Do You Pre-Poo?
For years, I did hot oil and deep conditioning treatments after shampooing and conditioning my hair. That was just the way my hairdressers always did it — wash, condition, THEN slather on oil, stick me under a dryer or bonnet or weird spaceman hot lamp until I’m done, then rinse and repeat. I never questioned it, but it always seemed like a pain to me. You mean I gotta wash it out AGAIN?
I honestly hadn’t even heard of pre-pooing until late last year, when I discovered Healthy Textures, a blog dedicated to the well being and growth of relaxed and natural hair. Although primarily the information and styles are for relaxed textures, the healthy hair tips are great for bellas of all hair types. Not only does the author, Macherie, have an excellent post on the topic — The Benefits of Pre-pooing, but she’s also got a video tutorial! She advises that it’s a great way to use up hot oils, protein conditioners, and old conditioners you haven’t used yet. I came late to the pre-poo party, but now that I’m here, I’m staying! And telling everyone I know about how great pre-shampoo treatments can be.
When I first heard the term pre-poo, I giggled like a five year old for a second, but the concept grabbed me right away. Doing a pre-shampoo treatment saves me so much time. I slather on some hot oil or deep conditioner, cover my curls with a plastic cap, then put on my little hair steaming bonnet. Or I do a pre-poo just as Macherie did in the video, with a wet towel and a plastic cap, and leave it on for as long as an hour while I kick back and watch Best Week Ever or The Soup or Clean House or… you get the picture. It’s marvelous “me” time. Sometimes I double up the beautification and give myself a pedi, or wear a clay mask on my face while I pre-poo, too. Every couple of weeks I make that my Sunday beauty ritual.
I’ve never done an overnight pre-poo, Macherie advises against it… but quite a few bellas on Nappturality, Long Hair Care Forums, and such all seem to have tried that and I haven’t read any complaints on their forums.
So what do I use to pre-poo? My curls love an oil treatment, and lately I’ve been using Lippia Tea Hair Oil from Zosimos Botanicals, a cosmetics, skin care, and hair care company so green that they formulate their products in a wind-powered workshop. $11 for a sizable bottle that’s lasted me through quite a few pre-poos. In West African countries, Lippia tea is traditionally served as a relaxation tonic at the end of the work day. And according to the peeps at Aveda, it’s also popular in Brazilian folk medicine, and has been used “for centuries for its soothing properties to remedy irritation and discomfort.” Zosimos Botanicals blends it with olive oil and perilla seed oil. This stuff smells more like something you’d cook with, but it makes my curls divinely soft when used as a pre-poo.
Of course, you can use any oil you’d like, including the VO5 stuff, Queen Helene, any of the brands you get at Sally’s, or you can turn to your kitchen for regular olive oil, sweet almond oil, or jojoba. Many bellas create their own pre-poo mix, including other known-to-be-nourishing ingredients like honey, rosemary essential oil, castor oil, neem oil, or Indian amla oil — psst, you can get a interesting mix of oils from From Nature With Love.
What has pre-pooing done for me? It’s helped to make my hair softer to the touch and more manageable for comb-throughs. I’ve been noticing less shedding, and my ends aren’t as brittle and prone to knotting up. That’s IF, and only if I keep up my beauty regimen regularly.
So, bellas — do you pre-poo? And if you do, what do you use?
** I found the beautiful afro photo at Nature’s Parlour, a UK natural hair website.
Category: Hair, Product Reviews
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I do! I do I do-ooh! I have cut down to shampooing twice a week, but until I get to my desired length to feel comfortable with my natural curls, it will have to do.
Anyway, the night before I am going to shampoo, I condition like crazy, and oil my hair with EVOO – dying to try coconut oil, but haven’t yet. Then I wrap my hair, and sleep!
I love this website!! I’ve been natural for about four years now. I have been doing the co-wash because my shampoo was drying. I read and saw that some of you guys use a ‘no-poo bar’, this sounds like something I’m interested in trying. Any suggestions??
hi afrobella! luv your site!
I have been natural for about 4 yrs and just started pre-pooing the last year or so–and it has definitely made a huge difference in the softness of my hair. i use a creamy deep condition (usually protein), add some oil and shea butter to it–and bam, I have a lovely concoction. I usually keep mine on for a few hours–as I have an infant to take up alot of that time….lol. But eventually, I get around to washing it out. I do a con-wash, also known as a conditioner wash with a cheap conditioner.
I read this post last night, and I’ve got olive oil in my hair right now. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me sooner. I remembered when I was a kid, my hairdresser used to put an olive oil and egg mixture on my hair the visit before I was due for a touch up. I figured I’d skip the egg. We’ll see how this works. I’m growing out a short natural, and I’ve been frustrated with how frizzy some of my hair is. I use Miss Jessie’s products. After a deep conditioner, and a good coating of Curl Pudding, the frizz was better, but still more than I’d like. I’m hoping the oil pretreatment will do the trick.
Definately! At first I didn’t, despite having an EXTREMELY dry, flaky scalp…but now that i’m locked, have to do all that it takes to keep my flaky scalp from causing buildup in my locs. I usually just saturate my scalp with a mixture of tea tree and olive oils before I wash.
Hi!
Natural bella from Australia here.
Just tried the pre-poo on the weekend and my hair was so soft and manageable afterwards!
Thank you to all who gave me ideas.
Just wanted to add my two cents for anyone else who comes along and reads this post. Mayo is the the truth when it comes to prepoo/deep conditioner treatments for my 4a tresses. I saturate my hair with mayo, wrap it in cling wrap, cover with a bonnet and sleep on it. When I rinse and shampoo the next morning, the tangles slip right out of my hair BEFORE using conditioner. Amazing! Sometimes I add honey, coconut milk, and sweet almond oil but if I’m out of these ingredients mayo works just as well. Do not be afraid people! Mayo is just eggs, oils, vinegar, and lemon juice which are all great for kinky hair
I love this site!!!!!!
I will be pre-pooing the next time I wash…i’m looking forward to moisturized hair. Healthy hair is on the way!!!
Thanks afrobella!
To anyone that wants to try coconut milk use Thai Kitchen brand. It is so thick it’s more like a thick cream than a milk. and it tastes SOOOO good with some raw honey…wait…i’m supposed to be mixing a pre-poo recipe not eating it!!!!!!
I just started the pre-pooing thing. First, I tried oils – and as we speak, I’m trying Burt’s Bees! IT SMELLS AMAZING! I’m waiting to see the results but just off the smell – Burt’s Bees Pre-Shampoo is fantastically spectacular
This is so Funny…I am pre-pooing right now, but I use different pre-poos depending on the time of year. In the summer I use a mixture of honey, olive oil, eggs and a little mayo. The honey helps to draw moisture into your hair. Now that it is getting colder and there is not a lot of humidity in the air I am pre-pooing with pure coconut oil and an egg. I take about a table spoon of coconut oil, melt it in the microwave and then crack an egg in it and stir it up then apply it on damp hair. I then cover it with a shower cap and sit under the dryer for an hour. My hair comes out soft and shiny and less tangled! I love this prepoo. Enjoy bellas!
I had never heard of pre-pooing before tonight. I will definitely be giving it a try to see how it works on my VERY THIRSTY hair.
I am going to try the pre-pooing today I have some olive oil an another kind of hot oil treatment i’m going to mix those together. My hair is long and has been very dry but since i color treated it, it has become even more dry. So i will try this and get back and let everyone know how it worked for me.
pre pooing is the bomb.. I have used coconut milk, coconut oil or a deep conditioner as a pre poo.. I have tried overnight prepooing with coconut oil.. My hair seems to love it- all of it!! thank God for natural products
When I was relaxed, I used to frequent a Dominican Salon weekly. Every 2-3 weeks I would get a hot oil treatment. Of course, I didn’t know at the time that it was called a Pre-poo. Honestly, I didn’t know about all these different terms (pre-poo, cowash, etc.) until I became natural. All I knew was that whenever I got a hot oil treatment my hair was always soft and super shiny.
When I finally decided to do the big chop, I continued to do hot oil treatments before I shampooed or conditioned.
I’ve made up my own concoction where I combined a lot of different oils. I pre-poo every two weeks. I think I may also start to mix my egg white pre-poo treatment and use it as a protein treatment once a month which it what I used to do when I was relaxed.
Happy Growing!
Pre-pooing is great! But have you tried oil-rinses? You’ll be amazed by them. Check out “don’t sleep on oil-rinses” thread on the Long Hair Care Forum. It is a quick and very effective method for conditioning and detangling hair.