What Is A Hair Moisturizer?

What Is A Hair Moisturizer?

 

The importance of moisturizing your hair can never be stressed enough. It is like real estate and the most important thing to that industry is ‘location, location, location! In like manner, for hair care, it is ‘moisture, moisture, moisture’!!

In my opinion, the best tip for hair growth and length retention for any type of hair is the moisture balance.

I will give an example of how moisture can ‘seep’ away from something as simple as a slice of bread. Leave a fresh slice of bread on your countertop early in the morning, and then return to it later in the evening. You will find that the bread has become dry and hard, literally toast, naturally, and without the help of the man-made toaster oven.

I use this example to give you an idea of how the environment can ‘wreak havoc’ on the moisture factor of our bodies – hair and skin included. This is why it is of paramount importance that we do all we can to ensure the moisture balance of our hair. We can achieve this by either making our own moisture products or using pre-made moisture products.

The Benefits Of Moisturizers

The main purpose of any moisturizer is to retain and maintain the moisture in one’s hair. There are more reasons to start implementing the use of moisturizers in your hair care regimen if you don’t already do so.

Using moisturizers help:

• to retain the moisture balance of your hair
• helps to see the length of your hair growth because your hair won’t be brittle and break off while it grows
• makes your hair less dry and brittle
• makes hair appear healthy and full of shine because the cuticles are closed and reflecting the light well

The Best Way To Add Moisture To Your Hair

Adding moisture to your hair is not rocket science. You can do this with the help of water and oils. Water is the least expensive way of adding moisture to your hair. When I stopped using a chemical relaxer to straighten my hair, I would finger coil my short hair and every day I would re-wet the coils while I shower, it was ever so easy. I found that in doing that little ritual, it helped my hair stay softer and it seemed to grow quickly.

Using Water As A Moisturizing Agent

My recommendation is that you create your favorite hair spritz and spray your hair daily when you think it needs a little ‘pick me upper’. I travel with a 4ozs empty spray bottle and as I need to, I fill it with water and simply spray it on my hair and face throughout my day. If you choose to make a spritzer, here is a simple and quick recipe:

Simple Water-based Moisturizer

• 4 ozs water
• 2-4 drops peppermint essential oil
• 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil

Method

Pour ingredients into a clean spray bottle and shake vigorously to combine the mixture. Use as a hair spritzer when needed. You can choose any essential oil you like as well as being interchangeable with the base oil – you can use olive oil, jojoba oil, or wheat germ oil, or any other oil you like.

You can use other water-based as well as oil-based moisturizers, whether they are homemade or premade. Here a few premade moisturizers, some of which I have used:

• As I Am Double Butter Rich Moisturizer
• Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream
• Elasta QP Moisturizer, Olive Oil/Mango Butter
• Mizani Rose H2O Conditioning Hairdress Unisex Moisturizer
• Hawaiian Silky Miracle Worker 14 in 1
• Bee Mine Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer 

Below, I have compiled a few homemade moisturizing recipes to whet your appetite and challenge your creativity.

Natural Hair Moisturizer Recipes

Aloe Vera Moisturizing Leave-in

• Aloe Vera gel (fresh or bought)
• VO5 conditioner (your choice of flavor-kiwi, strawberry, etc)
• Water
• Oil (your choice of coconut, olive or castor oil)

I do not give measurements because I usually ‘eye-ball’ the quantities which also depends on:

• how much I need to use in my hair
• how many times – because I am using natural ingredients most of the times, I prefer to mix small quantities because of the shelf life associated with natural products
• the volume of my hair
• the length of my hair

As a guideline, I usually use a 1:1 ratio of a soup spoon/tablespoon.

So, put one spoonful of all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. You can use your wrist with a whisk or a small handheld blender to ensure a good mix. Once mixed, simply add the mix to freshly cleansed hair before sealing or spray on your hair as needed.

You can even re-apply the moisturizer after a few days by spraying your hair with a little water and then re-applying more moisturizer, then sealing again. Your hair will thank you on a daily basis.

Creamy Shea Butter Moisturizer

• 1-2ozs melted shea butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 1 tablespoon Vitamin E
• 1-3 drops essential oil of your choice

Method:

Mix all ingredients together using a handheld blender or a regular blender. The mixture might appear creamy, which is fine. To harden, simply refrigerate. The Vitamin E will help to prolong the shelf life beyond 2 months for this naturally made product.

I also love to make whipped shea butter which I use on my body, face, and hair. Shea butter does a body good!

Moisturizers can be water-based or oil-based – it just depends on the state of your hair when making the choice and how your hair will react to the moisturizer. The factors to consider being:

• natural hair
• chemically straightened hair
• hair texture
• hair type

I use both types of moisturizers and I have natural chemical-free hair. Of course, being on a hair journey, EVERYTHING boils down to trial and error. What might be a miracle for me, might not be one for someone else, so you have to find your individual hair preferences and your comfort zone.

My Final Thoughts About Hair Moisturizers

It really does not matter the type of hair moisturizer that you use. What matters most of all, is to use a moisturizer product for your hair, skin, and body. Your body won’t thank you enough. Your hair will grow longer, and will look shiny and just say, ‘healthy’. I urge you to start using a moisturizer today as a part of your own hair regimen.

Here are a few reviews on some of the products I discussed above. You may check them out:

• Elasta QP Mango & Olive Oil Moisturizer Review
• Hawaiian Silky Miracle Worker 14 in 1
• Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream Review

 

 

I look forward to your feedback and your suggestions. Thank you for reading.

Images courtesy of Pixabay.com