Charybdis
August 25th, 2012, 03:01 AM
I have a lot of trouble keeping my ends moisturized, and so have been wanting to try mineral oil as a leave-in. I'm also in a climate with high enough humidity right now to use humectants, so I've been wanting to experiment with aloe and glycerin. However, I haven't had any luck finding unscented mineral oil at the stores I frequent (I've looked outside the cosmetics area, haven't been able to find it sold as a laxative or treatment for wood cutting boards), and I HATE the scents they put in baby oil.
Anyway, it occurred to me that mineral oil is a common ingredient in inexpensive body lotions, so I spent some time peering at ingredient labels on lotions at the drug store. I didn't want anything too sticky, I wanted mineral oil to be the second ingredient after water, and I wanted the lotion to have aloe and/or glycerin. What I ended up with was Boots body lotion (their store brand) with aloe vera and Vitamin E. It has a light scent that doesn't bug me.
Ingredients are: Water, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance, Potassium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Linalool, Cironellol, Geraniol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Yellow 6, Blue 1.
It's free from parabens, which is good. It does have dimethicone, so is not ideal for people on the Curly Girl method who are strictly avoiding 'cones. But my hair likes 'cones, so that's not a deal-breaker for me.
I've been scrunching a squirt or two of this stuff into my damp hair as a leave-in, and it's working much better for me as a leave in than plant-based oils (presumably because the mineral oil sits on top of the hair shaft keeping the moisture in). It doesn't really tame my frizzy baby hairs, because nothing does, but it tamps them down a little, and it makes my ends feel really soft and moisturized, which is very difficult for me to achieve. Also, because it's a lotion where the oil is emulsified with water as a carrier, I find it much easier to distribute the product evenly through my hair without accidentally getting too much or too little oil in places.
When I'm next in Central Texas I will just use unscented mineral oil (I know where to buy it there) because the climate is too dry for humectants, but I've been really happy with my cheap body lotion as a post-wash leave-in treatment.
Are any other wavy or curly folks doing this? If so, what did you think of the results? Are there any particular lotions you like/dislike for this purpose?
Anyway, it occurred to me that mineral oil is a common ingredient in inexpensive body lotions, so I spent some time peering at ingredient labels on lotions at the drug store. I didn't want anything too sticky, I wanted mineral oil to be the second ingredient after water, and I wanted the lotion to have aloe and/or glycerin. What I ended up with was Boots body lotion (their store brand) with aloe vera and Vitamin E. It has a light scent that doesn't bug me.
Ingredients are: Water, Mineral Oil, Glycerin, Petrolatum, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Fragrance, Potassium Hydroxide, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Linalool, Cironellol, Geraniol, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Yellow 6, Blue 1.
It's free from parabens, which is good. It does have dimethicone, so is not ideal for people on the Curly Girl method who are strictly avoiding 'cones. But my hair likes 'cones, so that's not a deal-breaker for me.
I've been scrunching a squirt or two of this stuff into my damp hair as a leave-in, and it's working much better for me as a leave in than plant-based oils (presumably because the mineral oil sits on top of the hair shaft keeping the moisture in). It doesn't really tame my frizzy baby hairs, because nothing does, but it tamps them down a little, and it makes my ends feel really soft and moisturized, which is very difficult for me to achieve. Also, because it's a lotion where the oil is emulsified with water as a carrier, I find it much easier to distribute the product evenly through my hair without accidentally getting too much or too little oil in places.
When I'm next in Central Texas I will just use unscented mineral oil (I know where to buy it there) because the climate is too dry for humectants, but I've been really happy with my cheap body lotion as a post-wash leave-in treatment.
Are any other wavy or curly folks doing this? If so, what did you think of the results? Are there any particular lotions you like/dislike for this purpose?