Natural Boar Bristle Brush

Don't you just love smooth hair?! Well I definately do and I found a cool tip you could use into your daily hair regimen! Try using a natural soft boar-bristle brush that has flexible bristles. A boar bristle brush will help give your hair a healthy shine by distributing the natural oils through the hair and stimulate the scalp. The bristles are MUCH softer and more flexible than those found on a nylon brush. It also helps eliminate split ends and other damage.

When looking for your brush make sure it says "Pure Boar Bristles" or "Natural Boar Bristles". You can find them at Sally Beauty Supply ($7) or Walmart ($14). I know, since when is Walmart more expensive then Sally's? LOL .

I have the Xtra Soft Wooden Boar Bristle Brush. I just bought it from Sally's and I LOVE IT. I normally use it after I have moisturized and sealed my hair. I have smooth touchable hair all day long. You'll wanna find reasons to brush you hair despite all the bad rep you hear.

Glycerin + Water = Excellent for New Growth

Normally when I stretch my relaxers I spray S Curl No Drip into my scalp to soften my new growth. Well this time around I ran out so I thought to myself "whats the best alternative?.....GLYCERIN!!" Glycerin is also found in S Curl No Drip, its like the 2nd or 3rd ingredient.

Glycerin is known to improve moisture and smoothness to your hair. It provides lubrication and acts as a humectant. A humectant draws in moisture into your hair and skin. Glycerin is also highly "hydroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air. For example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80% glycerin and 20% water.

This is what I did:

I added 4tsp of 100% pure Glycerin mixed with 5tsp of water. I applied this mixture to my roots and covered my head with a baggy for about an hour. Let me tell you, my new growth was SUPER moisturized. I never had to apply more! My hair was moist for 3 whole days and that's without sealing. Glycerin is the truth and its best when your stretching....makes things easier.

I highly recommend this to ANYONE with very dry coarse hair or if your just stretching your relaxer. Or you could purchase S-Curl No Drip Spray or Wave Nouveau Finishing Lotion (my staple) as these products are all "water/glycerin" based and provide your hair with excellent moisture.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinses

Apple Cider Vinegar rinses (ACV) are great for hair that has raised cuticles. The acidic nature of the ACV helps tighten and close those raised cuticles allowing your hair to retain more moisture.

Sometimes, I would notice that my hair would look very dry and dull because my cuticle wasn't closed and all the moisture was just leaving my hair as quickly as I was trying to put it in. After a ACV rinse, I notice that my hair holds moisture better, its smoother to the touch and has amazing shine.

Apple Cider Vinegar also stimulates hair follicles to encourage healthier hair growth. The high acidity and powerful enzymes in Apple Cider Vinegar also supports a healthy scalp.

Use 1/4 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 cups of water. Mix that up and pour it over the hair in the shower as a final rinse after deep conditioning. The rinse will help lock in all the benefits from the Deep Conditioner, into your hair, by closing the cuticles. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm/cool water.

Pros:

- stimulates hair follicles

- hair takes longer to dry (It has been said that this indicates healthier hair)

- holds moisture better

- hair is smoother since cuticles are now tighter and laying flat

- more shine

Cons:

- you may smell like vinegar if you don't use something in your hair afterward (your leave-ins should take away the smell)

- stiff, hard hair IF you don't use the right amount of ACV and water. The ACV has to be diluted.

TIP : If you suffer from porous hair try looking for shampoo's with a pH below 6. So around 4.5-5.5 range. Elasta QP Creme Conditioning Shampoo has a low ph, Joico and Roux makes a porosity control shampoo and conditioner.

♥ Sunshyne

Hairlicious Rating: (5/5) Excellent!

"Do" Moisturize Your Hair!

Kinky, coiled, or coarse African American hair needs to be moisturized on the regular. moisture provides the hair with more elasticity, it hydrates the hair shaft, helps prevent breakage & spilt ends, and of course combat the source of dryness! Whether your natural, relaxed, or have chemically processed hair, a lightweight moisturizer is needed to soften and replaced lost moisture. The amount of times you apply your water based moisturizer to your hair, strictly depends on how well your hair is able to retain moisture. It is best to moisturize the hair once or twice per day. For example, I apply my moisturizer (Wave Nouveau) 2x daily, once in the morning and once at night and then seal with an oil (Safflower oil). I find that my hair is a lot more moist overall when adding this to my daily maintenance.

A good moisturizer will not contain alcohol and protein. These ingredients tend to make the hair dry and hard. Also, look out for Mineral oil, petrolatum or lanolin! These products are not good because they don't penetrate the hair. The first ingredient must be WATER not an OIL. Some products might say Water, Purified Water or Aqua as the first ingredient and thats good! Water is natures best moisturizer.

Remember, oil is NOT A MOISTURIZER. It helps seals in the water based moisturizer. If no moisture is applied to the hair, the oil will just coat and sit on top of the hair.

Examples of water based moisturizers:
Lusters S-curl No drip, Care Free Curl Gold Instant Activator, Wave Nouveau Moistuizing Finshing Lotion, Organic Root Stimulator (ORS) olive oil & carrot oil etc.

Examples of the oils you can use to seal in the moisture:
Extra Virgin Coconut oil, Extra Virgin Olive oil, Castor oil, Jojoba oil etc.

A little oil goes a long way! apply a quarter size amount of oil to the ends of your hair and then work your way up. Your ends need the most moisture to be locked in, so start there that way you won't forget! You will also notice that your hair will have incredible shine =)

Co-washing at Its BEST!! YAY

What does Cowashing mean? It's when you wash your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo as a way of increasing the moisture level in your hair.

Last night I decided to co-wash since my hair felt like it needed a lil moisture boost. I'm also 6 weeks post with nuff growth...lol... so this was the best time for me to co-wash! Here are the steps that I took:

1. Applied Herbal Essences Replenishing Conditioner & Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship to dry hair concentrating on the ends.
2. Applied 2 hand fulls of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) to hair and especially on my ends for extra lubrication.
3. Put on plastic cap for 1 hr 30 mins with towel over it for extra heat.
4. Rinsed out and washed hair with Suave Tropical Coconut Conditioner.
5. Towel dried hair & applied thin layer of EVOO over damp hair (like a leave-in).
6. Air dried with Elasta QP HTWO on hairline.

Let me tell you that after this experience I learned that my hair lovesssss EVOO with conditioner. My hair turned out great. The smoothness was there, it was extremely soft I had to ask myself " Is this really my hair?", Im serious! I was very happy with the results. I guess its really true what Cathy Howse says, Oil is necessary to lubricate the hair and Olive oil, due to its molecular structure, is the best oil for penetration into the hair shaft. It's now my hair staple :)