Never heard pre-poo explained...

leigh.hill

Active Member
I've never heard pre-poo explained like this (part of an email from Neno Natural):

Pre-shampoo treatment

You need an oil whose fatty acids can penetrate the hair fibre. Why?

According to The Science of Black Hair, hair swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry. This constant swelling and shrinking is called hygral fatigue; overtime it weakens the hair fibre thereby making it more vulnerable to breakage. You can avoid hygral fatigue by applying an oil that is high in saturated fatty acids and/or monounsaturated fatty acids before the shampoo. These types of fatty acids can penetrate the hair shaft so that when you wash the hair, the hair fibre doesn't swell as much and is therefore less prone to weakening from hygral fatigue.

The best oils (from the one with the highest content of saturated fats and/or monounsaturates):
Jojoba oil (100%: 98% monounsaturates, 2% saturated)
Coconut oil (97%: 6% monounsaturates, 91% saturated)
Avocado oil (88%)
Olive oil (86%)
Sweet almond oil (71%)
 
Wow, Jojoba is the highest? With all this talk about Coconut oil, I'd assume it was number one. :lol:

Surprised Castor Oil isn't on this list. I generally prepoo with coconut/olive.
 
Very interesting IDareT'sHair.

One of my first set backs was split ends due to hygral fatigue. Tore my ends up. So it can happen.

That was back when I was cowashing/wetting my hair everyday.
 
I tried to pre-poo before co-washing. Yikes my hair felt greasy. I had to end up shampooing to get the coconut oil out. I will definitely stick to pre-pooing only before shampoo. IDK what to do about co-washing. I do it 3-4 times a week after sweating/exercising.
 
Wow, Jojoba is the highest? With all this talk about Coconut oil, I'd assume it was number one. :lol:

Surprised Castor Oil isn't on this list. I generally prepoo with coconut/olive.
NaturallyATLPCH I only posted part of the email (it was long). She mentioned castor oil too, but in a different section.

Sealing in moisture

A hair fibre sliced long-ways.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are too large to penetrate hair's cuticle layer. Most of them bind to the outside of hair and stop moisture from escaping. Whilst the "pre-shampoo oils" mostly work by strengthening hair from the inside, oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids operate from outside the cuticle layer of hair.

The best oils (from the one with the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids are):

  • Castor oil (89%)
  • Flaxseed oil (73%)
  • Grapeseed oil (70%)

Here is a link to the blog, but a really great chart about oils:
https://www.nenonatural.com/hair-blog/the-best-oil-for-natural-hair-a-mega-summary
 
NaturallyATLPCH I only posted part of the email (it was long). She mentioned castor oil too, but in a different section.

Sealing in moisture

A hair fibre sliced long-ways.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids are too large to penetrate hair's cuticle layer. Most of them bind to the outside of hair and stop moisture from escaping. Whilst the "pre-shampoo oils" mostly work by strengthening hair from the inside, oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acids operate from outside the cuticle layer of hair.

The best oils (from the one with the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids are):

  • Castor oil (89%)
  • Flaxseed oil (73%)
  • Grapeseed oil (70%)

Here is a link to the blog, but a really great chart about oils:
https://www.nenonatural.com/hair-blog/the-best-oil-for-natural-hair-a-mega-summary

Ah, okay. So while castor oil isn't a penetrating oil like I thought, it is a great oil for sealing. Good info. :yep:
 
I'm sure there are other oils they didn't try... maybe because they aren't as readily accessible. I suspect there are many other oils that would help with hydral fatigue but all their benefits haven't been uncovered yet. Sapote, Babassu, and Red Palm are just a few that come to mind. Its good to know there are other options other than coconut oil cause it doesn't work for everyone.:yep:
 
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I'm sure there are other oils they didn't try... maybe because they aren't as readily accessible. I suspect there are many other oils that would help with hydral fatigue but all their benefits haven't been uncovered yet. Sapote, Babassu, and Red Palm are just a few that come to mind. Its good to know there are other options other than coconut oil cause it doesn't work for everyone.:yep:

@southerncitygirl

All of these are very nice!:lick:

*cackles thinkin' 'bout mamma usin' your evco!:lol:
 
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