Tuesday, February 8, 2011

How to benefit from natural moisturizing conditioners

Moisture is important to help keep the hair hydrated, healthy and growing.  Actually, this is the first big step in basic hair care and health.  That is why drinking lost of water is important. The water helps the sebaceous glands help the hair produce sebum, which is the scalp's own natural moisturizer.

emo, afro & elvis hair stylesImage via Wikipedia
Moisture rich conditioners are important for hair that has been dehydrated throught the use of heat, relaxers, color and high tension hair styles such as braids.  In this article, we will examine how natural oils help provide moisture for hair health.



How to benefit from natural oils

Afro textured hair is slightly different structurally, because of the tighter coil or keratin bonds. Therefore, sebum naturally produced by the scalp does not travel down the hair  to the ends, which makes them drier.  Also, the sebum contains slightly less lipids, again, a cause for dryness.
First step is to assess the type of hair that you have to determine the type of conditioner that you need(keep in mind that needs change).  For example, if you have coarser type of hair, your hair is likely to benefit from heavier oils such as olive, which smooths out frizz and detangles; or coconut oil which defines curls.  Fine or thin hair responds well to lighter oils like sesame and almond oil.

If your hair is damaged or weak, jojoba oil works wonders.  Hair that is split, tangles easily or breaks is greatly helped  Jojoba oil is so great for the hair because this oil is very similar to the sebum, the natural oil that is secreted by the sebaceous glands.

All these oils are great for daily treatment, pre-shampooing, deep conditioning or instant conditioning.  Just be sure though that you do not aplly the moisturizers to the scalp since this will cause the scalp to become dry since sebum will be blocked.

Now, relax and watch your hair grow and thrive!
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