Rehairducation

Pre-pooing : Under the Microscope

Hello Ladies,

I have written many educative blog posts about hair.  Over the years Hairducation has grown and a lot of its new readers may have missed some informative posts.  I will be revisiting some of these posts to give the new readers a chance to catch up and also to share visuals I wasn’t able to prior to me getting my hair microscope.  This way my day-one reader can still benefit from the topics I am revisiting.

I figured a good place to start would be at the beginning with pre-pooing.  If you don’t know what pre-pooing is, didn’t read my first post about it or would like to read it again please click here.  It will help you make better sense of the rest of this post.  In this post, I will share a reminder of the benefits of pre-pooing and show you pictures that prove these benefits.

Side Note Since I decided to begin sharing microscopic pictures on Hairducation I’ve learned something new about myself.  I feel uncomfortable sharing up close and personal pictures of my hair.  Why? Because it feels too personal, I feel over exposed and somewhat vulnerable.  However, I am also able to get over myself and out of that state of mind when I remind myself of the purpose of this site: to educate.  If I have to be the guinea pig then so be it :).  I am happy to take one for the team.

 

Benefits of Pre-Pooing

  • It helps to soften dirt and debris on hair fibres so that it slides off easier during the washing process
  • 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.
  • 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.  Over time and several washes, it can result in damaged and roughened hair cuticles..  This is called hydral fatigue. Applying coconut oil as a pre-poo can help to reduce how much water our hair absorbs as it is being washed.  This reduces how much our hair will swell during washing and thereby reduce the risk of the cuticle cracking as our hair dries.

 

Microscopic Pictures That Show The Benefits of Pre-pooing.

  • The picture on the left was taken on my wash day after I had moisturised my hair. I had not yet applied any oils to seal.  You can see the tiny specs of hair products on my hair fibres.
  • The picture on the right was taken a week after my wash day, I had moisturised sealed several times during the weak and as you can see, it  had become greasy from the accumulation  of products and oils.

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For clarity, I have circled and pointed out the lumps and bumps of the product residue in the pictures below.

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After taking the picture on the right above, I applied coconut oil to a small section of my hair and analysed it with the microscope.
The first image below was taken with a regular camera and as you can see my hair is oily but not dripping with oil

 

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It was amazing to look at this same section of hair under the microscope video, I could actually see the tiny droplets of the oil dripping and running up and down on my hair fibres.  You can see a droplet of the coconut oil in between the two hair fibres in the left picture below.

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As you can see in the picture above,  the lumps and bumps of product residue have been melted by the coconut oil and the hair fibres are now smooth.  This will make it much easier for the dirt to slide off the hair when it is being washed.

You can also see that the hair fibres are very well lubricated and oily, this will make detangling a lot easier because the hairs will slip past each other  easily rather than catch/latch unto each other like dry hair tends to.  Also, any tangles in my hair will also be much easier to unravel than if the hair wasn’t oily.

 

Pre-pooing is one of the hair care practices which technically isn’t essential, but I hope these pictures help you see its benefits of pre-pooing.  I am not able to show how pre-pooing helps prevent hydral fatigue which was benefit 3 discussed above.  I need a much more advanced microscope for that.

 

I have some major, major, MAJOR announcements to make soon.
So come back soon to see and read all about it.

Happy valentines, happy hair journey.

x

Lade

Learn| Change| Grow|

 

My Updated Hair Regimen

 

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Hello ladies,

Something I try to stress often is that consistency with your regimen is important for ladies who are on a hair journey. Creating a regimen that your hair responds well to is the first aspect of a hair journey but you will not see significant improvements in the health, length and thickness of your hair if you are inconsistent with your regimen.
There will however be some points on your hair journey where you need to review and update your hair regimen and hair products.
Some examples of when it would be a good idea to review your regimen includes –

  • When your hair has grown significantly – techniques and styles that what worked for you at one length may not work as well at a longer length. Using myself as an example, when my hair reached bra strap length, I had to begin washing it in large braids to prevent tangling and matting during the washing process.
  • If you decide to transition from relaxed to natural or vice versa
  • If your products no longer seem to be working on your hair or you discover new ones that work better on your hair.

Over the years, my regimen has evolved in some ways.
I have changed some of my practices and techniques. I have also made some changes to my staple products. I will discuss what those changes are below but if you would like to see my full updated regimen click here.

 

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Changes in My Techniques and Practices

My Hair Regimen

  • I relax my hair every 20 weeks.  I now relax my hair every 24 to 27 weeks due to my increasingly busy schedule.  After relaxing my hair, I wear it out for about 8 weeks. From week 9 I switch to my wig regimen but leave my hair out occasionally when following my wig regimen.
  • Shampoo 1x a week (wash hair in 10 calabar/box braids) When I am wearing my hair out, I now wash it every two weeks. My hairs length and thickness makes wash day quite time consuming so I made a lifestyle choice to switch to washing every two weeks. I try to keep up with moisturising and sealing to prevent dryness and breakage.

My Wig Regimen

  • Hair kept in 20 16 box braids under Hair by Type 4 wigs. I decided to make the box braids slightly bigger.
  • Shampoo every 3 weeks.   I now wash my hair every two weeks when following my wig regimen. My hair is more texlaxed now than it was when I initially began my journey and I noticed that when I leave the box braids in for three weeks my hair is quite matted and tangled which means I used to have more breakage than was necessary. I decided to begin washing my hair every two weeks to prevent this tangling and breakage and it seems to be working well so far.
  • Moisturise and seal the box braids twice a week lightly every day. Over the years moisturising the box braids just twice a week was no longer able to keep my hair adequately hydrated so I began to moisturise and seal lightly every day.

 

 

Changes to My Hair Products

  • Shampoo
    Elasta QP Crème Conditioning shampoo. This is still a great product but I have switched to Cream of Nature Argan Oil Sulfate Free shampoo. I prefer how the cream of nature makes my hair feel.
  • Deep Conditioner
    Moisture:- Motions Moisture Plus Conditioner I have recently switched to using Aussie Miracle Moist as my moisture deep conditioner. It works better for my hair than Motions Moisture Plus.
  • Leave-in Conditioning
    Protein:-Aphogee Keratin and Green Tea Restructurizer I still have and use this product occasionally but my go to protein leave in conditioner is now the Cream of Nature Strength and Shine leave in conditioner.
  • Daily Moisturizers
    Mixture of Cantu Shea Butter Conditioning cream and Lusters S-curl I also use Cream of Nature Strength and Shine leave in conditioner during the week. I use whichever one my hand gets to first…. 🙂
  • Oils/Sealants
    Nutiva extra virgin coconut oil (sealant) Currently, I use olive oil or grapeseed oil as my sealant.
  • Extras
    Braid spray     (to mist the box braids when wearing my wigs) I now use Lusters S-curl for this purpose because it was easier for me to find the S-curl in Lagos. I only use a small amount daily to prevent moisture overload.

 

And those are the changes to my hair regimen ladies!!  I don’t know when next I will review and update it but for now, my hair is very happy with all of the above. Like everybody else, I just have to try to remain consistent.
Please note that if you review your regimen and are happy with your current products and practices you don’t have to change it. Stick to what works.
Have you made changes to your regimen lately? What change did you make and why?

The next post will be an educational one about the challenges of thin/fine hair strands and tips to maximize your hair growth if you have fine hair. Come back soon ladies.

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow.

Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner – Product Review

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Hello ladies,

If you are familiar with my hair regimen you will know that I use either normally use either Motions Moisture Plus or Herbal Essence Hello Hydration as my moisture deep conditioners.

These are the moisture products that have worked best on my hair…..until now. I recently ran out of both and for some reason couldn’t find them in the stores I went to.  I decided to try a product that I have been aware of since the beginning of my hair journey but never tried out…. Aussie Miracle Moist!!!
My hair tends to feel a little dry even after I deep condition….but for the first time EVER and I really mean ever, my hair felt very hydrated and soft before I applied any leave-in conditioner.
The minute I rinsed out the conditioner I knew something was different in the best of ways.
In this post I will share more information about this product and how I use it in my regimen

 

What is Aussie Miracle Moist

Aussie Miracle Moist is a moisture conditioner which is designed for dry and damaged hair.
Like all good moisture products the first ingredient it contains is water/aqua.   It also contains a lot of moisturising ingredients such as Cetyl Alcohol and Cetearyl Alcohol.  These types of alcohols are fatty alcohols and are good for hair unlike some alcohols like Ethanol, SD Alcohol, Propyl or Isopropyl which can be drying to hair.

It does contain some silicones which some ladies prefer to avoid but my hair happens to love and by using a clarifying shampoo every few months I am able to remove potential build-up of silicones from my hair.
I can’t recall how much this cost me but it was very cheap which is great because the 250ml bottle will only last me 3 washes max.

How I Used It

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The product bottle does not give clear directions on how it should be used, it simply states that it should be used after shampooing and rinsed out.
I always deep condition my hair with a mix of protein and moisture conditioners.  Over the years I have learnt that this is what works for my hair.  Whenever I use moisture or protein deep conditioners alone, my hair protests by either being too hard and brittle or too soft and weak.  I always need a mix of the two to keep my hair in order.

On this occasion I mixed equal amounts of the Aussie Miracle Moist conditioner with Vitale olive oil conditioner ( my go-to protein deep conditioner).
I applied it to my hair as generously as possible and covered it with a plastic steam cap.   I used my heat cap for about 40 minutes and then I rinsed it out.
Like I mentioned above my hair felt amazing afterwards, it felt strong and soft and smooth. I was pretty sure it would feel great after I air dried and I wasn’t disappointed. I did use my Creme of Nature leave in conditioner but my hair already felt great even before I applied the leave in conditioner.

I normally have to moisturise and seal my hair on wash day or by the next day at the latest otherwise my hair can begin to feel a little brittle.   After deep conditioning with the Aussie, I didn’t have to moisturise and seal for several days after my wash day.   I should have but my hair just felt so good and I was really short on time but going forward I plan to stick to my regular moisturising and sealing schedule.
I don’t co-wash my hair but I know that Aussie is very popular with ladies that co-wash and I can see why.  It is light weight but highly moisturising so it is ideal for co-washing.

 

I hope you have found this post helpful.  Do you use Aussie Miracle Moist or have you used it in the past?  How did it make your hair feel?

I have made slight changes to my hair regimen over the last few year and so my next post will be a regimen and hair product update.  I’ll probably do a hair update in that post as well.
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See you soon ladies, I am so glad I am back to regular blogging at last.

Happy Hair Journey

x

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Gold Rush!!

Hello Ladies,

You know how you learn something new about yourself every once in a while?  Well recently I’ve learnt that I like putting gold (plaited) things in my hair.  And from the looks of it many ladies out there love it too.

I remember when I put the picture on the left on Instagram, it had over 40k likes across many natural hair pages. I spent quite a number of months answering questions about where I got the head piece from. For the record I got it from Asos but I had my own ideas of how I would wear it.

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I was stocking up on my hair products a few weeks back when I stumbled on some gold hair clips which I thought would be fun. They cost £2 and because you get what you pay for they all broke after my niece and I wore them once. I went shopping at H & M recently and saw these hair clasps which were more study and were still really cheap. 10 for £4 cheap.

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I decided to pimp out my bun with them but they aren’t as flexible as the first set I bought so it was hard to tighten them in my hair and they occasionally fell out. So my hunt for gold hair toys continues.

What are your favourite hair accessories??

My next post will be all about our edges. I have written two posts about this already but now realise I need set out more facts about it.   For some reason I’ve received quite a number of questions about edges lately so I know its time to revisit it.

Happy hair journey and see you soon

X

Lade

Learn | Change | Grow

Hair and Life Update

Hello ladies

It’s been a little while. I know.
I hope you have all been well.  I usually don’t tend to give too much about my personal life away -aint nobody got time for that 🙂 – but because I know things have been unsteady for the last month on the blogging front I thought I should let you know why.

I moved countries.
I moved back to the UK in March and as you can imagine, things will be a bit disrupted whilst I settle back in the swing of things.  I will off course keep trying to keep the Hairducation going regular and helpful blog updates.

Hair Update

Being back in the UK has been a bit of a shock for my hair and I’ve had to make a few adjustments in my hair regimen.
I am still using the same products but I have to moisturise and seal a lot more often than I did in Lagos.   The cooler weather and the fact that I now live in an area with hard water which can be very drying to hair and skin are the reasons why I’ve had to double up on how often I  moisturise my hair.
Besides this, its business as usual with my hair. I may experiment with one or two products now that I have much easier access to them. So there may be a few product reviews coming up soon.

How is your hair doing? Have you made changes to your hair regimen recently?

My next blog post will be about diet related. It has just occurred to me that one of my all time favourite things to eat may be one of the things that contributes to the health and length of my hair.
Find out what it is by coming back soon.

Happy hair journey

x

Lade

Learn| Change| Grow