Sealing in moisture... slightly urgent...

[Amber_Maiden]

Those who know me, know I've been having really dry ends.
Finally after an avocado oil/conditioner treatment yesterday (which didn't fully come out in the shower because I didn't shampoo), and last night (since it didn't come out the oil stayed in my hair while I slept), I washed my hair with an oil shampoo this morning and conditioned again and found that my hair ends feel much better!

The question I have is how do I seal this moisture in- I know silicon serum and oils will do it, I'm pretty sure, but how much or which one is best? My hair is still slightly damp right now- so the after the first three answers I'll do whichever gets the most votes!

I have-
Avocado oil
Silicon serum
Argan oil

(Sorry for any grammar mistakes, I haven't had my morning tea yet and have a head cold).

[coffinhert]

Did you ever try brushing oil into the ends of your hair while it is still wet (not damp - wet!) using a boar bristle brush? I think this could be your golden ticket.

[Maktub]

I say avocado oil, but very little !

[Amber_Maiden]

Avocado oil it is! I'll brush it through with my tangle teezer!

[coffinhert]

Awesome. I'm on the edge of my seat, literally. Your dry ends adventure and Dreadful's new hair are my current LHC favs.

[Amber_Maiden]

Awesome. I'm on the edge of my seat, literally. Your dry ends adventure and Dreadful's new hair are my current LHC favs.

haha! No way! :D Ohhh the drama!!!
I really hope my dry ends are now moisturized... :pray:
Hair now had avocado oil in it and is now up in a bun!

[coffinhert]

The draaaamaaaa!!!

[Anywhere]

Be sure to let us know how it turns out once it is dry. Curious fans want to know. :p:D

[Amber_Maiden]

Be sure to let us know how it turns out once it is dry. Curious fans want to know. :p:D

Will do! I'll post again this afternoon or tonight to let you all know!:) Here's hoping...

[Delila]

I'm late to the party, but thought I'd mention that for me, drying my ends rather slowly does help a lot. Putting it up damp after oiling, and making sure the ends are tucked under the rest (where they'll dry more slowly) helps a lot.

I don't have either oil you mention, but in general I do prefer actual oils to silicone anything.

[ktani]

No natural oil or silicones completely seal hair from water absorption or loss.

You would not want that in any case.

Any of the oils you have including the silicone serum used the way you have help reduce moisture loss from hair.

ETA: A touch (very small amount) of mineral oil baby oil would do the same thing only more so, according to the reaearch.

[Amber_Maiden]

No natural oil or silicones completely seal hair from water absorption or loss.

You would not want that in any case.

Any of the oils you have including the silicone serum used the way you have help reduce moisture loss from hair.

Thanks ktani, good to know! :)

[Kelikea]

I just started a thread about Shea Butter for the same reason. No replies yet, though. Good luck with your ends. I'm using Coconut oil, in the meantime.

[ktani]

Here is the research on baby oil or mineral oil, from another thread,
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1889263&postcount=13

ETA: It is the low humidity point I was trying to make and it is valid especially this time of year.

[Delila]

I just started a thread about Shea Butter for the same reason. No replies yet, though. Good luck with your ends. I'm using Coconut oil, in the meantime.

FWIW, camellia oil and shea butter are the two that seem to work best in my hair. Others are just not as effective for me.

[Amber_Maiden]

Update: Looks like my hair is now drying properly!!! I haven't taken down my bun yet- just feeling the top of it.

[ktani]

Update: Looks like my hair is now drying properly!!! I haven't taken down my bun yet- just feeling the top of it.

Stop teasing everyone, lol.

Full report when dry please, lol.

[Amber_Maiden]

Stop teasing everyone, lol.

Full report when dry please, lol.

hehehe! :p

I'm really excited to see what's happened... !!!

[ktani]

hehehe! :p

I'm really excited to see what's happened... !!!

I can tell, lol.

[DreadfulWoman]

Awesome. I'm on the edge of my seat, literally. Your dry ends adventure and Dreadful's new hair are my current LHC favs.

Haha. :p My big drama lately has been my dry dry ends as well. I've been damp bunning like a crazy woman and keeping the oil on my ends pretty much constantly (50/50 EVOO and coconut oil for me).

[ktani]

I still say if all else fails, the way products are being used, with clarifying not an issue, and natural oils being used as well, that a touch of mineral oil, not used to replace an oiling for conditioning, but for finishing, may be better and most likely would wash out of hair better than most silicone serums.

[Amber_Maiden]

Update:

Took down bun. Hair is still drying in some places, but the ends are dry. My hair feels softer and feels moisturized :) My ends look a lot better! :D

[ktani]

Update:

Took down bun. Hair is still drying in some places, but the ends are dry. My hair feels softer and feels moisturized :) My ends look a lot better! :D

Nice one, yay!!!!!!!!!!

Please update after a few days or before you wash your hair again.

[Amber_Maiden]

Nice one, yay!!!!!!!!!!

Please update after a few days or before you wash your hair again.
Will do. I'll update probably on the 4th day of not washing my hair, and I'll be washing it on Wednesday night (usually I wait longer, but I have an appointment the next day).

[Mairéad]

Hooooray! Hopefully yours ends will keep up with their new found softness!

[Amber_Maiden]

Hooooray! Hopefully yours ends will keep up with their new found softness!

I'm REALLY hoping!!!!

[ktani]

I'm REALLY hoping!!!!

It should work. And you have another option, the baby oil after you wash out the avocado oil if it does not.

ETA: The moisture vapour study. I have posted it before.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17520153

Together with the other study, means that baby oil, mineral oil based - I would buy pure white baby oil, is a good bet. It will not seal the hair from all moisture vapour either. It will from the research, both studies, do a better job in low humidity than other oils.

[kittymallow]

Crossing my fingers and toes hoping you have found a solution to all your problems!! :)

[Anywhere]

Glad to hear it's working (so far) :cheese:

[LaLaBella]

Congrats! I've been staying tuned to the continuing saga of your dry ends. :D

[Lissandria]

Sounds like you have a good thing going. If it starts to go pear-shaped you can take Ktani's advice with the mineral oil. Dry ends are just awful, glad yours are feeling better, Amber :)

[Celebrian]

Baby oil? I wonder what my Bio oil would do...

[ktani]

This is fascinationg,
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1975/cc026n05/p00227-p00234.pdf
See Page ETA: should read Page 2, 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. Mineral oil proved better at slowing water loss from skin than vegetable oils, saturated and unsaturated, and humectants. I am amazed.

More from Paula Begoun, who uses excellent references, http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/963/mineral-oil.aspx

[LaLaBella]

This is fascinationg,
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1975/cc026n05/p00227-p00234.pdf
See Page ETA: should read Page 2, 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. Mineral oil proved better at slowing water loss from skin than vegetable oils, saturated and unsaturated, and humectants. I am amazed.

More from Paula Begoun, who uses excellent references, http://www.cosmeticscop.com/cosmetic-ingredient-dictionary/definition/963/mineral-oil.aspx
Hmmm...this is interesting. I'll have to try it out.

[ktani]

Hmmm...this is interesting. I'll have to try it out.

Just do not use too much. The benefits last only as long as the mineral oil is used. Once the barrier is removed, the evaporation of moisture starts again.

[Anywhere]

Just do not use too much. The benefits last only as long as the mineral oil is used. Once the barrier is removed, the evaporation of moisture starts again.

I find this interesting, isn't mineral oil something that is usually shunned on here?

So (sorry to semi-thread hijack Amber Maiden:oops:) if I wanted to try using mineral oil (or baby oil since I don't have pure mineral oil..) I would just use a teeny bit by itself..? or should I still add a coating of a vegetable oil?
I'm assuming it is a non-drying oil?

I don't have any babies to oil, but I have a ton of baby oil that I no longer have a use for.:rolleyes:

[ktani]

I find this interesting, isn't mineral oil something that is usually shunned on here?

So (sorry to semi-thread hijack Amber Maiden:oops:) if I wanted to try using mineral oil (or baby oil since I don't have pure mineral oil..) I would just use a teeny bit by itself..? or should I still add a coating of a vegetable oil?
I'm assuming it is a non-drying oil?

I don't have any babies to oil, but I have a ton of baby oil that I no longer have a use for.:rolleyes:

It is shunned here as an alternative to conditioning hair with other oils and for that purpose only, I agree.

It tends to get shunned as well as silicones because of build-up but neither it or silicone should build-up any more and probably less or not at all, compared to other ingredients in products that do build-up, like waxes and polymers.

Like Paula Begoun says, companies confuse unpurified with purified safe mineral oil when promoting their own products.

It should take ETA: very, very little mineral oil, for this purpose and I would use it straight, not mixed with anything else, after you have conditioned your hair. It can replace using another oil for finishing, as a leave-in. The white baby oil is mineral oil.

ETA:2 The oil supplied for the study was probably this one, and may or may not have had fragrance, http://www.drugstore.com/johnsons-baby-oil-original/qxp10779
"Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum), Fragrance (Parfum)"

ETA:3
http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1975/cc026n05/p00227-p00234.pdf See bottom of Page 2
"*Supplied by Baby Products Company, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, N.J."