Misto Olive Oil Sprayer | A better way to seal your hair?

Last week I boasted about a new method of oil application which really helped my hair's moisture levels.  If your hair loves oils like mine, you should check this post out. A wonderful reader by the name of "Emelia" left me a comment about the Misto Olive oil sprayer as an alternative to my makeshift spray bottle.  

Immediately I was intrigued and wanted this sprayer to step my game up.  So I immediately went out and got it!  As soon as the Misto sprayer was in my possession, I began to fill it half way with jojoba oil.  After filling, I utilized the nifty cap to pressurize the Misto ensuring the oil comes out in a mist instead of a stream.  

First impressions, I love it!  The Misto far outperformed my spray bottle.  There were times when it would produce streams of oil, instead of a mist. I quickly rectified that issue by using the cap to aerate my Misto once again.  It's a small price to pay for what I get in return.  The result of when I use the Misto vs. my spray bottle is that my hair doesn't feel quite as oily and weighed down.  I think this method may work better for more people than my previous suggestion. My spray bottle gave a "heavy" sealing. This one is just right. I'm gonna get another one in a different color to house my coconut oil once it's melts as the weather warms up.  I'm predicting that both my spray bottle/w oil and this Misto Sprayer are going to be life savers for me as the weather heats up and humidity rises. 

*whispers in your ear* "My favorite thing to do in the world now is spraying my ends with oil. It makes them so buttery and yummy."

Who's going to try this?

My newest technique for ultra moisturized hair.

I'm just popping in to share a quick tip that has worked phenomenally well for me this week.  I've been having a blast with this daily moisturizing and sealing challenge I started a couple of weeks ago. But, you know me, always wanting to take things one step further.

So I asked myself, "Self?" What would happen if I could mist oil into my hair that same way I mist it with leave in conditioner."   Although I didn't quite know the answer at the time, I was ecstatic about the possibilities. So I rushed down to my local Sally's to grab a couple more of my favorite min-sprayers.  I love these because they do an excellent job at creating a fine mist.  Honestly, I knew that it wouldn't give me the same level of mist spraying oil in my hair vs. a water based product but I thought it was worth a shot.

After pondering on the most appropriate oil for this experiment, I finally decided on jojoba oil.  Reason being was in case I over saturated my hair with oil, I'd prefer one that my hair loves and would absorb easily into the hair as time passes.  After putting a small amount of oil into the bottle, I commenced to spraying.

I paid close attention to really parting my hair and getting into those areas where I don't normally reach just with my normal way of manually applying product.  Typically, I tend to stick to the outer, most visible areas but not this time.  The best part was when I reach my ends, I gathered them in my hand and saturated them with one spray of oil.  I've oiled my ends dozens of times before but this time seemed much different.  It felt like I finally gave them enough product to notice a real difference. I talked about sealing ends before and this felt like closest I've gotten to effectively sealing them.  Once I was done spraying, I tied my hair in a scarf to allow the penetration absorption to begin.

I gotta be honest, my hair was a little oilier that normal when I removed the scarf.  But I wasn't trippin' because it felt really nice and healthy.  Best off all, I could manipulate to my hearts content with no breakage.  My hair was so lubricated and happy.  By the next day, pretty much all the oil was absorbed fully. So instead of repeating the process, I decided to just mist lightly with rosewater. For the entire day, my hair was ultra moisturized.  It was like the oil in my strands served as a foundation for water based products to remain on my hair longer.  In the beginning, I scoffed the idea of L.O.C. (liquid, oil, cream) and instead recommended L.C.O (liquid, cream, oil). But now I wonder if I was missing something by not giving that method a shot.

This technique will work well when deep into my stretch.  I was able to part my hair, get to my new growth with one spray.  Also good for the day before wash day as a time saving way to saturate the hair with oil.  Today is day four and I'm amazed at how little hair I've lost over the past three days since using this technique. I've engaged in several "high manipulation" styling/detangling sessions without experiencing any broken hairs (does the no broken hairs celebration dance with a series of crotch thrusts and fist pumps).

  As much as I wanted it to come out in as a mist, the oil particles are too heavy. So, go a little light the first time you do it and add more oil as needed.  Once you spray, use your hands to massage it in then move to the next section. Make sure your hair is already moisturized before your apply the oil, that way it seals the oil into your hair AND it can help provide a barrier to keep additional moisture on top of the strand. Try this technique and let me know if you like it.

Optimum Amla Billion Hair Potion Review

The good folks at Optimum Care were gracious enough to send me samples from their new Amla Legend line.  I'd like to talk a little about one of those products today, the Billion Hair Potion serum. I'm pretty familiar with Amla oil.  For years it was one of my staple oils for pre-poo treatments.  Aside from the oil sold at my local indian grocer,  I never seen many commercial products on the market containing this wonderful ingredient until now.

Optimum brand came up with a serum that is meant to "promote visibly thicker, fuller hair." According to the package, Billion Hair Potion is "a formula with Amla oil, Arginine & strengthening ceramide that intensely conditions and wraps the strand to promote thicker, fuller hair.

The Hair potion comes in a 1.9 oz bottle equipped with a dropper.  Unlike other serums, this is more of a liquid than the typical silicone laden serums we're used to. Water is the first ingredient so I will take the liberty of classifying this product as a moisturizing product although I wouldn't go as far as calling it a moisturizer.  I say this because (in my experience) after the liquid evaporates my hair feels like it needs another layer of moisturizer and oil to complete the routine.

Where this product worked well for me was when I applied it to my scalp. When I rubbed a few drops in, my scalp received some much needed moisture.  Not only did my scalp benefit but the new growth as well.  I actually really liked the way the Billion Hair Potion handles my edges and new growth.  One thing that I don't have in my stash is a decent product that manages my edges and new growth. I think I may just have found a winner.

When I posted a sneak peak of the Billion Hair potion on the Facebook Fan Page, many of you shared that you have tried the product and like it.  I predict that Billion Hair Potion will be used regularly (especially when I'm stretching).  When the product runs out, I'm going to experiment by adding an oil/essential oil blend to the empty bottle and using the dropper as an applicator tool for my scalp.  Have you tried this yet? What do you think?

The simple idea that revolutionized my pre-poo experience

In the past, I would choose between oil or conditioner whenever I would pre-poo.  For those days when my hair was feeling overly dry, I'd reach for my favorite moisturizing conditioner.  On the other hand, if breakage was more of a concern or, if my hair felt like it needed a little more nourishment, oil would be my pre-poo product of choice.

Lately, there have been a few occasions where, due to schedule constraints, I've had to the extend time between washes.  When wash day arrived, my hair felt like it needed to receive the benefits of both oil and conditioner.  So I began a process that mirrored a daily moisturizing and sealing routine.  On dry hair, I would apply my moisturizing conditioner, then layer it with one of my favorite plant oils, sealing the moisture in.
This process worked so well for me that I've decided to make it permanent (for now).  Most recently, I had another one of those overdue wash days.  My hair was feeling like it needed an intensive "pick-me-up" so I decided to pre-poo with my WEN 613 layered with some yummy avocado oil.  Normally, when I deal with oils during pre-poo, I'm very generous in the application which causes me to get oil everywhere.  This time would be no different if it weren't for the bright idea inspired by my 613 bottle.

You see, the handy, dandy pump that comes on the WEN bottle make it easy for me to select the exact amount of product I need to use on each section of hair.  What if I could to the same with my avocado oil?   So I went scouring through my cabinets for a conditioner with a pump the size that would fit my oil bottle.  It only took 2 tries for me to reach success.  Moments later, I was neatly pumping oil  instead of picking up the bottle and pouring it into my hand, hoping that I hadn't misjudged how much oil I needed.  I could chose large or small pumps.  It was all so convenient.

Just wanted to share this neat tip in case someone out there might want to try it for themselves.  Each wash day, my intention is to make improvements to the process that create the best outcome for me & my hair.  If I couldn't find a pump to fit my oil bottle, I would have settled for one of these alternatives.

• I'd use a pop-top cap. The kind the pops up on one side when I push down on it.
• Finding an empty conditioner or lotion bottle with a pump and pouring my oil into it.  

Once the idea came, I had to make it work one way or another.  This saves me a time (since I don't have to pick up and put down my bottle of oil after each section) and hassle (it's a much neater alternative to the way I was doing it before).

Penetrating Oils vs. Non-Penetrating. Which ones are better?

I received a really great question the other day from someone inquiring about penetrating oils versus non-penetrating oils and which ones I thought were better.   The question was so good that I decided to address via a blog post.  So lets talk about this for the next few minutes shall we?

First off, when we talk about penetrating oils, what we mean is how great the oil's ability to penetrate the hair shaft and permeate into the cuticle layer.  I wrote on this subject long ago in this post.  Basically, the individuals who studied this phenomena were looking to determine how much of the oil was absorbed into the strand after time elapsed and through the use of heat.  Based on their findings it was determined that coconut oil and other mono saturated oils performed (or absorbed) better into the hair shaft than their poly saturated counterparts.

Once the news got out, everyone and their momma went clamoring for coconut and other penetrating oils (rightfully so) but in the process, other oils that penetrated more slowly (or not as deeply) were shunned.  In the case of my friend who asked me the original question, she mentioned that she was dealing with some breakage and thought it would be best to focus on penetrating oils like coconut to help nurse her hair back to health.  I completely agreed.

As a matter of fact, whenever my hair starts miss behaving, I often will reach for coconut oil as an overnight pre-poo remedy.  This way I know that my fragile strands are receiving beneficial proteins all the way down to it's deepest core.  Doing this definitely makes a world of difference for me.

But let's talk about the other side of things.  The oils that don't get as much love because because they don't penetrate as quickly or as deeply.  Should we shun them away completely?  I say no.  The topic of conversation came up because she was in the midst of deciding whether to purchase Gleau or opt for coconut oil instead.  My response was that this was not an either or scenario but one where she should choose both.

Reason being is because plant oils all have various God given attributes.  Just because it doesn't penetrate as quickly as coconut doesn't mean there aren't any benefits.  There is a time and place for oils that penetrate a bit more slowly especially if the oil will be used for sealing purposes.  I'm not sure if coconut oil is the best oil for sealing in moisturizer because, as time elapses, the oil moves inside the strand.  What about oils like wheat germ which contain the all wonderful ceramides that our cuticle layers need so dearly?  Let's not forget about jojoba oil which mimics sebum so closely that it protects our hair strand with lubrication like our very own scalp produced it.  Then there are oils like meadowfoam which partially penetrates so some of the goodness enters the strand and some is left to protect it.

Moral of the story is that it's best to be in a position where we can have our cake and eat it too. There is a place for oils that fully penetrate deep down and there's also room to invite others that will also take care of the outer strand.  Although I don't experience really cold winters, I do sometimes travel to cities where the cold weather can be brutal.  Luckily, for me, those trips are short lived but if I had to endure cold, brisk winds, I would certainly opt to incorporate thicker, heavier oils into my regimen during winter time.  I would want a layer of protection against the drying winds at all times.  Long story short, I advise everyone to freely incorporate penetrating oils like coconut, avocado, and olive oil.  Use them to treat the hair and to battle against breakage but don't forget that to incorporate other oils into your routine that can also be beneficial to your strands as well.

Be blessed.