by Barbara of Frotastic
Since going natural 3 years ago, I became sort of a mad hair scientist; mixing food items including peanut butter into my concoctions without a problem. Then out of the blue, my scalp decided enough was enough.
What happened you ask? A teensy bit of my sealing oil, rice bran, touched my scalp and it burned to pieces! The same thing happened with avocado, olive oil and hemp. So for the 4th time over the past year, I once again found myself racing towards the kitchen in a panic with shampoo and conditioner in hand.
Instead of simply giving up on experimenting with new products, concoctions and oils, I decided to take it a step further and eliminate all products. Yes, you did in fact read that last sentence correctly. All is in a-l-l. All as in no oils, no conditioner, no moisturizers, no leave ins…well, you get the point.
I’d love to say that I came to this water-only epiphany on my own, but the truth is it’s been all the rage on white hair boards. I’d routinely skim through threads of adulation then remind myself that these kinks need the whole nine yards plus another inch, that is, until the aforementioned incident.
Water-only does not equal “wet it and forget it.” In fact I had to devise a special regimen before embarking on this experiment. I committed to massaging my scalp everyday for at least 5 minutes in order to move sebum from my scalp to the length of my hair. Also, once a week, I rinsed with water and “scritched”– which is very, very lightly scratching the scalp to further loosen and distribute sebum.
Did my 4b/c hair survive on a water only regimen? There are 2 answers but first, a preface; As a long-term protective style wearer (braids or twists) I like to leave a small section in the front loose so I can “refresh” it while hiding the new growth in the back sections. This practice allowed me to compare loose 4b/c hair on a water only regimen versus twisted/braided hair.
Link to water only VIDEO:
The twisted/braided sections were amazingly soft as well as shiny and very easy to take down. My hair felt as if I’d sufficiently moisturized and sealed the day before.
The loose section held up fine but was not nearly as moisturized as the twisted sections. My theory is intertwined strands can better retain moisture from water rinsing sessions and sebum massages.
I was so beyond thrilled with my results that I now practice the “water-only” regime every other month.
This is what my hair looks like after 4 months of practicing the “water-only” regime every other month.
If you’re protective styling your own hair and can commit to sebum washing and massaging then perhaps water- only may be worth a try.
Ladies, would you try this?! And if you already have, please share your experience!!
