Hello again ladies
Now this is a first, two posts in one day. I am super tied up for the next few days and decided to crack on with this blog post whilst I have the time.
My wash days always start the same way; with detangling and pre-pooing to before washing. Pre-pooing is simply a pre-shampoo treatment which helps to prepare and protect my hair during the washing process. Pre-pooing isn’t an essential part of a healthy hair regimen however it is a practice completed by many ladies on a health hair journey. There are some ladies however who also have success on their hair journey without pre-pooing. In my opinion the benefits are worth it especially because it is not too time consuming.
I hope to keep things short and sweet in this post. I will share the benefits of pre-pooing, examples of pre-poo formulas and methods of pre-pooing.
Benefits of Pre-Pooing
- Applying the pre-poo whilst detangling will lubricate your hair which will make removing the knots and tangles easier. It reduces breakage whilst detangling by softening the hair fibre and making it more elastic.
- It helps to soften dirt and debris on hair fibres so that it slides off easier during the washing process
- Helps reduce cracking and damage to the hair cuticles. When our hair is being washed, it absorbs water and expands/increases in size. After washing our hair returns to its normal size however when doing so the outer layer( the cuticle) can crack as our hair dries. Applying as a pre-poo can help to reduce how much our hair swells during washing and thereby reduce the risk of the cuticle cracking as our hair dries.
Pre-Poo Formulas – What Can You use to Pre-poo your hair
There are so many various concoctions used for pre-pooing by ladies the world over. It is not possible to list them all but will list a few options
Oil based
Oils such as coconut, olive, almond oil, castor oil etc. can be used as a pre-poo. Some ladies use a combination of such oils. A few drops of essential oil can be added if preferred.
Conditioner based
A light weight moisturising instant conditioner can also be used as a pre-poo. A little bit of oil can be added to the conditioner.
Honey Based Mixtures
Honey is also a popular pre-poo amongst ladies on a hair journey. Honey is usually mixed with some oil. Some ladies even use a mixture of honey, oils and conditioners.
Other natural pre-poo options include eggs, avocadoes, bananas, coconut milk, etc.
Methods of Pre-Pooing
A little bit of your pre-poo can be added to your hair as you detangle it in sections. After detangling, you can keep your hair in sections and apply a generous amount of the pre-poo to your hair. You should then cover your hair with a conditioning cap and do either of the following
Option one
Leave your hair covered with the pre-poo for an hour or more before washing.
Option two
Leave your hair covered and apply heat for 15 minutes before moving on to washing.
Are you into pre-pooing? If yes please share your recipe with us.
The next post will be about oiling your scalp: should you or should you not oil your scalp. Hopefully my schedule will let me have that post up soon.
Happy hair journey ladies
x
Lade
Learn | Change | Grow
I pre-poo often too though not every wash day. I’ve never used honey because I’m afraid it will stick to my hair neither have I used a conditioner. I mostly use oils; coconut and castor oil and recently started adding peppermint oil too and it works fine for my hair.
Author
Thanks for sharing Hilda
Its great that you figured out what works best for you.
I really like doing a pre-shampoo treatment. Typically, I use a mixture of oils (olive + coconut) and conditioner
Author
Olive and coconut 🙂
My favs
I found this blog about two weeks ago and I have started my hair journey, I had been reading other blogs but most of them just left me with more questions so I was not motivated to start, then I found this blog and all my questions were answered, am not the type to leave comments on blogs but I really feel that I should let you know that you are doing a FANTASTIC job! U r my ‘hairbrity’ i have only washed my hair once, i pre pooed with coconut oil and shea butter, is dat okay pls? So sorry about the long comment
loads of Xs and Os
Author
awwww
thank you so much Elmas for taking the time to motivate me.
Sometimes I get so busy its hard to find time to update the blog as regularly as I would like but these kind of comments are so encouraging.
Coconut oil and shea butter is okay as a pre-poo. The key is for you to see how your hair takes to it.
shea butter may be a little heavy for some ladies but if your hair is natural , very dense(overall fullness) then it will probably work well with your hair.
Another great post! *happy dance* Never understood fully what pre pooing was although I’d come across the term a lot while researching; thank you for providing us with a detailed explanation 🙂 I’ll give it a try and see how that goes #fingers crossed
Wait.. can i do this although i suffer from dandruff??
Hi,
Just read your post and decided to encourage you to be open to try what will give you healthy hair and scalp.
I used to have such experience with dandruff but I really didn’t take notice what point,it stopped, I just noticed I stopped having any sort of experience with dandruff even prepooing with oil.
I believe this is so because when I started my hair journey, I was open to try anything that would just improve the state of my hair and so far I have been able to add a few twists to my regimen that works just fine for me.
Author
Great response Temi, thank you.
Hey Island girl,
I used to suffer a lot from dandruff but a few years ago someone suggested tea tree oil. Becoz its too strong…i add a few drops in my other oils and use it on my scalp. I add it in my poo as well, for me it has worked, i hope it works for u too
xx
Author
Thanks for sharing your advice Wenzile
Hello everyone,
Thank you so much to everyone who answered, I will try your suggestions and see what works for me. I will keep you posted on the results, thanks again! 🙂
Hi again Lade! 🙂
I should probably let you know that I stalk your blog daily, yeah DAILY x_x I finished reading all your post yesterday after about a month or so and took down some notes in a journal. Anyways, I’m alittle skeptical about prepooing because I suffer from dandruff and while oiling my scalp helps, using to much seems to make it worse, WAY WORSE 🙁 I guess I wont be able prepoo :/
Hi Lade,
Thank you again for always sharing.
Your blog was the first I came across when I almost had my hair cropped because it was badly breaking.
I started my hair journey on Nov. 22 & the length looks no different but I’m focusing on getting more healthy hair and all the methods here have given me guide to doing so.
I read some other blogs and got some pre-pooing ideas; I tried honey, my leave-in cond & Motions CPR treatment cond, olive & clove oil with a bit of Aloe Vera gel and my hair was really pampered. I also used honey, unripe paw paw (that’s the green, crunchy ones) & my leave-in cond (ORS Replenishing Cond) all mixed… OMG… My hair was really soft and manageable which I needed because my texlaxing was more ‘tex’ than ‘lax’ (borrowing from someone’s description).
My plan is to use these recipes to deep condition on my next wash day but in all honey helps to keep my hair moisturised & gives it sheen.
Amazing job Lade…..im natural but i love your relaxed hair!! I’ve learnt a lot on your blog and will tell girlfriends to follow and learn! thanks
Author
Thank you for spreading the word Wenzile, natural, relaxed, short, long and anything in between is great in my opinion so long as it is well taken care of.
Happy hair journey
I don’t do pre-poos, but I think I want to give it a try after reading this!
hi Lade. u r an inspiration. i have been following your blog since october last year and i have seen remarkable changes. i started my hair journey in october 25th 2014. i decided to cut of close to 3 inches of hair cos of terrible split ends. so my starting lenght was just below the neck, lightly touching the shoulders. i havent relaxed yet, cos i am strecthing my relaxer to 20wks (i have about 4 weeks to go). but amazingly my hair is now at armpit length. i prepoo using the VO5 conditioner with a little oil mix (coconut oil, jbco, olive oil and shea butter oil) overnight. i wash my hair in sections afterwards cos my hair matts a lot after wash. u are indeed a blessing . keep up the great work.
Author
I am just reading this comment now Rachel, thank you soooo much and well done on all your hard work.
I am really happy that you are seeing such great progress, your hair must grow super fast….lucky you. I pray your hair continues to thrive…keep me posted and happy hair journey.
x
Lade
Hello Lade…..I love your blog. Would like to know if pre-pooing is same as deep-conditioning; this is because I usually use avocado,coconut oil, and honey for deep-conditioning and pls how often should I trim my ends..thanks!
Author
Hello Ayo
Pre-pooing is not the same as deep conditioning.
Pre-pooing is a pre-shampoo treatment to help prepare your hair for the shampooing process. Deep conditioning helps to boost the strength/elasticity of your hair strands and is usually done after washing or co-washing.
it is okay to mix oils with your deep conditioner.
If using oils alone has been working for your hair you can continue to do so however you can also experiment with some deep conditioning products which may be have great benefits for your hair.
I have written a post about trimming. please find it by using the search button which is located on the top right side of the blog home page.
Hi after a pre poo do I still treat my hair?
Would you say that pre-shampooing is meant mostly for those with fine hair? My adopted sister often uses coconut oil for her hair. I’m hoping my hair would look better if I did something similar.
Author
hello Skylar
pre-shampoo treatments arebeneficial for most ladies. some ladies pre-shampoo with conditioners and some ladies use oils like coconut oil. For fine haired ladies I would recommend a light oil like coconut oil or olive oil.
The best way to see if it will work for you is if you try it.
xx
best of luck
Lade
I’m experimenting with honey, oils & conditioner today. I normally prepoo with amla, oils and egg. I love love this one. It really makes my hair soft (maybe this is really a DC). I actually the amla makes my hair a little bit faster. Happy prepooing!
Author
Its great your experimenting paid off Edna
indeed….happy prepooing
🙂
X
Lade