Substance&Style said:
hey KK,
what do you use to in place of oil sheen? i am fine too and i have the same EXACT problem and i hate it because i love oils. i was natural prior to getting a virgin relaxer in april '06, now that i am relaxed, i cannot use oil and my hair still look decent :-(
it looks terribly weighed down!
Well in the past, when I planned to wear my hair down, I just did NOT use any oils in it, period. That meant nothing on my scalp.... no oil sheen.... nothing. Once the stylist had taken the rollers out and blown my roots out, I wouldnt let her do the final step, which is to spray it with sheen. She always looked all confused and what not, but I know MY hair, and oils dont work for me. Either way, because I washed my hair once a week, it was fine with no oils..... my scalp naturally produced oils on its own, so by Day 3 or whatever it was no longer as bouncy and oil-free. By the time the week came to an end, it was looking slightly limp and oily anyway, which signified to me that it was time to get it washed. The only problem is that my ends would be rather dry, which couldnt have been good for them.
Fast-forwarding ahead...... this is moot since joining LHCF, and now that I wear protective styles nearly every day. Today I use a whole lot of oil (ie. MTG, essential oils, water-based moisturizers, etc.) But its fine, since I bun my hair most days. However, when I first leave the salon, I walk out with it down and I allow myself to enjoy wearing it down for the next few hours.... so I still refuse to let them put any oils in it when they're done. I prefer to put all my own oils in it..... and once Ive arrived home and am ready to bun it, I already know that I just wont be wearing my hair down at all for the rest of that week.
So my situation is kind of unique, in that its "all or none" for me. Im not saying that you should do the same. If you are one who enjoys wearing ure hair down.... and feels like its just too dry with nothing at all.... perhaps you can just find a REALLY light oil (ie, Kemi Oil or KeraCare Essential Oils) and just use it very sparingly. If you dont comb it thru your hair or wrap it, hopefully it wont travel through the length of your hair or weigh it down.
I know that explanation was a tad long and somewhat convoluted.... i hope some of it helped!