquid (besides fruit juices) I drink. I just purhased a really big insulated water bottle (I think 1.75 L) and drink it throughout the day. For the wig, you can always buy silk from a craft store and sew it in the wig. I'm not sure EXACTLY how to do this, but other people have. I'm gonna try it for all my hats this winter.

 

[fine_beauty]

Hi SVT,
I have this huge container of safflower oil. I will be using it in place of olive oil. I bought it after reading up on it on an indian hair website. It's supposed to be more moisturizing. Has anyone here done any comparison on the two oils (olive and safflower)/