Healthy curly hair doesn’t happen with styling alone. My process starts at prepoo, that’s the first step. This process treats both my hair and scalp before washing. Here’s what you need to know!
4 Signs you need to PREPOO next wash!
- Breakage
- Slow hair growth
- Knots & Tangles
- Clean hair and scalp .. very clean.
Prepoo makes hair softer, and therefore more manageable during wash. Easy washes decrease overall breakage and hair loss that occurs with *just* the way you handle your hair. But Oil forms a barrier, that’s true. In addition to nutrition, Prepoo oils offer protection from shower trauma like water pressure, excessive swelling of the hair cuticles, or too much shampooing.
What is Prepoo
Prepoo is PREparing your hair before shamPOO. Traditional hot oil treatments are actually “deep conditioning”. So this process, at least for me, is very different. Because oils form a barrier, I suggest you steam hair first. Then use a little bit of oil to trap the wonderful water from the steam. You can also do this directly on dry hair before washing. Depending on how rough and dry your hair is, keeping overnight is optional. I prefer overnight prepoo for my coarse hair. If you have fine hair you may not need this level of moisture and 5-10min is ideal for you.
Pro Tip: Don’t Prepoo if hair feels soft already/ Prepoo to fight humidity!
How To Prepoo
Method: Section your hair and coat hair with product and detangle. Scalp Massage. Cover with a shower cap (important!!) Keep at least 20 minutes before wash. You can keep it overnight based on how your hair feels. Prepoo makes a big difference for my hair, making it softer and shinier. My prepoo days are always the best! Here’s a quick video:
When to *not* Prepoo
The goal is to detangle and moisturize hair so your shampoo doesn’t strip all the moisture out of your hair. It sounds a bit counterintuitive because why would you do this on dirty hair? You actually don’t. If your hair feels buildup-y, has gunk from using butter-y heavy products? Then no, do not prepoo in this dirty hair. There’s no point. This kind of hair needs a detox! Pronto.
I prepoo overnight few times a month. This is for intense hydration when my hair feels really really dry. I use a shower cap under my bonnet. If you have smoother, looser texture there is the risk of hygral fatigue with overnight prepoo on wet hair. So use your discretion as always.
Don’t prepoo before Olaplex treatment or ACV Rinses. Special treatments like that work best on buildup free hair!
If you want to focus only on your scalp, read my Ultimate Guide to Scalp Massages here.
Best oils to use for curly hair
Use oils that repair your hair once they enter the cuticle. Here is a quick list also found on naturallycurly article.
- Coconut oil to prevent protein loss in hair. (not if you’re coconut-sensitive!)
- Babassu oil to strengthen to weak strands.
- Avocado oil with antioxidant properties protects and strengthens hair.
- Mango butter is great for adding hydration and moisture.
- Murumuru butter locks in moisture and promotes shine.
- Cupuacu butter is great for absorbing water and promotes healthy scalp.
- Argan Oil to promote a healthy moisturised scalp and is rich in Vitamin E.
- Grapeseed Oil to improve hair elasticity.
- Almond Oil treats hair loss and is rich in both Vitamin E and magnesium
Use Your favorite essential oils, curl cream or intense oil serums. Using a conditioner for a better slip is optional. Apply your product lightly but evenly, and wear a shower cap over. This offers a “greenhouse effect” trapping your body heat and allowing oils to penetrate in your hair. Traditionally, coconut oil is used a lot in india. But did you know? Coconut oil works better as a carrier oil. So it works better when you mix essential oils in it. Me? I’m not a professional “blender”. I cannot risk blending wrong essential oil combinations and having my scalp suffer because of silly mistakes. So I just buy ready-made oil blends.
Top Prepoo Product for Curly Hair
- UK/USA Boucleme Revive 5 Oil [code: HONESTLIZ15 for 15% off]
- INDIA Arata Hempacado Oil [code: HONESTLIZ for 20% off on orders over INR 999]
Learn how to choose prepoo products for your texture from this blog.
This is not deep conditioning so be gentle, and light. If you apply heavy oils or butter to prepoo you probably need to detox your hair more frequently. So measure out the consequences of whatever you do too. A treatment like this helps my hair grow since it nourishes and stimulates my scalp. The best part though? It’s the relaxing herbal scent of my favourite oils to wind my busy day down. Let me know if this article helped you – leave a comment below!
This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!
Fantastic article! I’ve been considering going natural, and this has convinced me to take the plunge. Do you have any advice for someone transitioning from relaxed to natural hair?
Hey Khushi, welcome to the club! My cutthroat advice to all transitioning is to “big chop.” This means removing all the chemically treated hair to fast-track your hair journey. I don’t see the point in keeping damaged hair because it won’t allow water or products to work on your hair, and it won’t let you be great. However, I understand that this may not be for everyone. You can gradually cut the damage off as often as you are comfortable, and in the meantime, spend some time educating yourself. You can read blogs, watch YouTube videos, make notes, research, or get on the waitlist for my upcoming curl care course! The course will provide you with all the information you need to find products and techniques for your hair texture, set a routine, and win with your curls! Tap here to get on the waitlist now! https://honestliz.myflodesk.com/honestliz