Moisture Madness-Switching It Up & Winning the Winter Dryness Battle!

[BoaterGirlKim]

Winter hasn't even arrived yet but these cool temps are already wreaking havoc on my hair - many of my staples have just quit on me, and new products seem to work for a week then quit! When my hair first went sand paper dry, I went on a no sulfate/mineral oil/cone reggie but my hair still felt like straw. Today I surveyed my arsenal to try to switch it up and rotate products, so today I came up with this combo:

- Shampoo with Cream of Nature Kiwi and Citrus Moisturizing (sulfates and all, but without prepooing).
- Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask for 5 mins in the shower
- Motions Oil Moisturizer Silk Protein Conditioner for overnight DC which I'm doing now (ditched it recently cuz of mineral oil).

I'll skip YTCucumbers leave-in conditioner once I rinse the DC and go straight to Taliah Waajid's Bodifying Mist moisturizer.

Can you tell I'm on a moisture mission? LOL The CON and Motions are staples but I usually never use a sulfate poo without prepooing (lately my prepoo concoction hasn't left my hair soft like before). The NTM Recovery was just so-so on my hair before but today my hair was like, mmmmmm! after the poo. My hair felt immediately soft after the poo and extra soft after the rinsing the NTM. Now I'm overnight DCing with Motions. I think I might have found a remedy with this combo, esp. the NTM mask. Anybody else finding success against dryness switching up reggie/products? What are you doing/using differently? Need ideas in case my latest experiment proves to be a fleeting success!

 

[pringe]

Ok I've just stumbled upon some new discoveries and I think I'll be using these for the rest of the wintertime!

- I'm using a leave in, castor oil and aloe vera mix as a complete leave in.

- Of course still doing protective styling with sealing and tucking ends up and away.

- DC with a mix of fav conditioner, adding coconut milk, castor oil and a little argan oil for fragrance.


***--I almost forgot to add this. I stumbled across this method to dC on YT so I'll share it. I coat my flat iron with aluminum foil, put it on the LOWEST setting possible and when I'm applying my DC, I section my hair and run the flat iron over each section for no more than 3 passes. Then i braid/twist and put my shower cap on n sit for an hour. Smooth, silky hair. I think i saw this on MopTopMaven's channel and I must say this has become another staple for me during this winter!
That's about it. I'm still washing and conditioning the same. I'm trying to put my hair up and away for winter with different styles and get it out of my face and hands. Hope that helps.

 

[BoaterGirlKim]

Thanks Pringe! My hair still feels dry after my DC, leave-in and sealing with Kemi Oyl so I'm open to all suggestions! I was just thinking today that I need to get some aloe vera - I'm thinking of making my own version of KimmayTube's leave-in but I'm almost ready to just put the aloe vera straight on my hair to get rid of this dryness LOL Right now I'm baggying (another new thing for me - I only use baggies to overnight DC, but this evening I re-moisturized with Taliah Waajid Mist and spring water from my spray bottle then slapped a bag on). I'm thinking of treating my hair to the Huetiful Hair Steamer for my b-day this month.

Question: How do you get the aluminum foil to stay in the flat iron without slipping off? Also, which flat iron do you use? My daughter is driving me crazy with all her flat ironing so I figure I better at least get her a good one - leaning towards FHI which seems to get better reviews than CHI, but SEDU also seems good. Thanks for responding!

 

[IDareT'sHair]

I think we all (those of us that live in colder climates) are looking to Up our Moisture Game.

I am using more Hair Creams/Lotions, PS'ing and will now incorporate Hot Oil Treatments (HOTS) once the cold really sets in. I've also been baggying for an hour or two in the evening(s) and sealing with oil. And definitely DC'ing on a weekly basis. I use my Steamer, but I've also used my Heat Cap recently too.

We are all re-evaluating how we deal with the upcoming winter months and what adjustments we'll make in to Regimens.

Will be watching this Thread.

 

[darlingdiva]

OP, do you use Roux Porosity control or do apple cider vinegar rinses? Maybe your cuticles are raised & you need to make them lie down.

 

[BoaterGirlKim]

Darling Diva, I hadn't thought about porosity but I'm sure I'm having a cuticle issue which is why I want to go aloe vera crazy LOL. I'll research reviews on it but I'm already half sold. Appreciate the suggestion!

 

[BoaterGirlKim]

Thanks IDare - I'm going to incorporate hot oil treatments, too. Haven't done them in the past because "hot oil treatment" sounds like something old fashioned that my grandmother used to do (love her and my aunties but none of the women in my family have much hair LOL). I don't want to experiment with products right now (at the start of my HHJ I used Queen Helene's Jojoba hot oil treatment as a regular oil sealer cuz I was having trouble finding pure jojoba - dryness disaster!) so I'll do my HOTs with my tried and true Kemi Oyl. Thanks!

 

[southerncitygirl]

a buy a humidifier, i plan on buying one too it will help with the dryness

 

[Minty]

I agree with IDTH, esp the HOTS (I"m doing it as a pre-treat w/the steamer) & Darling Diva but in the sense that you should clarify your hair first, and use a ACV rinse. If there is any type of build up, no matter what you put on your hair, it will make it worse.

And be careful using castor oil on already chronically dry hair. ex. I can only use it in conjunction with another product (no more than 25%) because the heaviness of the oil (on the hair length) contributes to breakage since it is so thick and it by itself will not create an environment to attract/hold moisture. Some can use it successfully - but you will have to learn your tolerance for it.

Is it possible that you've done something different in other areas? Sometimes it will not become a problem immediately, but it will show up after some time (i.e. drop in water consumption, vitamins, highly active - sweat left on the hair,etc.)

just something to consider.

 

[BoaterGirlKim]

SouthernCityGirl, yep - humidifier crossed my mind, too, and I'm sure will help my ashy skin as well! LOL

HijabiFlyGirl, thank you for the advise on HOTs and castor oil. I have fine, fragile relaxed hair and oil can make it seem dry and coated a lot of times. If I even add too much EVOO to my cholesterol prepoos, my hair will feel rougher during rinse than when I just add a dollop. I tried castor oil on my hair once and it felt stiff, like sticks!! If I do a Kimmaytube leave-in mix, I'll be sure to go light on the castor oil. I read in another post where someone suggested cutting the oil quantities in half for relaxed hair with the Kimmaytube mix.

Yes, there is something different in my regimen - Optimum has changed to a "new improved salon" formula. They changed at least once in the past and I remember my hair reacting differently from the previous formulation then, too. I've used the new formula for the past 2 retouches and noted some dryness with the 1st retouch but winter has really amplified it. Besides that, I travel to Mexico to visit friends about every other month and that hard tap water leaves me like a desert no matter what I use for condition/cowash/leave-in. Usually, I can solve the problem once I return to the states but I guess with the colder temps it's been a much tougher task.

I do have to admit to co-washing too much for this time of year. I'm a daily co-washer but I'm going to scale that back to no more than twice a week during winter.

Good news: my hair feels like hair today!! I moisturized and baggied last night, lightly moisturized again this morning and kept my hair covered most of the day with a knit beret (silk bonnet on underneath). This evening my hand is actually running smoothly over my hair.

I appreciate all of your suggestions and will be incorporating things into my reggie from your advice (esp. things I haven't paid attention to before like porosity) - I'm not gonna get lax over 1 day of softness!

 

[BoaterGirlKim]

Ohh, forgot to add that I used a serum this morning before going into my bun, while my hair was damp from light moisturizing and misting with my water bottle. I read on a recent thread about winter dryness that silicones can actually be your friend during cold weather, helping to seal in moisture. I've been trying to go cone, sulfate and mineral oil free but I may have to go back to some of my old ways.