My favorite Hair and Body Oils

So I like to use oils a a pre-poo occasionally for my hair. I also like to use them for my body. I thought I'd create a short blog about which ones are my favorite.

Since I have fine and thin hair I really have to be careful of what I use on my scalp. I can very easily become an overly oiled mess. There are so many choices for those of us trying to grow hair (with sulfur), make hair thicker (using herbs), or condition our tresses (using oils that penetrate into the hair strand).

The oil that works best for me in my hair is Afroveda Shikakai Growth Oil. It has a very pleasing mint tea smell, has a light oil base, and does not leave my hair overly oily or gross. I use it as a prepoo generally on Friday or Saturday night. I massage it into my scalp (first coating the tips/pads of a couple fingers and then just gently massage in).  I sleep with it in my hair and then do the normal low poo in the am. I'm seeing some new little baby hair growth and my scalp is far less itchy than it used to be. Although I'm not 100% sure its attributed to the oil I do think it contributes. An excellent oil! It can be found at http://www.afroveda.com/

When I need a little more "oomph" I use Hairveda's Cocasta Shikakai oil. It is in a base of castor oil so its far heavier than the Afroveda. I have to be uber careful not to get it on the strands and usually use it in the front at the temple at my hairline. I also love to use this as a body oil--it has made my skin so soft. I love the smell and I have no idea how to describe it except as rather sweet but tangy (?). It can be found at http://www.hairveda.com/

The last oil I found that I really love is the Darcy's Botanicals Peach Kernal Nectar Oil. It smells absolutely heavenly -- like homemade peaches you just want to drown in cream on a lazy Sunday morning. I use this in my bath and the whole bathroom smells wonderful. It's relaxing but won't put you to sleep. It can be found at http://www.darcysbotanicals.com/

I give all three of these oils the thumbs up! If you have oils you like please leave a comment below!

Hairveda

Hairveda Products!!

Back several posts now I blogged about how great the Hairveda Moist Condition Pro (MCP) did on my hair. I'm still loving it but now it has company on my go-to products shelf!

Amala Shampoo: Doesn't really have a smell. Sort of herbally if anything. A kind of golden color it cleans exceptionally well. My hair does not feel stripped but it definitely does feel clean. I've found that low poo's that have some of the more medium cleansers/surfactants in them tend to have the same effect. That's o.k. with me and this one gets a thumbs up! I would not use it daily but for my regular about every 3 days low poo it does a great job.

Amala Cream Rinse: This ranks second right behind the MCP. It is called a creamy shampoo but functions like an in between co-wash/shampoo for me. I didn't really figure that out until I used another cleansing conditioner that had mush more cleansing power--so I'm revising my original opinion to consider this between a co-wash and shampoo (although for me it acts like a co-wash for the most part)It absolutely does not leave my hair stripped. My hair feels clean yet conditioned. This does not get out something my hair likes to hold onto (like the Polyquat 11 and 7!) unless I become the DOW scrubbing bubbles on my hair--scrubbing like a maniac but for every other occasion its a real blessing. I get less shedding with this product than any of my low-poo's which I find quite interesting. In general things that are marketed as cleansing conditioners or creamy shampoo's gie me less shedding.

It's quite inexpensive and Plain Jane like its cousins..but a definite repurchase for me! I use it nearly every 3 days. Given the amount of products I have that is a real testament to the product. If you are looking for something that cleans pretty well but is a conditioner based then you should try this one out. If you use cones or other things like polyquat's or mineral oil you probably should opt for a low poo actual shampoo.

Moist Condition 24/7: This one I got primarily for T's hair. We have to watch the protein intake for her hair as the mixed texture tends to go haywire with too much protein. We used it as a rinse out and detangler in her hair and it worked fine. It was better as a rinse out and leave-in and only so/so as a detangler. I haven't tried it in my hair yet but with Hairveda's track record for me I'm sure I'll like it as well. It is not as thick as some others which made distribution much easier through T's hair.

Cocasta and Shikakai Oil: This stuff smells so good and I have no idea how to describe it. I really don't. It does not smell like anything I can get a handle on. I've done a pre-poo with this and it was fine but I think I won't be able to do one very often as it is very conditioning and I think I might get OC'd. So I started using it on my body and in my bath and it is sublime! I think it would make a good oil to seal with but T is not willing to try anything other than the ShescentIt butters and the Qhemet Biologics Burdock Cream. She is in love. So I'm happy to use it for myself!

SitriNillah Masque: This is a deep treatment. I've used it with and without heat. I did notice my hair was softer with heat. It smells like Oranges--sweet oranges--its a good smell. Although this worked I have other deep treatments I prefer. This looks like it has very similar ingredients to the MCP and I like that one so not sure this is a repurchase. I am eyeing that Methi Sativa set next!

Whipped Gelly: The one product that just did not work on anyone in the family. On my hair it didn't really do much-not enough hold as its a very light hold. It smells DIVINE though! I used it to twist T's hair but her hair didn't stay and turned very dry after a day. I used a very moisturizing leave in with this that always works so it was clearly the jelly. We tried it on my son and his hair felt a little producty. Although I really love the smell this one is not a repurchase.

I should mention that the ladies at Hairveda are super nice to work with. I had a problem and they contacted me right away to fix it. We agreed on a solution and they immediately took care of it. Since this is a very small business it can take a while to get a response and the products take a while (sometimes a long while) to ship. IMHO the Moist Condition Pro and the Amala Cream Rinse's are la creme de la creme of my product rotation. I will not be without them.

Shescentit

Shescentit is another handmade line I learned about on naturallycurly.com and longhaircareforum.com and I'm so glad I did!

I've ordered a couple of times and always had great experiences. We have liked all the products we've gotten! I have only ordered the conditioners and such without silicones (or silica) in them. I'm very tempted by the others but know I would regret it afterwords. Ah well. On to the review.

The Avocado Conditioner is green--seems appropriate. It comes in a regular bottle with flip top lid. Her bottles are very unique and, honestly, quite classy and fun looking. I love her logo. Anyway this is an excellent conditioner if your hair is normal to dry. We didn't find it had enough *umph* for T's hair but for my hair it's great. My son also likes it (his favorite color is green). Smells good. Very inexpensive for an online product. Nice!

Next up on the list is the Super Soft Honey Conditioning Rinse. I LOVE the smell of this and it works amazing for me as a rinse out conditioner. It makes my hair moist and bouncy without leaving it over conditioned. It has just enough moisture power. It's another inexpensive option.

My favorite conditioner right now is the Green Tea and Hibiscus one. My hair seems to love Green Tea in any form. It's a deep conditioner but I usually just leave it on in the shower. I'll have to try it with my hard hat dryer but so far its working exceptionally well with just the shower heat for about 5-8 minutes. It smells fine--a little more herbally than the other two I've tried but completely acceptable.

The Coco-Cream Leave In Conditioner is a favorite of many. It works wonders for my sons hair. It provides a lot of slip and can easily be used to detangle. It smells positively divine and is a little more liquidy so it spreads very easily. You don't need too much. If you like leave ins that have a lot of slip or that make your hair feel very silky you will like this one. I felt it made my hair a little too slippery leading to reduced curl.

Another other option for a leave in is the Moisture Mist Leave In Conditioner. This is a liquid in a spray bottle. You MUST shake it up WELL. Do Not Forget. This has oils that can make your hair greasy if you don't shake well. For a spray this one does a nice job. We found it much better on my sons hair than my daughter's and I use it occasionally as well. I actually prefer creamy leave in's myself but this one is nice if you want something light. I think the smell is the other reason for it to not be my favorite--not sure how to describe it except as artificial. I don't really care for it.

Our other favorite products from Shescentit are the butters. OH MY do we love them! We love the Gillian Butter the best but the Seyani is no slouch. You can order your fragrance and you can get sample sizes. We have loved every fragrance we've tried (Vanilla Almond, Sugar Cookie, and Creamsicle). All are light and not overpowering. These butters emulsify into an oil and they are wonderful, simply wonderful, for sealing your hair. When we use this after T's leave in and her Qhemet Biologics Burdock Cream we get long lasting moisture--never greasy, sticky, producty, etc. It is fabulous. We use it in the morning as well to refresh second day after the Qhemet products and it sets her hair just right and helps minimize frizz. EXCELLENT! Even if you think you can't do butters but want to try some these are great to give you an idea--inexpensive as well.