NATURAL LADIES: How Do You Moisturize Your Hair When It's Dry?

[Sunshine0801]

I tried shea butter first, to me avocado is better. My hair seems to stay soft and moisturized longer with avocado butter compared to shea, and after washing it would hold a nice curly/wavy pattern in my hair.

Where do you purchase it? Is it something that can only be be bought online (I ask because I've never seen it in stores)?

 

[Nonie]

How are you able to wear your hair in its shrunken state when you plait the night before? Doesn't plaiting it stretch your hair out and reduce shrinkage? Or is it because your hair is so wet the night before when baggying it, once it dries the next day it shrinks?

Also, what styles do you wear your hair in when in its shrunken state? I have a LOT of shrinkage, and I can't imagine that I would have a lot of style options with my hair in its shrunken state. Plus, I'm guilty of loving big hair.

The SCurl is a "curl activator" so even if I didn't baggy, I think my hair would still shrink because of the wet product. What plaiting seems to do is keep the strands kinda stretched for a spell so that combing will be easy. But once I undo, the hair curls back just not as much as it would if I hadn't plaited.

Here are some pics to show you what I mean and you can see some of the styles I've worn. (BTW, I only started this in Feb after an unplanned BC left me with hair too short to do much with. That's when I discovered the wonders of SCurl and my puff was just such a joy to wear and sport. I got lots of compliments on it, and even though it's hard to see, it had a nice soft shine to it. I particularly loved that it didn't just look soft, but that it really was soft to touch and didn't leave your fingers sticky!)

In the beginning, I tried to twist my hair for the night instead of braiding and got a really tight puff the next morning. It was not very hard to manage but the way the coils were so compacted made me afraid I'd not be able to comb it. Here's how it looked:

Compare that with the next pics which are how my puff looks after baggying in plaits with SCurl. The hair is still shrunken even though I wore it in braids, but it's not as tightly curled as it is if I don't plait it. It is also very soft to touch:

Besides the pulled back puff, the only other style I wore was cornrowed front with puff out in the back. The puff in this first set of pics I believe I created after wearing twists for the night, instead of plaits - I was taking lessons on caring for hair out of braids from someone for whom twists are the way to go as an overnight styling:

I don't know if you notice how compact and thick my puff looks in those pics. On the other hand, when I plait for the night and baggy instead of twisting, the puff comes out a bit more fluffy but still shrunken. I feel very comfortable with my hair like this; no dread that it might be hard to comb and I was never let down:

I like big hair myself and can't wait for the day I will be able to wear it. What you can do if you aren't comfortable sporting a small puff, is wear a fake puff that's big. One silver lining I found in having a small puff was I didn't worry about having "grease" all over my collar or my neck and ears. I also found the styles very neat and clean looking.

Much as I hated losing my hair, I found that you can get to enjoy the journey at every stage. Believe me, once you find out what will make your hair feels as baby soft as SCurl did mine, you will have no problem coming up with styles and ways to accessorize them.

 

[Sunshine0801]

The SCurl is a "curl activator" so even if I didn't baggy, I think my hair would still shrink because of the wet product. What plaiting seems to do is keep the strands kinda stretched for a spell so that combing will be easy. But once I undo, the hair curls back just not as much as it would if I hadn't plaited.

Here are some pics to show you what I mean and you can see some of the styles I've worn. (BTW, I only started this in Feb after an unplanned BC left me with hair too short to do much with. That's when I discovered the wonders of SCurl and my puff was just such a joy to wear and sport. I got lots of compliments on it, and even though it's hard to see, it had a nice soft shine to it. I particularly loved that it didn't just look soft, but that it really was soft to touch and didn't leave your fingers sticky!)

In the beginning, I tried to twist my hair for the night instead of braiding and got a really tight puff the next morning. It was not very hard to manage but the way the coils were so compacted made me afraid I'd not be able to comb it. Here's how it looked:

Compare that with the next pics which are how my puff looks after baggying in plaits with SCurl. The hair is still shrunken even though I wore it in braids, but it's not as tightly curled as it is if I don't plait it. It is also very soft to touch:

Besides the pulled back puff, the only other style I wore was cornrowed front with puff out in the back. The puff in this first set of pics I believe I created after wearing twists for the night, instead of plaits - I was taking lessons on caring for hair out of braids from someone for whom twists are the way to go as an overnight styling:

I don't know if you notice how compact and thick my puff looks in those pics. On the other hand, when I plait for the night and baggy instead of twisting, the puff comes out a bit more fluffy but still shrunken. I feel very comfortable with my hair like this; no dread that it might be hard to comb and I was never let down:

I like big hair myself and can't wait for the day I will be able to wear it. What you can do if you aren't comfortable sporting a small puff, is wear a fake puff that's big. One silver lining I found in having a small puff was I didn't worry about having "grease" all over my collar or my neck and ears. I also found the styles very neat and clean looking.

Much as I hated losing my hair, I found that you can get to enjoy the journey at every stage. Believe me, once you find out what will make your hair feels as baby soft as SCurl did mine, you will have no problem coming up with styles and ways to accessorize them.

WOW! Those styles are absolutely GORGEOUS. They look so good!

Thank you so much for posting all those pics and breaking down how you maintain the softness of your hair in its shrunken state. Super helpful. Your hair type looks a lot like mine did the last time I saw it shrunken (it's been years). I will definitely be trying this in the future!

 

[Poohbear]

Hmmm, interesting. You don't find that your hair gets tangled when in its shrunken state?

Yes, it does get tangled in its shrunken state but I can't help that. I just let it be when I wear my hair like that... no combing or excessive manipulation. I don't wear my hair in it's shrunken state a lot (only when I'm lazy), but when I do, I keep it in two shrunken puffs and moisturize with the braid spray.

 

[justNikki]

I think I responded to someone else's post instead of yours earlier sunshine, sorry. If you like what you're using, why not just create a spritz (water + leave-in + oil) of that apply nightly? Also, like lynnb suggested, glycerin really does help your hair stay soft too.

It's not always necessary to run out and buy new stuff before evaluating what you already have. Goivanni is some good stuff, but it's not designed to work on dry hair (that's not to say that it won't). I don't know much about lacio lacio on natural hair, so, some other ladies might be able to help with that. A lot of ladies use Carefree Gold and have good results, but I would be careful to not go overboard because of the greasy factor.

My suggestion...try using what you have first in a different way so you don't waste money.

 

[scarcity21]

Oh, I don't spritz throughout the day. If I spritz, it's only before I leave the house, or if I'm trying to moisturize and seal before bed.

I'm now using Kenra MC and my hair loves it. I used it for the first time yesterday on my "out" hair (before, I only used it while my hair was in braids). I'm in the process of letting my hair dry from a rollerset so we'll see what happens in the next few days in terms of dryness.

The issue for me isn't so much finding something that dries soft temporarily. Rather, it's an issue of finding a product/routine that keeps my hair soft on day 4 or 5 after washing it that doesn't require me to re-wet my hair. My hair is always the softest the day after washing it or when it dries from a recent wash, but I'm trying to figure out how to maintain that softness througout the week.

I've never tried leave-in's you suggested. I'll look into them! Do you apply them throughout the week on dry hair and have the same moisturizing results as you would if you were to apply them on wet hair?

i have the SAME problem...scurl used to work for me when i 1st BCed but not anymore....there was a gel i used to use also when i 1st bced....TCB naturals lite activator...that gel WAS DA BOMB...too bad cant find it anymore

 

[scarcity21]

Sunshine do u use Kenra MC as a leavein?

 

[Sunshine0801]

I think I responded to someone else's post instead of yours earlier sunshine, sorry. If you like what you're using, why not just create a spritz (water + leave-in + oil) of that apply nightly? Also, like lynnb suggested, glycerin really does help your hair stay soft too.

It's not always necessary to run out and buy new stuff before evaluating what you already have. Goivanni is some good stuff, but it's not designed to work on dry hair (that's not to say that it won't). I don't know much about lacio lacio on natural hair, so, some other ladies might be able to help with that. A lot of ladies use Carefree Gold and have good results, but I would be careful to not go overboard because of the greasy factor.

My suggestion...try using what you have first in a different way so you don't waste money.

Oh, it's okay! I really appreciate your responses and trying to help me out!

The only thing about spraying nightly and braiding is that I'm a bit bored of having braidout/crinkly hair everyday. Sometimes I want to wear a big fro, which for me (since my hair is on the longer side) means avoiding braidouts or twists unless I want a floppy fro. Maybe I'll try putting in less braids (like 2 or 3) so the braidout won't be as defined, and I can still have soft hair while not having a braidout.

I have no idea how the Giovanni will work on dry hair. I'll see how my hair looks in a couple of days, and if I need more moisture, I'll try that either by itself or in a spritz.

 

[Bubblingbrownshuga]

Karen's Body Beautiful, Baby!!!

 

[Sunshine0801]

Sunshine do u use Kenra MC as a leavein?

No, I haven't tried it as a leave in yet, but maybe I should? Have you?

 

[Sunshine0801]

Karen's Body Beautiful, Baby!!!

Is there any particular product you would recommend?

 

[stargazer613]

Karen's Body Beautiful, Baby!!!

Co-signing!!! The Hair Milk is wonderful! all natural ingredients and you can choose your own scent if you like.

 

[scarcity21]

No, I haven't tried it as a leave in yet, but maybe I should? Have you?

i havent tried it as a leave in either

 

[glamazon386]

I used to have this problem too. Now I usually wash and immediately after washing I put product on damp hair...if its too wet or too dry it wont absorb properly. After a few days I spray with some kind of leave in damage spray like Dove or Pantene and then apply some creme over it. It usually works for me. The more product you use the dryer your hair will be so you have to remeber to be lighthanded too.

I agree with this too. If I use too much product my hair feels dry and fuzzy. And it starts to look dull and dry.