That Girl with the Curly Hair...Chicoro's Pre-Poo Treatment



 I have always heard that aloe vera was good for the hair.  After going natural, I read many websites touting the benefits of aloe vera juice and aloe vera gel for the hair.  It is supposed to make the hair softer and has humectant properties to draw moisture to the hair.  It is also a staple ingredient in shealoe (shea butter and aloe).  For me, I have long suspected that aloe vera makes my hair dry!  I want to test out my theory.  Is aloe vera the culprit?  Is this what is contributing to my dry hair?  I have a bottle of inner fillet aloe vera juice and a hope of having softer more moisturized hair.  Off to the internet to find something that I can make that will give me what I am looking for. 

The recipe and my results after the break...

The recipe I found was very simple and I had all of the products in my stash, so I decided to give it a go.

Here is the recipe:

Chicoro's Pre-Shampoo Treatment

In a bowl mix:
1/2 cup aloe vera juice or whole leaf aloe vera
1 - 2 TBSP of your favorite oil (Olive, castor, jojoba, wheatgerm, hemp seed, sweet almond, avocado, and grape seed are suggested.  I chose to use castor oil as my hair loves it.)

In a second bowl melt:
1/4 cup coconut oil (Do not microwave or cook on the stove top.)  I used a hot water bath.

Using fingers, separate hair into 4 to 8 sections.  Apply aloe vera juice/oil mixture one section at a time.  Make sure mixture goes from root to tip, covering all strands.  Pin each section.  I chose to make bantu knots.

Go back to the first section, undo, pour coconut oil onto hair and work in.  Pin up again.  Repeat on whole head.  Cover with plastic shower cap 15 minutes to overnight.

Shampoo, deep condition and moisturize. 

Results: 
After applying the mixture my hair was buttery soft and so smooth.  I could feel no roughness.  I decided to leave it on overnight and wash it out in the morning.  I washed my hair with My Honeychild Olive You Scalp Cleanser.  Next I deep conditioned with My Honeychild Olive You Deep Conditioner.  My hair did not like the Olive You Deep Conditioner.  It seemed to make my hair dry...or was it the aloe vera juice?  Hmmm...??? 

The next time I decided to do this pre shampoo treatment I tweaked it a bit.  Instead of using castor oil, I used Hairveda's Herbal Green Tea hair grease.  I just dipped my fingers into the aloe vera juice to wet each section of hair, then added the Herbal Green Tea and made bantu knots.  Then I added the melted coconut oil.  My hair seems to love this mixture even better.  Now, I know how I can use the 4 jars of Herbal Green Tea that are sitting unloved.  I cowashed with my Suave Shea Butter Almond Conditioner/herb/tea tree oil concoction.  My hair was well moisturized and sooo soft.  The next day I got many compliments on my hair.  Most people thought I had dyed my hair.  When my hair gets dry, it tends to look ashy.  When it is well moisturized it has a dark brown/black color.  I also had a little more length than usual. 

Final Thoughts:
I will continue to use this pre-poo treatment as part of my regimen.  I really like the way that it made my hair feel.  I will use it with just my favorite oils and with the Hairveda Herbal Green Tea hair grease.