So I've been wearing my hair natural for a while now and learned early on that sealing is kinda a big deal in this realm of natural hair care. Sealing is basically applying water or a water based product then using an oil or a butter to "seal" that water or product in for better moisture retention. Let me tell you its been almost 3 years and I've just found the perfect sealant for my kinky curly hair. In the beginning I used products with mineral oil (my hair kindly said no by being dry as a brillo pad until I stopped), then I read that olive oil is great for sealing (shiny hair but so greasy I said no), then their was avocado oil (not bad but I could pour too much and end up with greasy hair), then I heard the hype about shea butter (a dry, greasy mess), then almond oil (it was ok), then coconut oil (love it as a prepoo and to take out twists but horrible as a sealant especially when its cold out), but then I found Cocoa butter. 100% pure Ghanian Cocoa butter from coastal scents. I ordered during a Black Friday sale on a whim and upon its arrival I won't lie I had no idea what to do with or how to use it. It's not Palmer's boo this stuff is HARD, like it can break if hit hard enough. So I did my research on how to make it softer and most recommended mixing with shea butter a no no for my hair. Then I thought about how Naptural85 used oils to make and keep hard shea butter soft so I thought why not try that with cocoa butter. I used a good chunk (6oz I guess) of melted cocoa butter with just a touch of coconut oil (1oz max) then whipped the 2 together for about 5 min then poured into an old container from a deep conditioner and let it solidify in a cool room for a while. Although the mix was solid it was soft and it melted really easily in my hands and it smells yummy! The first time I used it was on freshly washed hair and I used maybe a half a finger tip on half my hair after my hair dried it was soft, shiny, moisturized and not weighed down and the moisture last at least 5 days for me so I don't have to remoisturize everyday. Another thing I've noticed is that I've been getting fewer SSK (single strand knots) or fairy knots and seeing fewer splits since finding the perfect sealant that means more length retention leading to longer hair and this is my year to put the scissors down and let my hair grow. So curlies are you sealing or nah?
-xoxo, Jasmine
