Pre-Poo and Apple Cider Vinegar

I think these next few blogs will be what everyone will be most interested in.  I'm going to name and discuss my "go to" products, which are my favorite hair products.  These are the products that I re-order over and over when I have a low supply of them.  The focus here will pre-poos and apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinses.

Pre-Poo

What in the world is pre-poo?  Pre-shampoo or pre-poo is a treatment applied to your hair before shampooing or conditioning.  This can be done by applying oils like coconut oil, olive oil, or a blend of oils.  Water based conditioners can also be used as a combination with the oil or by itself.  The purpose of pre-pooing is to help detangle your hair, nourish the scalp and roots, keep moisture in your hair while washing, and to keep the natural oils from being stripped from your hair when you wash it.

I wasn't a fan of doing this because I thought it was pointless, but I've done it a few times and it does help with detangling my hair.  I'm one of those people who never detangles my hair before I wash it and then afterwards I'm in tears wishing I had took the time to detangle because now I have to carefully pull and tug on my hair just to make sections.  I'm just not into making my own mixtures right now, so I use a conditioner (which I'll name the ones I use in the next blog) and Righteous Roots The Pre-Poo.  This was something I kept seeing on Instagram on lots of the natural hair pages I follow.  I'm a sucker for trying new products so I ordered it.

How I use it:
1)  I part my hair into four sections.
2)  I apply the oil from my roots to my ends.
3)  I add in a conditioner of my choice.
4)  I put on a plastic cap and allow it to sit in m hair for about 10-15 minutes.
5)  I spray a little water on my hair then I detangle.

After that, I start my normal wash routine.  The tangles just seem to melt away so it really does make washing and detangling afterwards so much easier and less painful (I'm super tender headed--I guess that's a word).  Do I do this every time I shampoo my hair?  Hell no.  That's 15 minutes added to what already takes me anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours to do my hair.  It really takes that long to do everything I want to do with my hair.  I told you all earlier that it really takes a lot of time and patience when dealing with natural hair.  Some days I want to crawl back begging to that creamy crack.  But I only pre-poo when I haven't combed my hair in several days.  I don't comb my hair daily because then I would have to re-twist, re-braid, or re-roll my hair and I just don't always feel like doing that.  So if your hair gets tangled easily when you wash it, I would recommend that you try and pre-poo to see if it makes a difference.  Remember you don't have to use a conditioner and an oil.  You can just use whatever conditioner you already have.

ACV Rinse

This is something that I do every time I wash my hair.  Right before I put shampoo on my hair I take the ACV and pour it over my hair.  Don't pour the whole damn bottle on your head or else you'll be walking around smelling like stinky vinegar.  I pour enough just to coat my hair and scalp.  I massage it in my head then I rinse it out.  I use this as a way to cleanse my hair and scalp of any extra buildup.  It doesn't strip my hair of its natural oils either.  Since I've been using ACV as a rinse I have not had any issues with dandruff.  Once I rinse it out my shampoo lathers right up.  It will smell a little but by the time you complete the process of washing and conditioning your hair the smell is gone.  Now if you still smell it after you're done, then you know you used too much and you should use less next time.  I've seen some people add ACV and water in a spray bottle and use it that way.  It also helps to eliminate dandruff.  I've been using ACV for at least a year now and I have not had any issues with dandruff.

ACV has so many different uses. My husband takes a shot of it (or regular white vinegar) to get rid of headaches and migraines.  He says it really works.  One of my aunts uses it daily because she swears that it is just healthy in general.  I recently started mixing 2 tablespoons of ACV, 4 ounces of water, 2 pinches of cayenne pepper, and 1 ounce of lemon juice together.  It helps to curve my appetite and helps to burn some extra calories.  Be careful when doing this because it can cause some throat and stomach damages if it's done for too long.  Do some research on it and see some of the other ways that it might be beneficial to you.

Meet me over on the next blog for a list of shampoos!