Moisturizing is essential, no matter your hair type. Many of us naturals have spent big bucks on moisturizing products that may not have (or may have) worked. Did you know that your kitchen is probably stock piled with ingredients that can be used to moisturize and get your hair in tip top shape? Here are a few recipes for homemade moisturizers:
1. Whipped Shea with Grapeseed Oil
Ingredients:
– ½ cup unrefined shea butter
– ¼ cup aloe vera gel
– 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
– 1 tsp pure honey
Instructions:
Melt the shea butter slightly in a pot on the stove or by warming over a hot water bath. Do this until the butter is soft but not completely melted. Whip the butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the grapeseed oil and honey to the shea butter. Whip again. Finally add the aloe vera gel. Whip all the ingredients together on low speed. Cover the mixture and store in a dry cool place.
2. Spritz with Aloe Vera Juice
Ingredients:
– ¼ cup water
– 2 tbsp aloe vera juice
– 2 tbsp glycerin
– 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
– 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– few drops essential oil (your favorite)
Instructions:
Pour the water, aloe vera juice, glycerin, coconut oil, olive oil, and essential oil into a spray bottle (or spritz bottle). Shake the bottle slightly, but not too hard, until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together. Store the bottle in a refrigerator.
3. Leave-In with Whipped Shea
Ingredients:
– ½ cup unrefined shea butter
– ½ cup leave-in conditioner
– ¼ cup jojoba oil
– few drops of essential oil (your favorite)
Instructions:
Melt the shea butter slightly in a pot on the stove or by warming over a hot water bath. Do this until the butter is soft but not completely melted. Whip the butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add the oils to the shea butter. Whip again. Finally add the leave-in conditioner. Whip all the ingredients together on low speed. Cover the mixture and store in a dry cool place.
4. Gentle Glycerin Detangler
Ingredients:
– ¼ cup glycerin
– 1 cup distilled water
– 1 teaspoon of your favorite essential Oil
Instructions:
Stir together glycerin with distilled water. Then add in your favorite essential oils. Keep the mixture in a spray bottle for easy detangling, and voila!
5. Curly Moisturizing Conditioner
Ingredients:
-1 cup purified water
-½ cup aloe juice
-1 tbsp melted coconut oil
-3 tbsp lime juice
-5 vitamin E capsules (just pop with a needle and then squeeze into your mixture)
– 2 tbsp glycerin
– 2 tbsp of your favorite essential oils
Instructions: Simply mix all the ingredients together, store an a spray bottle and you’re good to go! Spritz as needed for added moisture.
Feel free to share your homemade moisturizer recipes!
My perm is halfway grown out. My last touch up was Nov/ 2013, so I am just learning about my hair that has been permed for the better part of 30 years. I am sooo discouraged. I am an older woman in my 50’s so I am not comfortable with the younger unkept look. How I wish I could wear that. My hair is short, so when it’s wet or sweated out it shrinks up to 75% of its length.
Now that the natural curly look is in I can’t even wear that! It is so upsetting to see white women wearing a style ( That they completely rejected) that should come natural to me. Now that my perm is half way grown out I’m at a point of no return and presently I just absolutely HATE! my hair! If I cut the permed ends off , I will have even shorter hair. I’m having a very hard time finding a hairstyle that works for me. Can I use products like Mizani Moisture stretch with rollers? Is there anything I can use that will naturally give me some length and reduce shrinkage as my perm grows out? Is there such a thing as a “mild perm” that isn’t as harsh, but semi straightens my hair? I live in Arizona and I need something to beat the dry harsh climate as I grow my hair out.
Signed ” Sad and Discouraged 4c”
Gail,
Do not perm your hair! I’ve been where you are. The first time I grew my natural hair out, I went an entire year with hair that never grew longer than two finger joints. I permed my hair in frustration, braided it, let it air dry overnight and woke up with Angela Davis’s fro!!! It only lasted one day, however, because my hair was permed. The natural curl pattern had been chemically subdued. Because I knew what I was doing with perms, I’ve spent the past 14 years with one and I’m now trying to go natural again.
My point to that anecdote is that I learned a lot about myself and my hair since. First thing I learned is to listen to my hair. If I wasn’t overwashing it, I was underwashing it and I RARELY conditioned, not like I needed to. Even now, with my hair natural at the roots and permed on the ends, my scalp and hair are bone dry. You live in AZ, a dry humid state, so I’d guess that your hair is just dying for a good condition and moisturizer. You cannot skimp on the moisturizer, especially as a 4C. If you really want to get your hair to try to relax into a looser wave pattern, you MUST moisturize and put it in curlers or braid it while it’s wet. absolute must. Shrinkage is a real problem for 4Cs and you have to learn what must be done to give yourself a little extra length.
Second, everyone’s curl pattern is different. Yours may be tighter than everyone elses, but also check your hair. I doubt your hair is all 4C. My hair is anywhere from 2A in the front to 4A in the back and that means that I can put the front on flexi-rods, but the back is on perm rods or it gets braided. In Florida, I always feel as if I’m walking around with Soul-Glo on my head, because of the heat and humidity, but the back of my head needs moisture or I lose 50% of the length. The front? Not so much, but it often looks completely straight, as if I were still relaxing it. I’m just saying, it’s a hassle.
Third, if you aren’t frequenting a hairdresser in AZ, find one to help you. I did my own relaxer for 14 years and I know how to manage my hair when it’s relaxed because my mother is a hairdresser. However, she doesn’t specialize in natural styles, so I had to start going to someone else for help growing my hair out. A few months, maybe a year, with someone helping you and telling you how often to wash and what products to use will help tremendously. They may even help you with techniques to battle shrinkage.
Finally, remember that until you get the length you want, there’s nothing stopping you from a little subtle camouflage. Wigs, weaves, braids, all of these products are there to help you. My best friend went natural by having her hair braided for months while her relaxer grew out. 15 months later, her hair sprung forth natural and curly and confident because not only had she protected it by having it braided, but her natural hair became accustomed to being braided and following that braid pattern. It was almost as if she’d given her natural texture a ready-made style because it was accustomed to the wave pattern it was forced into due to the braids. Meanwhile, she continued to look professional and put together while her relaxer was growing out because her braids were neat and she could curl the ends into a bun at the nape of her neck.
Hope this helps.
Excellent response Victoria.
I can definitely relate 4c
I am wondering if the shea and rapeseed DIY moisturiser is a leave in it not and how best to apply it i.e.before or after a wash.
Thanks all appreciate the posts
How long does each recipe last? I tried the shea butter and grape seed oil one and it lasted about a month I think. I also tried the aloe Vera spritz and so far I have been using it all up before the expiration date. I would like to know the expiration date for all the recipes please.