Hot Oil Treatments

     Hot Oil Treatments.. who doesn't remember getting those as a young child, I certainly do. My mother used to do so many things to my hair and "Pink" hot oil treatment once a month was one of them.  

     My hair is naturally curly, not as curly as my daughter's hair but one thing we all share is that "curly hair" is prone to get frizzy and/or dry.   The use of many chemicals and/or styling tools (especially heat) can damaged our curly strands even more.  

    There are a few things that we can do in order to prevent our hair from drying and breaking: 

Pre-Poos: (although our kids think this step has to do with a bowel movement, I can assure you it is not!); Pre-poo is just a shorter term for Pre-Shampoo.  

Deep Conditioning:  Deep conditioning at least every other week gives your curly strands everything that it needs to feel revitalize.  

     After every protective style or whenever I flat iron my daughter's hair I make sure I follow with a good deep conditioner, let it sit for thirty or forty five minutes.

Hot Oil Treatments: It gives your curly strands the very much needed shine, doing this will prevent any breakage and can also aid your scalp with any issues.  

NOTE:  You can use a Hot Oil Treatment as your "Pre-Poo" step.  If you can do a hot oil treatments at least every other week or once a month, trust me, your curls will thank you.     

While you can purchase many of the "Hot Oil Treatments" at your local stores, please keep in mind that you can make your own mix at home by using the very same oils you use when styling your hair. 

What do we use: 

*Olive Oil or Coconut Oil 

*Applicator

*Plastic Shower Cap

NOTE:  You don't have to limit yourself to just one oil.  Try several oils separately or create a blend of your own.  Make notes on how your hair feels after each treatment.  This will help you determined which oil or oil blend helps your hair the most.  

Oils that can be used:

Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Castor Oil, Joboba Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Sesame Oil, Rosemary Oil and so many others. 

How Do I apply it:

To do my son's hair is pretty easy, I just squeeze the warm oil all over the hair and massage the scalp with your fingers for a few minutes, then quickly place the shower cap and let it sit for thirty minutes; 

Since my daughter's hair is very long, I have to section her hair first, then apply the oil to each section until her entire head is coated, then I massage her scalp with my fingers (she loves this part); then I apply the shower cap and let it sit for 45 minutes. 

Rinse the hair out, shampoo and condition the hair like you  usually would, and them BLAM ! your DONE!! 

Hot Oil treatments can be done weekly if you have the time, they can be done every other week but it should be done at least once monthly.  

I believe that as long as you add at least one treatment your or your little one's regimen will be fine.  Hot Oil Treatments done in combination with Deep Conditioners can and will prevent dryness, breakage and ultimately will strengthen your tresses. 

Fans' Favorites:

Korrie owner of Korrie's Korner shares one her favorites: "Coconut Oil, Argan Oil and Peppermint Oil as my pre-poo, it gives a nice tingly sensation for my scalp" 

Do you buy your treatment or do you prefer a DIY?? Which one is your favorite?

Spring Break Hair Style

          Spring Break has come and gone for us.  For some of you spring break has not arrived yet and for others, spring break will not be happening due to the snow storms we've experienced during this winter. 

Since my children were going to be spending a few days with Grandmother and Papa, I needed a style that is easy to maintain.  It has been a long time since Grandmother had to take care of a little girl's hair and she has always expressed how she wouldn't be able to style my daughter's hair. 

With that in mind, I decided to do a very simple style that could easily me modified and easy to maintain.  Box Braids & Cornrows... how easy is that?

The last time I styled the front section of her hair in cornrows was a few weeks ago.  The cornrows were styled from the hair line towards the back.  

Therefore, I decided to change the directions of the cornrows in order to give her hair line a break.  

Remember it is not healthy to style the hair in the same direction all the time.  

  

I was glad to see that her hair lasted.

For Saturday's festivities, I spritz water all over her scalp and braids; 
I applied our oil mix to every row very carefully; 
Then I applied Bee Mine Curly Butter;
I rubbed Bee Mine Curly Butter on my hands and then applied carefully to each braid and concentrated on her ends; 
I re-did braids (only to those that were coming lose) and
Then finger coiled the very end of each braid.  (I did not had to use the rubber bands at the end of the braid to secure it because the braids)

She insisted on wearing a flower therefore I did a "Half Pony Tail".. I "rope twisted" the front cornrows and gathered them at the back of her head by using one of our "ouchless elastic band" and clipped the flower on the top.   

Now, her braids are all ready to face another week!

Cornrows & Pony Tail Style

Our Most Popular Style

Products Used: 

Water- in a Spray Bottle;

Bee Mine Curly Butter;

Eco Styler Gel with Argan Oil

Accessories: 

12 Favorite Color of Beads

1 cloth covered elastic

6 Rubber bands (soaked in oil to prevent any breakage- 

these rubber bands snap after a day or so, sometimes I don't replace them) 

Tools Used: 

Rat Tail Comb;

Wide Tooth Comb

Hair Shedding or Breakage?

How Much Should Her Hair Shed?

I recently posted a picture on our Facebook Wall which was an image of my daughter's shedded strands after a very long washing and detangling session. 

When I saw the amount of hair in the center of my palm, I realized that the amount was a bit more than usual.  We often hear the words: “Curly hair is actually more likely to shed than straight hair."  I cannot compare the amount of hair I shed with my daughter's mainly because my shedding depends on the season.  

I began to wonder, "How much is too much?" "Is she losing hair or shedding hair?" Among a thousand other questions came to mind, is this  shedding or breakage? Is she low in the vitamin department? Or is it something more than that?"

With so many questions and not enough answers, I panicked.  I began to look into old photos to compare the amount of hair and even went as far as to bring my friend, Korrie into the mix.   

LAST SESSION

YESTERDAY'S SESSION

The very first hair rule that was ingrained in my brain by mother dearest, was "healthy hair is supposed to shed from 50 to 100 strands a day".  Although I use this as a rule, it may or may not be accurate depending on the individual.

But with that rule in mind it is important to always take the time to double check the strands to determined whether the strands has naturally fallen from the scalp or if it is in fact breakage. 

SHEDDING:

This is a natural process of the hair and it happens when the hair strands falls from the scalp and you will be able to see a "white" tinny little ball at the end. 

BREAKAGE:

Breakage happens when using the wrong tools or the wrong technique among other reasons.  But you will be able to determine it by the look and even by the length of the strand, which leads to the next point;

Take your length in consideration when examining your tresses:  What I mean by this is that a "shedded" strand is longer because it has naturally fallen from the scalp, while "broken" strand is a shorter than the regular length of the hair because it has broken at a certain point.  

Also keep the following in mind: 

"The longer you go without detangling the hair, the more hair you will see"- 

After putting my thinking cap on, I realized, that the last time I truly detangle my daughter's hair was almost four (4) weeks ago, so it made perfect sense for her to shed more hair during this session than the last.   I usually keep her hair in protective styles that last anywhere from one week to 4 weeks.  

"The longer and curlier the hair, the bigger the amount  hair will be shed"

Women with longer hair may think they are shedding more because of the amount of hair they, see but this is because the mass of hair is simply bigger. 

Now, if you exhibit sudden changes and the amount of shedding increases drastically please contact your physician.  There are many other reasons why this happens, from lack of vitamins (or too much of them), certain prescriptions can altered your body and hormone levels leading to excessive loss of hair.  But all of these have to be addresses by a physician.

With that being said, remember that curly hair is extremely delicate and it is important that you take your time detangling the hair.  Proper moisture can also help prevent the hair from becoming dry and breaking. 

Happy Styling! J