DIY Hair Products: Coconut Milk Pre-Poo

There really is no excuse not to give your hair the help it needs to not just grow but to stay on your head for as long as possible and to be kept healthy. Maintaining the head of hair you were born with does not need to be expensive either and the absolute awesome thing is that a trip to your kitchen could churn out some pretty awesome Do It Yourself hair products. The joys. (women have been doing this for centuries and its sad that only nowadays do we wake up to the fact that we already have everything we need).

Due to some concerns I had about hydral fatigue (I have fine hair and l love wash n wet n gos meaning I use water a lot), I decided to utilise pre-poos more. Read more about Hygral Fatigue HERE. (I started prepoos then stopped and started again lol #frolife) Saturday came and went and I was not in the mood to do a full on wash process, I even forgot to prepoo the night before as I had wanted to do. Sunday found me a little more inspired. I wasn't keen on just a hot oil treatment and after looking to see what was in my kitchen cupboard, a tin of coconut milk smiled at me and I smiled right back. I had read about using coconut milk for prepoo and leave-ins and all things hair a while back and did some more research with the help of google. I found an easy prepoo recipe HERE and the results HERE and got to mixing. Try as I may following recipes ignites a spark of my own creativity and so I always give something I'm doing my own dash of 'Joan'. I switched the recipe up a little using the following (plus I had run out of coconut oil):

8 Tablespoons of Coconut Milk

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Jojoba Oil 

1 Tablespoon Castor Oil

1-2 Tablespoons thick conditioner

Mix with a handheld mixer - a key item to have for any DIY

The mixture turned to a cream colour due to the oils and honey and the consistency was that of condensed milk, watery but not too watery if that makes sense. It smelled yum.

 

I transferred the mixture to a applicator bottle and popped that into the microwave for a few seconds, 15-20 seconds, max 30 seconds if you are sectioning the hair whilst the mixture cools. I then applied the mixture onto sectioned dry hair. It did not really drip at this stage. Once the mixture was applied to all of the hair, I then covered the head with a plastic shower cap (I keep a bundle of these). I did not attempt to comb at this stage. I got on with other stuff for about an hour and kept a towel nearby as the mixture started to drip down the sides of my face and back of my neck - maybe the plastic cap wasn't tight enough. The skin became sticky and this was the only stage that things got messy. (prepoo before taking a bath/shower where possible or just wrap a towel or headwrap over the plastic and ensure edges are nice and sturdy). I then rinsed off and proceeded to shampoo and condition whilst in the shower.

Above: 4th Day Hair - Before

 Above Left: during the application and Right: After the final rinse (I did not take as many pics as I would have liked)


I decided to leave detangling for after the final rinse. Apart from a section in the middle where I think the hair there just needs another chop and some clarifying shampoo, the rest of the hair was super soft. After detangling I went on to using my current stash of products and styling - twists in the back and curling rods in the front. The products I used did not have enough hold for the rods and hair was just a puffy fro the next day. No stress, head band on and off to corporate I went.

Would I use this mixture again - yes - especially as quite abit of the coconut milk remained and I transferred this to a plastic container and placed it in the fridge. No wasting is going to happen here.

So, as I was saying, DIY does not have to be taxing or expensive and can be quite nutritional for your hair - and skin and body and health. (I'm fifty/fifty, I love products but I also love mixing my own stuff).

Experiment and listen to your hair.