Hi lovely readers! It’s Mariam here from blog www.amu-dat.com. I’m going to be taking over The Afro Hair & Skin Co. blog for the next month. You guys are in for musings on beauty, tips on how to use the range and other fun bits and bobs. In this my first post, I’m talking about butters, oils and everything in between.
When it comes to Afro Hair products, there seems to be a lot of terminology to get your head round. You have your butters, gels, soufflés, creams, crèmes (is that not just French for creams?), lotions, oils, ghee and whatever some marketing whizz kid comes up with next. I’m going to break it down into the four key product types you need to know and what they mean for your head of hair.
Butters
Hair butters are great and should be one of the main players in your hair routine. Use it to seal in moisture on wash day and daily to moisturise your ends. A good hair butter should have a rich nut fat as its base with other nutritional goodies added to the mix. Most natural hair butters are shea butter based but Flourish is made with the more unusual walnut butter. This ingredient is rich in Omega 3 oils which makes your hair shiny and strong. It’s also a great source of Linoleic acid which stimulates hair growth and maintains healthy scalp conditions.
Creams/Lotions
Most leave – in products tend to be creams or lotions. These are usually water based and light in consistency. They add a kick of moisture that then needs to be sealed in with your oil or butter. Avoid creams that have a million and one ingredients that you can’t pronounce. Look out for ingredients like aloe vera and glycerine. Try and go organic where possible.
Oils
Give me a good hair oil and you have my heart. This is the one thing my hair never goes without. Use your hair oil to massage your scalp, lock in moisture and add a little shine to dull tresses. A good quality oil should be a blend of carrier oils and essential oils. Carrier oils are base oils that dilute the essential oils which tend to contain the more active ingredients. Bloom contains plenty of oil magic. The organic thistle oil strengthens and adds elasticity while the addition of camelina seed oil keeps flaky, dry scalp at bay.
Gels
These are products designed to make your hair do what doesn’t come naturally i.e lay down flat. These are sticky in consistency and are mostly laden with chemicals that your hair will regret in the morning. If you want an all-natural gel, you could make your own with flax seeds. There are plenty of recipes to be found online.
*all views are written from the perspective of the blogger.
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Mariam Bashorun is a blogger at www.amu-dat.com an afrocentric fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog. She is also the founder of www.blackbritishbloggers.com a service linking bloggers to brands for work and collaborations.
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