What is moisture?? im confused

[coolsista-paris]

up to now ive been moistirizing my hair with my vaporiser. i put WATER, glycerin, sweet almond oil.

Ive seen some people say they moisturize their hair with shea butter.

But i thought that moisture had to have a water base? Am i wrong?

What can we use to moisturize?

 

[halee_J]

You are right, anything water based or water just by itself is moisturizing. So products with water as the first or second ingredient are good.

Moisturizing is adding water to the hair. Water is added in the form of conditioners and leave-ins, because the other ingredients help water enter the hair fiber deeper and last longer in the fiber than water by itself. Glycerin acts as a moisturizer because it attracts water to itself from the air.

Oils and butters do not add moisture, the simply seal in what ever moisture is already in the hair shaft. IMHO people may sometimes say it moisturizes because it locks in moisture longer than other oils/butters.

 

[coolsista-paris]

thanks a lot! i may continue using my mixture but im gonna also test s- curl drip activator to see if its better

 

[virtuenow]

Water based products and water itself completely dry out my hair...so I'm not sure why they say water is moisturizing. Not for me at least. So for me, shea butter, mango butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil is the most moisturizing and softening. I go by how something makes my hair feel, not what the "definition" of moisture is supposedly. I am experimenting w/the thick leave in conditioners that are water based. But we will see.

 

[Curly Lee]

you should go to kimmaytubes channel on youtube. she gives a really good definition of moisture and the structure of hair.

 

[Nonie]

Water based products and water itself completely dry out my hair...so I'm not sure why they say water is moisturizing. Not for me at least. So for me, shea butter, mango butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil is the most moisturizing and softening. I go by how something makes my hair feel, not what the "definition" of moisture is supposedly. I am experimenting w/the thick leave in conditioners that are water based. But we will see.

Water alone dries your hair because it evaporates. It's for this very reason I do not use water-based face moisturizers coz they leave skin drier than ever and lined. (Since I started using oil-based moisturizer, my skin looks so much better.)

For a moisturizer to be a good moisturizer, it has to have something else that keeps the moisture on your hair. S Curl has glycerin which keeps the moisture drawn into itself so that the hair stays moist. Msa used to use water to moisturize and then use Castor oil to seal it in. I have also found that my hands look less wrinkled if I apply Vaseline after washing them. That seals in the moisture. When I use lotions or creams with water in them, my hands look good on application then look horrible later.

So if you use a water-based moisturizer, it has to have something in it to keep the water from evaporating otherwise that will leave your hair uber dry.

 

[LaidBak]

I read something that made it very clear to me.
'Moisture' is water.
A 'moisturizer' is anything that holds in or attracts water.
So you can moisturize with shea butter (or whatever) if your hair is already wet.

 

[Celestial]

Water based products and water itself completely dry out my hair...so I'm not sure why they say water is moisturizing. Not for me at least. So for me, shea butter, mango butter, coconut oil and jojoba oil is the most moisturizing and softening. I go by how something makes my hair feel, not what the "definition" of moisture is supposedly. I am experimenting w/the thick leave in conditioners that are water based. But we will see.

You made an excellent point. People keep forgetting it depends upon how porous (open) your hair is. Water alone cannot just moisturize especially if you have very open pores (hair). My hair needs water based products with polypetides. Heavy cream and greasy products dries out my hair because it actually blocks moisture from entering. Most black people would need water with a penetrating oil (or oils). Others can use grease and water or mineral oil or heavy butters. I know from experience that the scalp almost never need anything.

 

[coolsista-paris]

ladies you've given good answers. Im getting it now..

Sometimes i moisurize my hair with my mixture but in the day the roots feel dry. I think i didnt put enough glycerin. The best moisturizer i made alone was by adding aloe vera gel. it was good.

maybe the other reason i feel it dry is because i like feeling it a bit wet, not soaked but that feeling that there is something in the hair keeping it moisturized.

 

[belldandy]

your moisturizing mix sounds very good.

 

[Nonie]

ladies you've given good answers. Im getting it now..

Sometimes i moisurize my hair with my mixture but in the day the roots feel dry. I think i didnt put enough glycerin. The best moisturizer i made alone was by adding aloe vera gel. it was good.

maybe the other reason i feel it dry is because i like feeling it a bit wet, not soaked but that feeling that there is something in the hair keeping it moisturized.

Another thing to remember is glycerin can make hair dry if you are living in a very dry environment. Since it draws moisture into itself, if the air around you is dry, then it will take the moisture out of your hair into itself. That's why glycerin keeps hair feeling great in humid areas as it continues to draw moisture from the air into itself and hence the hair stays surrounded by moisture.

I don't know if S Curl just has such a good mix or what, coz in dry-a$$ Arizona, it kept my mom's hair very moisturized, just as it does mine in not-so-dry Hogwarts. I've never tried to create my own glycerin mix. I prefer to leave that to the pros.

 

[coolsista-paris]

your moisturizing mix sounds very good.

yeah its great when i dose it correctly! lol

i do it without measuring so i cant get it exactly the same as before. i try it on my hand, see if the drop stays on my hand then i know there's enough oil and glycerin. And the shine of the drop too lol.

So once again for me: water, glycerin,sweet almond oil + aloe vera gel .