The main culprit of frizzy and dry hair is lack of moisture. There are many ways to moisturise your hair, I will name some below.

1- L.O.C Method.

The L.O.C method stands for Liquid/Leave In Conditioner, Oil and Cream and is a process where you apply these three products to your hair in this order. Liquid/ your leave in conditioner is applied first as your moisturiser and then topped with a natural oil such as Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Castor Oil etc as oils are heavier than water and so will stop the moisture from your leave in from evaporating out of your hair strands. Lastly, a thick cream is applied such as Whipped Shea Butter to lock in all that moisture and nutrients.

2- Moisturising Daily.

Moisturising your hair daily with a liquid such as a leave in conditioner is important to prevent your hair from becoming dry and breaking. My personal daily moisturising routine is to lightlg sprits my hair with water in a spray bottle, apply my Aunt Jackies Knot On My Watch evenly and then put some Castor Oil, Shea Butter or Beautiful Textures Moisture Butter on my edges for extra protection. I then proceeding to style my hair however I plan to wear it for that day. I steer clear of hair gels such as Pink as many contain alcohol which dry out your hair causing frizz and breakage. Instead I use Eco Styler Gel or ORS Edge Control.

3- Hot Oil Treatments

Hot oil treatments have many benefits such as restoring moisture to your hair, helping with a dry scalp and frizz, they aid strong and healthy hair growth and add body and shine. Hot oil treatments can be bought ready made but I prefer to make my own as it is cheaper in the long run and I can control what ingredients are included. I make mine by mixing Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Organic Coconut Oil together in a small plastic tub, and leaving it to melt on-top of a mug of boiling water. Avoid using the microwave to heat your oil as this can remove the good nutrients. I then part my hair in 4-6 sections and apply my mix to each section, cover my hair with a shower cap or plastic bag, put a towel on-top and leave for at least 30 minutes. I prefer to do my hot oil treatments on dry hair before I wash my hair as this acts as a ‘pre poo’ (pre shampoo treatment) creating a barrier between my hair and the harsh chemicals in shampoos. Since I started doing weekly hot oil treatments (I do them even if I am conditioner washing not shampooing) I have noticed that my hair is moisturised for longer and my scalp isn’t as flakey.

4- Wash Day

Washing your hair regularly is important to keep a healthy and clean scalp and hair that can take in moisture. However, many shampoo’s contain harsh chemicals called sulfates which dry out your hair leaving it vulnerable to frizz and breakage. Sulfate free shampoo’s can be used instead as they aren’t as harsh on your hair or you can co-wash (conditioner wash) which will clean your hair and moisturise it at the same time. My favourite co wash is Aunt Jackies In Control as it leaves my hair soft, moisturised, leaves my curls defined and states that it can be used as a co-wash. Some people use normal conditioners such as Herbal Essence Hello Hydration and Tresseme Naturals to co wash, it is entirely up to you and what works for your hair. Make sure to use a sulfate shampoo when your hair is starting to feel weighed down with a lot of product build up. I use a sulfate shampoo once a month to once every other month but I co-wash my hair weekly. When drying your hair use an old cotton t-shirt rather than a towel as the fibres on towels can cause frizz. Also, avoid using heat appliances on a hot setting as these dry out your hair shaft. If you want to avoid heat completely,  you can do braid outs and twist outs instead of blow drying.

5- Deep Conditioning.

Always deep condition your hair after you wash it, especially if you use shampoo to replace any lost moisture. Deep conditioning is a must for healthy hair. I want to experiment with more deep conditioners but my current favourite, which I also use as my Co-wash is Aunt Jackies In Control

6- Products

If you’re doing everything to keep your hair moisturised yet it is still dry and frizzy, check the ingredients on the labels of your hair products. Try to stay away from products containing mineral oil, petrolatum and silicones as these sit on top of your hair locking in moisture at first, but preventing any moisture after that from penetrating into the hair strand. These ingredients also can’t be washed out without the use of a stripping sulfate shampoo. You can identify silicones in your products on the label as the ingredient name will end in “cone,” “conol,” “col,” or “xane,”. Silicones that are water soluble and so a sulfate shampoo isn’t needed to wash them out will have “PEG” or “PPG” infront of them. Also avoid hair gels containing alchohol. You’ll find out more about a product by reading the ingredients than looking at the packagaing.