I decided today to focus on my scalp as it’s still slightly irritated. So i got out my Aloe Vera Gel and castor oil for a pre-poo treatment before co-washing.

Here’s what i did:

• sectioned my hair into four and applied Aloe Vera Gel liberally to my scalp and massaged it in running my hands over my strands to pull the gel down into my hair.
• Applied Castor oil to my ends and covered my hair with a plastic bag.
• After an hour i rinsed and co-washed with herbal essence hello hydration and detangled each section with a wide tooth comb, re-twisting each section.
• Final rinsed with ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) 1/4 cup to 1 litre water and rinsed out with cool water.
• Then took down each twist, spritzed with the spritz mix, applied my homemade Shea pomade and finished by applying my hair oil mix onto my ends.
• Used the Shea pomade to ‘grease’ my scalp and then braided each section into a cornrow to air dry.

The aloe vera gel made my scalp tingle so i think it was working well. I left the ACV on my hair and massaged my scalp for a minute or so before rinsing. I’m tired of the oily neck, ears and forehead i get when i oil my scalp with the oil mix, so i used the pomade instead. I’ve found it works better for my scalp. It’s extremely dry (my scalp that is) so the heaviness of the pomade lasts longer on my scalp and really seals it preventing dryness for a few days. But what i’ve noticed by doing this is that my hair strands feel less moisturised without the oil. It seems to have kept in all the moisture from the spritz and pomade. So now i apply that to my hair alone.

Next time i’ll make a few changes to this by doing the following.

• Use a different oil to treat my hair instead of the castor oil. Castor oil is so thick that people use it to seal the moisture in. It didn’t penetrate my hair shaft as it’s so thick, so it left my hair feeling no different at the end of the pre-poo treatment. I’ll probably use either Avocado oil or olive oil.
• I’ll do a deep conditioning treatment after the ACV rinse as it left my hair a little stripped. ACV is good for treating the scalp but it is also a natural clarifier so it will take off all the product on your hair. So i will need to re-condition my hair after to put back all that moisture.

I must admit now that my hair has dried it feels soft and moisturised so i guess no harm done. Even so, next time i’ll definitely deep condition.

Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

• Cider vinegar contains alpha-hydroxy acids, is an antiseptic and balances pH
• It closes the hair cuticle preventing product build-up and leaves the hair shiny and smooth
• You should use a cap full or one tablespoon mixed into two cups of lukewarm water as an after shampoo clarifying rinse
• Its also good as an in-between wash rinse to get rid of itchiness.
• It discourages the overgrowth of yeast-like fungus known as malassezia furfur that sets off dandruff.

I’ve already listed the benefits of Aloe Vera in a previous blog. I bought my Aloe Vera Gel from Holland and Barratt.