An Accidental bit of Moisturizing Mojo....

[Sui Topi]

ok.... so Ive been doing research on how to deal with some weeds and overgrowth of the marshy woods behind my house... and the cheap recommendation is rock salt... the experts talk about how the salt will soak up the excess water and cause dryness and the dryness will starve the weeds & plants & shrubs and thus they will die...

so then this thread came to mind....

so yes, the salt obviously helps with slippage and detangling... but at what cost?? I guess one would just have to pay ue diligence and use extra moiturizers... but for the non-naturals, that could wreak havoc on the moisture/protein balance....


What do you folks think?

After you rinse out the salt it wont be sucking anything anymore lol. I think it may have an issue with prolonged use in moisture/protein, but you would only have to do a protein once every few months which most people do anyway to get it back in check. I dont want to sound corny, but it feels so right it can't be wrong lol

 

[PassionFruit]

After you rinse out the salt it wont be sucking anything anymore lol. I think it may have an issue with prolonged use in moisture/protein, but you would only have to do a protein once every few months which most people do anyway to get it back in check. I dont want to sound corny, but it feels so right it can't be wrong lol

Seems like a lyric from a 1970's song

but yeah I see your point

 

[levone]

Hi Ladies! This is my first post ever, but I've been a lurker on this board for over a year now.

Anyhow, I just had to post my results of trying this as I am truly amazed. My hair is natural (over 5 years now) and mainly a 4A/4B texture (with 3c or so on the sides and nape area). My hair is not thick, it's of finer texture, however if you look at it you would think that it is extremely thick.
I have been reading the threads concerning this the past few days and decided to try it when I washed last night. I used Qhemet Biologics Egyptian Wheatgrass Cleansing tea, then mixed 1.5 tsp of Morton's table salt with my Pantene R&N Breakage defense mask (that's it, nothing else). I immediately noticed the conditioner turning into a souffle type consistency.
I used almost the entire tub of Pantene and applied it like a relaxer with my hands (my hair was sectioned off into about 8 sections). I IMMEDIATELY noticed a difference as I was applying this mixture to my hair. It honestly felt silky...weird. After applying I put on a plastic cap and put on my heating cap for 30 minutes on top of that; however I probably kept the conditioner/salt mixture on my hair for a total of 2 hours while I gave my daughter a bath, etc.
Water accumulated in the plastic cap, yes my hair was wet when I applied, however I always apply/detangle conditioner to my wet hair after washing, but this was more water than usual.

I can honestly say this stuff stretched my hair out as well as de-bulked it. I felt the difference right away in the crown section of my hair which is much more coarse than the rest of my hair. I kept rinsing as someone else said as I thought I had conditioner still in my head. Now the pantene does a great job by itself, but I have NEVER experienced anything like this before. My hair did not feel stripped or anything, just extremely moisturized, so much so that I did not apply as much leavein as I normally do.

This post is getting too long, so I'll stop here....but wanted to say thanks JustKiya and everyone else for sharing their results....I am very impressed with this. I have done henna treatments now for the past few months (3 treatments so far), and got great results from that, but this was different. Not to scare anyone, but it honestly felt like I applied a mild texturizer (I've never had one, only relaxed in the past) or something to my hair as it honestly felt half as thick...and not in a bad way. I have it back in a bun this morning and before applying my scurl/gel this morning, it STILL felt smooth, soft, silky, just as it did last night.

 

[lovenharmony]

Thanks Levone for the informative post and welcome! I tried this last night and my hair is like BUTTA!!! Don't know what it is that makes my hair so soft and silky, but I like it!

 

[JustKiya]

I'm SO glad this is working so well for people!!! I have my hair in two strand twists again, and my hair has MOVEMENT - normally, my twists just stay still, but now, every time I move my head, my twists shake with them. I'm still so VERY pleased.

I can't WAIT to get home, though, or to wash my hair in distilled water, because this hard water is KILLING me. *sigh*

I want to share something that someone PM'd to me -

This is the actual reaction you're looking for:
C6H8O7 + 3NaHCO3 → 3H2O + 3CO2 + Na3C6H5O7
citric acid + baking soda → water + carbon dioxide + sodium citrate


The one you have posted is between baking soda and a strong acid (hydrochloric acid). The components of your Fizzle, are a weak salt and a weak base, and the resulting salt is sodium citrate. Of course the salt would be different with vinegar (which is also composed of weak acid).

Also, indigestion products that fizz in water like Alka Seltzer have the two combined products already. This was taken from wikipedia. Hope this helps.

I thought that was really good information, and would be useful to share with all of ya'll....

ok.... so Ive been doing research on how to deal with some weeds and overgrowth of the marshy woods behind my house... and the cheap recommendation is rock salt... the experts talk about how the salt will soak up the excess water and cause dryness and the dryness will starve the weeds & plants & shrubs and thus they will die...

so then this thread came to mind....

so yes, the salt obviously helps with slippage and detangling... but at what cost?? I guess one would just have to pay ue diligence and use extra moiturizers... but for the non-naturals, that could wreak havoc on the moisture/protein balance....


What do you folks think?

Everything that I've read about salt being bad for hair/having bad results seems to involve 2 things.

1) Repeated exposure to a concentrated salt/water mixture.
2) Leaving the salt in your hair.

I honestly think that as long as you don't use the salt mix EVERYTIME you DC your hair (use a 'pure' DC, occasionally, just in case) and as long as you don't leave the salt mix in your hair long term (I've done it overnight, and I don't think I'll do it overnight, again - I'm still split whether it's the hard water or the overnight that has my hair feeling coated), that you'll be okay.

Of course, as this is MOST experimental, I could be totally wrong - but I hope not.

 

[cecilie]

Thanks for the information , maybe I'll try it ( I'm little scared) ...

 

[MeechUK]

Hi JustKiya,
I tried adding 1/4 teaspoon each of baking soda, citric acid and sea salt to my conditioner earlier this evening. I left this mixture on for an hour and then rinsed. My hair felt moisturised and soft. I have never experienced my hair feeling like this before. Thanks for the tip its definitely a keeper.

MeechUK

Hi Kiya,
I did a DC last night with QH, Shikakai and Amla powders. My hair still felt strong, moisturised and soft from using your foaming mixture. When I initially tried the foaming mixture I used ORS Replenishing Conditioner mixed with Porosity Control. When I rinsed after the DC I usually find bits of hair, I didn't see any this time.

Kiya thanks again for sharing.

MeechUK

 

[Rain20]

I posted this in another thread about salt as well.

Salt is not moisturizing it does help define curls and cause hair to clump together more. It may also absorb some oil from hair if hair is somewhat oily or if you are using a lot of oils in the hair. The conditioner is really keeping the hair from drying. Make sure the concentration of salt is low to prevent drying. Salt does not equal moisture. Moisturizing DC and water adds moisture. Salt helps with definition of curls and provides light hold to hair, adds texture to hair. HTH

 

[Aggie]

Subscribing to read later, too tired to do so tonight.

 

[discodumpling]

Kiya, Thanks again. I have not done a true KF treatment however over the past week I have added a touch of Kosher salt to my all natural DC and recently to my conditioner for co-washing. I already know that my hair cannot tolerate baking soda except for an occasional clarifying wash, so I decided to push it to the limit with just salt.

Although I have yet to see any foaming action, the addition of salt to my hair has smoothed out my hair cuticles completely....from root to tip. My ends feel perfect just like the rest of my hair!
While it appeared that my kinks had loosened immediately after the treatment, when my hair dried I was surprised to see that my shrinkage kicked in like never before... I LIKE THAT!! I even saw a couple of bonafide CURLS LOL! My hair holds the set of my twists or braids for a well defined "out" like I have never experienced in my short time as a nappy.
Finally. My hair has actual SHINE not sheen but shine. I was so ready to accept that nappy hair has sheen but never shine...and yet when dry my hair looks like I just sprayed it with some oil sheen.

I also put the salt + conditioner mix in my mans and dem hair LOL! MY sons and my DH all have different textured hair and I got different results for each of them. DH's ringlets were shiny well defined and full of body, DS#1's napps were shiny and soft (he keeps a low caesar) and DS#2's curls were POPPIN...even before I washed treatment out.

I've only begun to experiment with salt....

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Hi Ladies! This is my first post ever, but I've been a lurker on this board for over a year now.

Anyhow, I just had to post my results of trying this as I am truly amazed. My hair is natural (over 5 years now) and mainly a 4A/4B texture (with 3c or so on the sides and nape area). My hair is not thick, it's of finer texture, however if you look at it you would think that it is extremely thick.
I have been reading the threads concerning this the past few days and decided to try it when I washed last night. I used Qhemet Biologics Egyptian Wheatgrass Cleansing tea, then mixed 1.5 tsp of Morton's table salt with my Pantene R&N Breakage defense mask (that's it, nothing else). I immediately noticed the conditioner turning into a souffle type consistency.
I used almost the entire tub of Pantene and applied it like a relaxer with my hands (my hair was sectioned off into about 8 sections). I IMMEDIATELY noticed a difference as I was applying this mixture to my hair. It honestly felt silky...weird. After applying I put on a plastic cap and put on my heating cap for 30 minutes on top of that; however I probably kept the conditioner/salt mixture on my hair for a total of 2 hours while I gave my daughter a bath, etc.
Water accumulated in the plastic cap, yes my hair was wet when I applied, however I always apply/detangle conditioner to my wet hair after washing, but this was more water than usual.

I can honestly say this stuff stretched my hair out as well as de-bulked it. I felt the difference right away in the crown section of my hair which is much more coarse than the rest of my hair. I kept rinsing as someone else said as I thought I had conditioner still in my head. Now the pantene does a great job by itself, but I have NEVER experienced anything like this before. My hair did not feel stripped or anything, just extremely moisturized, so much so that I did not apply as much leavein as I normally do.

This post is getting too long, so I'll stop here....but wanted to say thanks JustKiya and everyone else for sharing their results....I am very impressed with this. I have done henna treatments now for the past few months (3 treatments so far), and got great results from that, but this was different. Not to scare anyone, but it honestly felt like I applied a mild texturizer (I've never had one, only relaxed in the past) or something to my hair as it honestly felt half as thick...and not in a bad way. I have it back in a bun this morning and before applying my scurl/gel this morning, it STILL felt smooth, soft, silky, just as it did last night.

:wow: Those are great results, thanks for posting... I'm going to try your method..it sounds like our hair type are very simular...

This was you first post!! :superbanana:

Kiya, Thanks again. I have not done a true KF treatment however over the past week I have added a touch of Kosher salt to my all natural DC and recently to my conditioner for co-washing. I already know that my hair cannot tolerate baking soda except for an occasional clarifying wash, so I decided to push it to the limit with just salt.

Although I have yet to see any foaming action, the addition of salt to my hair has smoothed out my hair cuticles completely....from root to tip. My ends feel perfect just like the rest of my hair!
While it appeared that my kinks had loosened immediately after the treatment, when my hair dried I was surprised to see that my shrinkage kicked in like never before... I LIKE THAT!! I even saw a couple of bonafide CURLS LOL! My hair holds the set of my twists or braids for a well defined "out" like I have never experienced in my short time as a nappy.
Finally. My hair has actual SHINE not sheen but shine. I was so ready to accept that nappy hair has sheen but never shine...and yet when dry my hair looks like I just sprayed it with some oil sheen.

I also put the salt + conditioner mix in my mans and dem hair LOL! MY sons and my DH all have different textured hair and I got different results for each of them. DH's ringlets were shiny well defined and full of body, DS#1's napps were shiny and soft (he keeps a low caesar) and DS#2's curls were POPPIN...even before I washed treatment out.

I've only begun to experiment with salt....

another happy customer Kiya!!!

 

[tapioca_pudding]

Okkkk......!!!

I finally did it on dry hair last nite. I mixed my Kenra w/ some salt (and a lil castor oil). The first thing I noticed was that it got foamy, almost like a mousse or souffle..? Whatever it was, I liked it!

I applied it to my dry hair, and it went on so thickly and smoothly. I couldn't believe how awesome it felt on my hair!! I put a baggie on, but kept 'smooshing' it under my baggie and cracking myself up ! Then I got under the dryer for 30 mins. Rinsed out, hair felt buttery and silky... I just kept touching it. I liked the results MUCH BETTER on dry hair.

Did a rollerset, hair came out much much smoother! Didn't even need to do a saran wrap treatment afterwards - just rubbed some jojoba on, wrapped and went to sleep. My ends are cursed with looking thin right now, because my layers are growing out. But they look much much sleeker.

Again, much thanks to Kiya for sharing this..... I'm definitely incorporating this AT LEAST every other week, if not weekly.

 

[Extremus]

Maybe I used too much salt? I used a 1/4 tsp of salt with 2oz of conditioner. My hair felt tangled, and I used a conditioner that usually gives great slip.

 

[girlcherokee]

my morning after results just get better - not sure if i said it on this thread - but i used this yesterday afternoon with 1/4 teaspoon of salt to 1/2 cup of conditioner - ORS with EVOO mixed in(should have measured how much ORS and EVOO - will do next time)
I left it on for no more than 20 minutes and under a plastic cap but i did not use heat.
I am willing to bet there is a limit to how much salt, how long it should be left in for(i remember someone saying they slept with it overnight and hair was tangled and not soft)
and i am willing to bet that there are conditioners that this does not work well with - maybe cuz they already have salt? or some other ingredient that does not react well with the salt. i am no chemist, but i am willing to bet that this all makes a great difference in the results. would love to hear some chemist sisters chime in more on this, even if it is against - cuz after reading the arguments i still tried it, but.... i limited the salt, and the time in my hair - i also did not put heat - i supposed i took the safest route even though i was taking a chance with trying something new. if no one said any thing against i probably would have approached this allot differntly and i double checked that my conditioner did not already contain salt.
my hair looks better than it did in a long time - if it wasnt for the fact that it was thin, more in some spots than others, i could forget it was damaged - its very shiny, soft and it does feel clean and light(i guess thats the clarified feeling?)
i am actually wearing it out today for the first time in months cuz it looks good enough. this is worth further investigation, i have a feeling that once the kinks are ironed out - this will become a staple for many of us. thank kiya!

 

[levone]

Ladies, thanks for the welcome!

Just to give a quick update, my hair still feels great three days later. It's still soft and smooth even. The weird thing is, it doesn't look different, but it feels different. It's just more manageable....if I were to compare it to anything, it's when you read that someone has texturized and their hair 'looks' the same, but they say that it's more manageable. I've never really had any problems with my hair, only my middle/back section that is easy to break because it is a totally different texture. So, if this has 'cured' that, I'm in heaven. I've been heat free since February and really have been working on being more gentle with my hair, so this is icing on the cake for me.

Anyway, I'm gonna skip this next wash/deep condition to see how my hair performs afterwards. I really want to know if the results are temporary (i.e. the texturizing effects). I'll make sure that I post my longer term results.

Also, I'm wondering if the varying results have to do anything with the conditioner the salt is paired with. I saw another post about the Pantene Hydrating Mask that I used contains sodium hydroxide, so maybe my results are more strong because of that? Just wondering why some are getting different results, such as a clarifying affect....I didn't get that at all....just very moist feeling hair.

 

[tapioca_pudding]

Maybe I used too much salt? I used a 1/4 tsp of salt with 2oz of conditioner. My hair felt tangled, and I used a conditioner that usually gives great slip.

That might be... I'm sorry. Maybe try using the same amount of salt, but more conditioner? I used a small mixing bowl, filled it with conditioner and then added a bit of salt. I didn't measure, but I'm very sure it was much more than 2 oz, maybe 7 or 8.

 

[pringe]

ok just an update, i went to get my hair colored on WEd at the Aveda institute & did the salt & conditioner on Sunday. My hair soaked that color up so quickly, they were rushing to finish the roots! It looks great & now i can laugh but be a little mindful if ur going to color soon. ur hair will soak up the color quick! I still love this stuff

 

[pringe]

another quick question. how do u think it will do on colored hair? will it strip it?

 

[meverllyn1]

I want all of you guys to keep me posted. I want to try this so bad on my natural hair, my curl are so tight they needs to be loosen. I'm little scared though, cuz i have very dry hair already and i don't want to dry it out anymore. Wondering how long will it last or is it permament.

Mev

 

[me-T]

i did a trial run too with some bakin soda, lemon juice, and my stupid, so-glad-i-ran-out dove shine therapy conditioner. boy if it makes dumb products soften me up, imagine what a quality conditioner will do! i went out and got some sea salt, waitin on my qhemet to come in the mail! when my SO found out the sea salt was for my hair he was like "your hair eats better that you do!" lol!

 

[Extremus]

That might be... I'm sorry. Maybe try using the same amount of salt, but more conditioner? I used a small mixing bowl, filled it with conditioner and then added a bit of salt. I didn't measure, but I'm very sure it was much more than 2 oz, maybe 7 or 8.

I did use too much salt for that small amount of conditioner.

I used the same amount of salt with more conditioner (about 6oz), like you said, and NOW I understand what you guys are talking about. .

My hair feels juicy then a muthaf**ka! It feels like it's loaded with moisture, without the weighing down. I've never experienced this before! Salt is def a keeper!

 

[nurseN98]

Ok, y'all sucked me in

For my Kiya Fizzle (girl, u betta trademark that) I used bout 1tsp salt, 1tsp baking soda and 1 capful vinegar to 8oz of conditioner (Elucence mixed with some discontinued Body Shoppe con.) I mixed it, it fizzed then i applied to dry hair and left it on about an hour while I did some housework. I rinsed well and applied my leave-in. My hair felt fabulous and it was easy to detangle. My definition was about the same and my shrinkage was pretty much the same, maybe a teeny bit less but I did notice that the thickest, most unruly part of my hair (crown) was a lot easier to manage and it felt like some of the volume was removed without actually removing my coils.....so that works for me.

y'all are so friggin resourceful that's why I will never stop paying the fee. Great idea JustKiya, thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[ebonylocs]

I tried it in a cowash (left in for a few minutes) with a teaspoon of table salt plus some cheapie conditioner a few days ago. My hair definitely felt very moisturised, and still feels moisturised a few days later, although I haven't added anything to it.

I feel it *really* made my new growth more hydrated. However I'm not so sure about the long term effect on the relaxed ends - brittleness? dryness? I think this is a keeper for natural hair.

I'm going to try a mix with vinegar and baking soda to get an acid salt that's not table salt.

Baking soda + acetic acid --> sodium acetate (water + carbon dioxide)
NaHCO3 + CH3COOH → CH3COONa + H2O + CO2 (gas)

According to wikipedia 84 grams of sodium bicarbonate react with 750 ml of 8% vinegar to make 82 g sodium acetate in water.

By my online weight conversion, that's 2.7 tsp of soda to 21.1 tsp vinegar, i.e. a 1 to 8 ratio - way more vinegar than baking soda. But I guess that would give a neutral solution, while people who have been doing equal amounts of vinegar and baking soda would be getting a more alkaline solution. I wonder which gives a better result??

 

[girlcherokee]

still looking good today and my hair (new growth and relaxed) is soft, beautiful and very shiny it also has more "swang" than i have had in a long time! my mom and i was talking about this and i wonder if the salt for me was also a corrective treatment to the hard water that i have. i am rocking a braid out today and i do mean rocking.
the other day i did a braid out, my hair is very thin, and dh looked at it and asked if i was going out like that. ofcourse, ya know he was in the dog house for the rest of that day - today however, whole new attitude. i'll try and take pix today since i can compare to pix i took the other day.

 

[ebonylocs]

.........................

 

[sunshinne368]

Hello ladies, so I've been reading this thread, and thinking about trying this for my hair. So I took the plunge and tried it! Wow, I have great shinny hair! I shampooed and rinsed as usual. I added 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to my trader joe's spa conditioner, with irish moss, evoo, and coconut oil mixture. I let is sit for about 2 hours, then I sat under the dryer for 10mins. and washed it out my hair was very easy to detangle, and I had very little shedding (this is unsual for me! But it my be due to a protein tx done last week with aphogee!). I applied a tiny bit of Lacio Lacio, and couple of spritz of Sunslik shine heat protect. I then blow dryed my hair and flat ironed with my Maxiglide MP. And my results are shinny pretty hair. I still have a lot of split ends from a previous bad dye job, but you can not tell! I will use this for when I wanna be straight!
Here are some pics!

 

[PhiLee]

Good goodness your hair is gorgeous!

Thanks for the review!

 

[Mamamia]

I guess this makes sense! Water follows sodium naturally in our body so if sodium is entering our hair strands, water may follow to keep it extra moisturized. Hmmmm........*quietly pondering* : )

 

[Shimmie]

So today I had several errands to run.

After my morning bath, I mixed two large tablespoons of Alter Ego Garlic Creme Conditioner with 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt in a small paper cup. I wet my hair and applied the 'Sea Salted Conditioner'; smoothed my hair up into a loose crop of curls sealed by the thick conditioner mix, and left home for my errands.

And yes.......I am one of those who don't have a problem going out in public with conditioner in my hair. Don't nobody pay my bills and take care of my hair but me. It's my hair care and my hair growth and I do what I have to do when I have to do it. . I just don't care what people may think.

Anyhoo, the results are beautiful. This is my third application with the "KF Solution -- The "Kiya Fizzie"............................I love this stuff.

Here's tonight's picture after I rinsed it out (had it in all day :blush3; I was really busy today and just getting settled.

ETA: My original uploaded picture was showing an error with the link I pasted. I fixed the problem, though. I saved the picture to my computer and I have placed the picture as an attachment to this post.

I'm so sorry for those who tried to view the picture earlier and were unable to see the progress of my "KF hair solution - Kiya Fizzie.

In this picture my hair is still wet and my head is down for a fuller view:

I had another picture of a side view but it's not too clear. Also, my hair has picked up some auburn highlights from the summer sun. The Ovation made it darker prior. I'll have to stay more conditioned for the sun.

Anyhoo, the KF Solution is the Best.

JustKiya Rocks :rock:

 

[Tee]

I dont see the pics Shimmie.

So today I had several errands to run. After my bath, I mixed two large tablespoons of Alter Ego Garlic Creme Conditioner with 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt in a small paper cup. I wet my hair and applied the 'Sea Salted Conditioner'; smoothed my hair up into a loose crop of curls sealed by the thick conditioner mix, and left home for my errands.

And yes.......I am one of those who don't have a problem going out in public with conditioner in my hair. Don't nobody pay my bills and take care of my hair but me. It's my hair care and my hair growth and I do what I have to do when I have to do it. . I just don't care what people may think.

Anyhoo, the results are beautiful. This is my third application with the "KF Solution -- The "Kiya Fizzie"............................I love this stuff.

Here's tonight's picture after I rinsed it out (had it in all day :blush3; I was really busy today and just getting settled.

In this picture my hair is still wet and my head is down:

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/mmps/001_211d6afc7d9a4782_1/2.jpg?partExt=.jpg&&&outquality=90&ext=.jpg&border=2,255,255,255,1,0,0,0,0&limitsize=400,400&squareoutput=255,255,255

I had another picture of a side view but it's not too clear.

Anyhoo, the KF Solution is the Best.

JustKiya Rocks :rock: