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Is sealing necessary?

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cutiepiesensei

New Member
Alright ladies, I have officially started my journey. I went to the salon two days ago and got a relaxer and told my stylist to cut of two inches. So i'm neck length in the back and around ear length in the front. But now I have no split ends and my hair looks a bit better, so I'm happy. I'm ready to try my best to grow to SL this year :) I'll post a pic when I can, I tried to take one yesterday but it's hard as hell to take a good hair picture with my phone lol. How the heck do y'all take such good pics? lol

So my question: I bought some Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 the other day because I've read so many good things about it (even though it does contain mineral oil). I love it just because it makes my hair feel soft, but it does not make it oily or greasy like a lot of moisturizers have done in the past. Question is, do I still need to use an oil to seal even though I'm moisturizing every day? I'm really wary because I understand it's supposed to seal in moisture, but every time I apply oil to my hair (I have used coconut and olive oil, now I'm on grapeseed oil) it makes it really greasy and not as idk "flowy"ishness......yes I made that word up lol. I think it does retain moisture, but I don't like that feeling in my hair. What are your takes on it?
 
I think that just like all the other hair routines, "It just depends" on YOUR hair.

I also think that sealing can be one of theose things that can be done on a "As needed" basis.

I don't seal, I tried it but it doesn't work for my hair.
 
I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. I'm just trying sealing for the first time this year -- I'd been avoiding it also because my hair is fine and gets weighed down/greasy very easily. I'm in the luscious healthy ends challenge so I decided to give it a go and see what happens.

I apply at night and make sure my ends are tucked away during the night. By morning it has absorbed into my hair. I use just a TEENSY bit of oil on the very ends (I use jojoba oil, which is technically a wax, not an oil, and is similar to your natural sebum) and it has been okay. By the end of the week my hair is still a bit oilier than I'm used to, but not enough to make me throw in the towel just yet. I just don't wear it down on the last couple days (I wash once a week).
 
You know, when I was fully relaxed I had this very same problem you mentioned about lack of flow in my hair and wondered the same thing. I believe if you are able to sustain a balanced pH in your hair strands, you may not need to seal with an oil OR you may have to moisturize more often.

Unfortunately, for our ethnic hair, this is a necessary evil imo. I say evil because our hair is already naturally dry and I hate moisturizing and sealing my ends everyday - I do not enjoy it at all but if I want my hair to stay on my head, I have to do it to protect my ends from over-drying, split ends and ssks.

As far as sealing the ends, why not try doing them every other day to prevent the weighed-down effects of the oil. Sometimes I wish there was an oil light enough for us to spray on as a sealant and one that did not weigh our hair down.

~sigh~

Oooh why not try either BB Oil Moisturizer with Castor Oil or Keracare Oil Moisturizer with Jojoba Oil? The latter is loaded with other oils as well, like sesame oil, castor oil, and corn oil. The oil is already in the moisturizer, so you may not need the extra oil for sealing.
 
FearfullyMade said:
I think that just like all the other hair routines, "It just depends" on YOUR hair.

I also think that sealing can be one of theose things that can be done on a "As needed" basis.

I don't seal, I tried it but it doesn't work for my hair.
Click to expand...

completely agree with this. try it both ways and see what works. sometimes i seal, sometimes i don't. it doesn't really make a difference for me :yep:
 
It sounds like you are using too much oil. Especially with heavier oils like castor oil, less is definitely more. Try just a dime sized amount rub it in your hands and start at the ends and see how it works for you. I moisturize and seal every 1 or 2 days with castor oil or a mixture that I made and my hair is not weighed down at all.
 
I couldnt think about not sealing my hair unless I was about to straighten it and I want minimum product as possible. But when I'm sealing my hair I'm not really thinking about swanging hair. I'm thinking about making my hair as protected as possible.
 
You could try sealing with a light silicone based serum if using oil weighs your hair down too much.
 
I don't think it is necessary but it all depends on your hair. Oil just tend to weigh my hair down so I just do without it.
 
Oils have always had negative effects on my hair, so I don't seal with them. The best thing I've used was Chi Silk Infusion (a teeny, teeny bit)... but most of the time I just go without a sealant. It hasn't seemed to hurt.
 
@cutiepiesensei, "Is sealing necessary?" is a question that can be answered by "It depends on how anal you want to be with your haircare."

A similar question would be "Is eating clean 100% organic food necessary?" Well, it'd be ideal to eat like that as it'd mean you're not introducing crazy synthetic preservatives and additives to your body that may create problems in the long run. But is it practical and does it mean that those who don't eat like this will get sick and die? Not necessarily. It depends on each person's body's resilience and how well they can afford the time and cost of eating that way.

Similarly, sealing protects your hair's ends from losing moisture and would be a good thing to do because your ends are the first place to lose moisture. Even for people with perfect strands with no tears in the cuticle along the length, the ends are like the open ends of cylinders and so lose moisture easily. If you don't want to or can't seal your ends, then protective styling so your ends are buried away from the drying air is the next best thing. If you don't do either, you will still retain some of the length you gain as long as you're doing everything else right by your hair including dusting regularly so splits don't grow so big as to cause breakage...only your retention will not be optimum. But hey, you win some, you lose some.

So just like you cannot be perfect in all other areas of your life, you shouldn't beat yourself up if you can't seal. But if you can, you should. Oils aren't the only way to seal ends. (I hate oils myself.) Many people use grease, Vaseline...even a serum (if you like cones) can provide a good seal to your ends. Otherwise, just use your moisturizer and PS. Wanakee who was a devoted sealer used a product that was very much like Vaseline called Constant Care for Ends and I don't need to tell you how well that worked for her.

I personally don't seal nor do I PS but that's coz I'm lazy and I'm not in a rush to get to any length. So yes, my retention isn't as good as it could be, but I'm fine with that.
 
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Its not an all or nothing thing.

My hair is very fine too and it just feels so GREASY easily.

I got a routine down where I heavily seal with shea after a wash/condition while it's still moist. Then again with my tea leavin-in and shea if it feels dry 2 or 3 days later (always at night so it absorbs by the time I get up). I do put literally 3 or 4 drops of aragon oil nightly for shine and softness. That's a tiny amount and it's not significant as far as greasiness.

By the next 3 days, it's wash day again and I start all over.

So, it doesnt need to be done every day/night. Find a routine that works for you.
 
For me it is.

My hair is natural, BSL, porous, medium to fine. I usually moisturize and seal with a light oil nightly before I baggy my hair. Lately I've been "sealing" with a leave-in that has oil in it to cut down the chance of being greasy. I've been wearing my hair out more lately (gotta love dating :love:) so I have to take extra care of it.

Like others have said, it really depends on your hair. Try it and see if it works. It may not work now, but it may in the future as your hair gets longer, seasons change, etc.
 
Nonie said:
@cutiepiesensei, "Is sealing necessary?" is a question that can be answered by "It depends on how anal you want to be with your haircare."

A similar question would be "Is eating clean 100% organic food necessary?" Well, it'd be ideal to eat like that as it'd mean you're not introducing crazy synthetic preservatives and additives to your body that may create problems in the long run. But is it practical and does it mean that those who don't eat like this will get sick and die? Not necessarily. It depends on each person's body's resilience and how well they can afford the time and cost of eating that way.

Similarly, sealing protects your hair's ends from losing moisture and would be a good thing to do because your ends are the first place to lose moisture. Even for people with perfect strands with no tears in the cuticle along the length, the ends are like the open ends of cylinders and so lose moisture easily. If you don't want to or can't seal your ends, then protective styling so your ends are buried away from the drying air is the next best thing. If you don't do either, you will still retain some of the length you gain as long as you're doing everything else right by your hair including dusting regularly so splits don't grow so big as to cause breakage...only your retention will not be optimum. But hey, you win some, you lose some.

So just like you cannot be perfect in all other areas of your life, you shouldn't beat yourself up if you can't seal. But if you can, you should. Oils aren't the only way to seal ends. (I hate oils myself.) Many people use grease, Vaseline...even a serum (if you like cones) can provide a good seal to your ends. Otherwise, just use your moisturizer and PS. Wanakee who was a devoted sealer used a product that was very much like Vaseline called Constant Care for Ends and I don't need to tell you how well that worked for her.

I personally don't seal nor do I PS but that's coz I'm lazy and I'm not in a rush to get to any length. So yes, my retention isn't as good as it could be, but I'm fine with that.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Thanks to everyone else too! (I should probably just hit that thanks button lol). Well, tonight I'm trying to seal with some Chi Silk Infusion, so I'll see how it is when I wake up. I haven't really been wearing my hair down, most of the time it is in a bun or claw clip. I might wear it down occasionally, but I've been trying to do it a lot less (like maybe once or twice a week). I'm just really trying my best to learn what works for me, so it's just hard going through so much trial and error lol. Also, it doesn't help that I'm impatient lol. While I'm happy I've gotten significantly less breakage, it's still there somewhat - maybe 3-4 broken hairs a night, and already I have become impatient with my growth even though I just started. I find myself looking at other women's hair and mine would hurry and get just as long lol. Hopefully I can find what works for me relatively quickly :ohwell:
 
I've been wondering about this. Sometimes sealing works for me and sometimes it doesn't. I think instead of applying oils to the entire length of my hair, I will apply it just to the very ends. And I'll dip my finger in the mixture once.
 
I actually just eliminated all oils from my hair. None of the products I use contain oil and my hair has never retained moisture better. I don't use cones or sulfates either. I'm natural and co wash 1x daily and moisturize 2x daily.

Best advice is to listen to your hair. It will take trial and error but you'll figure out what's best for u eventually.
 
I only seal with oil before air drying. When my hair has been straightened, I moisturize and KIM.
 
KurlyNinja said:
I couldnt think about not sealing my hair unless I was about to straighten it and I want minimum product as possible. But when I'm sealing my hair I'm not really thinking about swanging hair. I'm thinking about making my hair as protected as possible.
Click to expand...

This! Sealing is neccessary for me and it works. BUt then again, my hair isnt swagin when I am doing it. My hair is always in a PS.
 
I seal with something heavy when my hair is curly. With straight hair I use argan oil. I usually seal every 2-3 days.

Sealing is absolutely necessary when my hair is curly to prevent SSKs. It's not as big of a deal with straight hair, but I do it anyway.

Sent from my HTC Evo
 
When my hair is at it's healthiest it's kind of low porosity, so sealing with oil becomes counter productive. Also I think sealing helps some people more in the Winter when the air is so dry.
 
I have to seal my hair. It's very porous and it will easily break if it's not moisturized well enough. Without sealing, my hair will dry out halfway through the day.
 
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