Le Sigh. The last time we talked about this dry hair problem I thought we had settled it ***inserts angry face**.  I started here with determining the porosity of my hair (low), then I went on to determine that the LOC method was the best moisturizing technique for my type of hair.  Case closed right? Wrong.  A lot has changed about my hair since then.  I got my hair colored in April of 2013 and I must admit I began my moisturizing and conditioning attempts zealously, but I am a little ashamed to admit that I became lazy. I had box braids installed in June 2013 for 2.5 months and became comfortable with not doing much to my hair. It literally just dawned on me (right before creating this post lol) that I have not been considering the fact that my hair is colored and that it needs more attention.  I have been floating around haphazardly moisturizing only on co-wash day and expecting some type of moisture miracle.  Crazy right? 

 After giving myself a firm slap  on the hand for neglecting my tresses, I began to research again about moisturizing techniques for natural hair. I stumbled upon a video from Naptural85 about hot oil treatments and decided to give it a try.  I deviated slightly from Naptural85's recipe.

Hot Oil Treatment:
Grapeseed Oil
Olive Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Castor Oil
Jojoba Oil
Vitamin E Oil

Honestly, I just freestyled the amounts of oils based on my hair type.  I made the majority of my hot oil treatment with the lighter oils because I have low porosity hair (2 ounces jojoba oil, 2 ounces olive oil). I used about 0.5 ounces of the vitamin E oil and 1 ounce each of the remaining oils.  I mixed it all in a bowl with my fingers.  I started with dry hair. Then I massaged the oil from root to tip through my hair, section by section.   After I had oiled each section, I smoothed the oil throughout all the sections collectively.  I also massaged my scalp with the oil. This stimulates the scalp and feels great ; ).  I then put a plastic processing cap on my head.  If you have big hair like mine, you can either use two caps or twist your hair in large sections to make it fit under the cap.  I then sat under a hooded dryer for 30 minutes.   The oil that I had left,  I put in a spray bottle and filled it with water.  This will be my daily moisture mist.

After the dryer, wash and condition your hair as normal.  I used Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat shampoo and Aubrey Organics GPB conditioner.  Curlfriends...let me tell you. My hair was so soft and virtually detangled before I ever put a comb to it or did the LOC method.  I am VERY PLEASED with this treatment. I followed this with the LOC (liquid, oil, cream) method using Giovanni Direct Leave-in/Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-in mixed, the hot oil treatment moisture mist, and Camille Rose Curlade Moisture Butter. I am going to be sure to do this once a month, along with deep conditioning once every week to week and a half. I am anxious to see if this improves the dryness of my hair.

  If you decide to try this treatment, please let me know.  Either email me the pics at [email protected] or tag them on instagram or twitter with #bmycurlfriend.  Good luck!!

 

There's nothing worse than being short on time right before you have somewhere to be.  Natural hairstyles require time.  You're not going to get a twist out done in under an hour.  (If you can, please show me how! lol).  With that being said, it is always good to have some quick, but cute styles under your belt for those times when you still want to look want to make your hair look nice, but as quickly as possible. Check out the video tutorial for this quick freaux-hawk done on a wash and go.  After co-washing my hair, this style took under 15 minutes to do!!

Forever on a quest for the perfect moisturizing regimen for my low porosity hair, I decided to try the LOC method.  LOC is an acronym for liquid, oil and  cream.  You start your hair off with water or a liquid based leave-in conditioner, followed by an oil and finally a cream.  The concept is that the oil will seal in the water (or water based leave-in conditioner) and the cream will seal in the oil into your strands. After repeated usage of this method, you should be left with well moisturized strands. Many naturalistas swear by this method and depending on your hair type you may experience the same success. Below is a list of what products I used for the LOC method.

     L-Giovanni Direct Leave-In Conditioner
     O- Desert Essence Jojoba oil
     C-Eden Bodyworks Jojoba Monoi Hair Milk

 I started by treating my hair that had been rinsed with warm water with a baking soda/water mix to open my cuticles. I dried my hair using the plopping method.  I followed this with deep conditioning with Shea Butter Intense Moisture Masque. I wrapped a towel around my hair and allowed  this to sit on my hair for 30 minutes.  After rinsing my hair with cool water to seal my cuticles, I sprayed it with an aloe vera juice/water mix to balance my hair's pH from the alkaline baking soda mixture.  After detangling, I was ready to begin the LOC method.

 I sectioned my hair into 4 and worked a quarter sized amount of Giovanni Direct Leave-In into one section from root to tip.  I rubbed a few drops of jojoba oil into my palm and rubbed it together.  I also applied it to the section from root to tip.  Finally, I rubbed a quarter size amount of the Eden Bodyworks hair milk into my hand and worked it through the section from root to tip.  Repeat this until you have moisturized all sections.

Verdict so far:  My hair was noticeably shinier and softer.  I will most definitely be trying this method again to see what the long term results are.  I will keep you posted!

One of my worst experiences with being natural has been adding moisturizers and oils to my hair, only for it to look dry by the end of the day. Nobody likes a dry fro, twist out, wash and go, etc. I wondered why my hair did not seem to be retaining moisture no matter how much I added to it.  After some research, I stumbled upon the term porosity.  
     Porosity  is your hair's ability to absorb and hold on to moisture. Your hair can be high, low or normal porosity.  How do you figure out your hair's porosity?  It's simple:

1. Grab a glass and fill it with room temperature water
2. Find some of your shed hairs on a comb or brush, not a broken one (a shed hair will have a white bulb on the end)
3.  Clean the hairs with a little shampoo 
4.  Drop the hairs into the water
    
      Low Porosity-hairs will stay and float on the top
      High Porosity-hairs will sink to the bottom
      Normal Porosity-hairs will slowly and gradually sink to the bottom.