Moisturize and Seal Daily – Good Hair Habit #4

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Last updated on March 24th, 2021 at 09:44 am

Good hair habit # 3 was to deep condition your hair weekly on wash day. Today’s habit is closely connected to yesterday’s because the subject of how to moisturize natural hair is the basis for both.

It may seem that I’m working a little backwards by mentioning deep conditioning before moisturizing but there’s a reason for it.

I mentioned it first bcause the moisture retention process begins on wash day (including your deep conditioning). What you do after you’ve washed and deep conditioned your hair for the week will determine how much of the imparted moisture you will retain.

Moisturize Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

I used to moisturize my natural hair every 3-4 days just because I didn’t think my hair felt like it needed it. My hair didn’t suffer detrimentally from it but here’s the thing with moisturizing only every few days. You risk your hair drying out before your next wash day.

Just like your body doesn’t feel thirst until after you’ve reached the point of dehydration, it’s the same with your hair. It’s important to proactively add moisture to natural hair so that it doesn’t dehydrate.

How to Moisturize Natural Hair Daily

Moisturizing your hair daily allows for it to remain well moisturized until your next wash day. You can easily add moisture to your hair with day to day regularity. You can also make it a part of your night time routine.

After moisturizing your hair, simply seal in the moisture with a very light weight oil like Jojoba or Argan so that you can maintain that moisture.

Light weight oils work best for fine natural hair because they do not weigh the hair down. Yet, when the temperatures are cold outdoors, you can seal with a butter like mango butter or shea butter. Whipping it into a cream will help it to absorb into your strands versus sitting on top of them, weighing your hair down. (See How to Use Shea Butter on Fine Hair).

When it comes to technique, there’s a number of ways to moisturize natural hair (these include sealing)

– Spritz hair with water (Remembering to seal with a light weight oil because water on its own will evaporate)

– Spray hair with a combination of aloe vera juice/water and seal

– Spritz hair with a combination of water/conditioner and seal

– Smooth on a moisturizer product that contains water and oil in it (optional: seal)

– Apply a leave in conditioner throughout your hair and seal

After you’ve moisturized and sealed your hair, putting it in large twists or loose braids will further lock in moisture. That’s because the hair is wrapped around, helping to hold in the moisture. Of course, this isn’t the only way to style your hair after moisturizing but it helps with moisture retention.

An Exception

If you’re styling in a wash and go or other curly style you don’t want to be disrupted, opt for a spray moisturizer with water and oil in it. All it takes is a light spritzing, allowing it to dry before going to bed.

Whichever way you choose to moisturize, make it a practice to do so daily. Yes, this may go against what the experts say but try it if you. It ice your hair isn’t staying moisturized.You’ll be well on your way toward your best hair.

Moisturized natural hair is pliable hair. Without moisturizing, your hair will be dull, dry and begin to break off.

This practice I found works great for my hair and when I neglect to do so, my ends dry out. Of course, test it out on your own hair. Perhaps you may only need to moisturize and seal every 2-3 days. I wouldn’t go beyond that though.

Stay tuned for Good Hair Habit #5 – Make a Date With Protein

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