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Monday, May 14, 2007

Hot Oil Treatment

I discovered the best and cheapest way to do my own oil treatment last night. I have very kinky, curly hair that gets very dry on the ends. I have been trying for years to grow it out, but once I gets to my shoulders, it frizzes and breaks. The stylists said my hair was too dry, and that curls suck up moisture more than straight hair. So I have been trying to find a way to keep the hair from drying out so that it will get longer.

Many of the products on the market are just too harsh. Some of the leave-in conditioners I tried made things worse. So I started looking for natural products, which makes sense if you are doing so in the food department anyway! I had bought some videos to teach myself how to put in cornrows, and the website offered natural hair oil called Queen Khadijah's. I liked it because it came in a big bottle (that very popular hot oil treatment company gives you a tiny little tube, and if you have length or thickness, you'll need several! $$$$$) and the ingredients are natural oils and vitamin E. This oil can also be used as a massage oil, and I liked that idea since it meant is was sensitive enough for the skin (that expensive oil company I mentioned earlier has a WARNING on the box that you must wash the oil out as soon as the time limit is up or you will be taking more out of your hair! What if you can't get it all out in 3 seconds? It sounded too worrisome and complicated for me).

Start by putting the oil bottle in a cup of warm water. That heats it nicely! So I soaked my hair with the oil. Now some people use plastic wrap to keep in the heat. I am not coordinated enough for that. I've tried it before. Instead, i used a plastic grocery bag. Now make sure you use a white bag, or you'll end up with a blue neck. I just wrapped the bag around starting in back, and I pinned It on top with a clothes pin. Talk about hillbilly! My husband came home and said "Honey, you have a bag on your head". And I said "I know". And he said "It's held there by a clothes pin". And I said "I know. Is it sexy?". And he seemed afraid to answer that. So, I'm letting the oil and my body heat soak into the hair. A little bit of the oil dripped down the nape of my neck (wear an old towel) which I just rubbed into my upper arms where I got a little too much sun. It felt and smelled really nice. Very relaxing. After and hour, I washed and conditioned my hair, then put a very small amount of the oil in my hands, rubbed them together, and spread it through my hair starting at the ends. Voila! (I took French in high school and love it, but I read it much easier than speaking it because I can't hear people that fast! They need those little cartoon balloons above their heads! BTW, Does anyone know how to make the accent marks with a computer??)

I guess we'll see if this plan helps over time. I would love to have hair to my waist!

2 comments:

runningtothecross said...

Cool!!! You can also buy flax oil gel caps and put a little flax oil on your fingertips and put it on the ends of your hair in between hot oil treatments. That can stay in until you wash it. It has worked wonders for my daughters' hair & mine.

You can even take the flax oil gel caps as a supplement & it helps you from the inside out!!! (That's what I do!!!)

Anyway, how exciting! I am trying to grow my hair down to my waist, as well. But it breaks too, not because it is kinky curly either. I think it has something to do with all the pregnancies. I need to remember to use flax oil on my hair.

Blessings!
Heather

Anonymous said...

I love this blog!!! I have put in a new category for healthy living and have put you in that ;). As my hair is 'older' (grays in there) I will look into using some 'natural' softeners like this ;). Like the new template choice!