Rinses can give your hair an extra boost that you desire, especially when you thoroughly cleanse and condition your hair. Whether you are looking to reduce shedding and add shine, elasticity, and bounce, there are a few rinses that you can use to help with your desired result. Check these rinses out, and if you wish, add your own mixes to cater to your needs.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV”>
ACV is no stranger to the natural hair community. For some curlies, it is a replacement for shampoo. Apple cider vinegar can be used to gently cleanse the hair and remove product buildup. It balances the pH of your hair and scalp. You can use a spray bottle or an application bottle to apply it. When diluting it with water, it will be best to start your measurements with 1 part ACV, 2 parts water. I use parts as a measurement because it can vary with length, density, and width of your strands. Apply the mixture on your hair, preferable after cleansing. You can also add your conditioner after you apply to mixture to moisturize your hair. Let the mixture sit for at least 15 min. and rinse. Yolanda Renee shows how she applies her ACV rinse.
Black Tea/ Coffee
Black tea and coffee rinses can be used to reduce hair shedding and both are easily accessible. The caffeine in the tea and coffee helps block DHT, which is the hormone that is responsible for hair loss. Black tea contains more caffeine than coffee, which may be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing a rinse. Simply apply the rinse after you shampoo or condition your hair. Some curlies like to leave the rinse in. Other curlies like to apply the rinse while they are deep conditioning their hair. Jenell Stewart shows how she applies her black tea rinse.
Green tea can also be used as a rinse just like black tea or coffee and they have similar benefits. It is a great alternative if the other two rinses do not work for your curls. AuCurls Naturelle shows how she creates her green tea spray that can be used as a rinse.
Beer
Yes, you read that correctly. Beer rinse can help improve the elasticity of your hair. If your curls are looking dull or not popping like they used to after using heat styling tools, then a beer rinse can help improve your curls. The malt and hops in beer includes proteins that can help repair the hair. Chime Edwards shows how she applies her beer rinse.
Oil
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Oil is another product that is not strange to the natural hair community. We spend so much time sealing our hair with oil, some may not have thought about oil rinsing. If you have dry hair, especially during this time of the year, oil rinsing may be a great addition to your washday. It will help moisturize your curls and keep them shiny. Simply apply oil to your hair after cleansing (choose an oil that works best for you”>. Again, you can also apply conditioner to your hair to add more moisture. Leave the mixture on your hair for at least 15 min. and rinse. SheDel, also known as MyThiftedCloset, shows how she oil rinses her hair.
Let’s play a game. What do you think of when you hear the word “mousse?” If you’re anything like me, it may bring up associations with crunchy curls, the 80s, and drying alcohols, but you should know that things have changed. Hairstyles, techniques, brands, and product formulas have all evolved since the days of teased, crispy curls. But because we still get flashbacks when we pick up a bottle of mousse, we spoke with a few curly hair experts about when to use mousse, who should be using mousse today – and who shouldn’t.
Why use a mousse?
Brooke Michie, curl stylist and owner of Lyric Salon in Austin, Texas, first made me reconsider mousse when she used it in Grace’s wavy hair transformation. She loves using mousse on her curly haired clients because it’s “easy to apply, economical per use, has buildable coverage and hold, and can be layered with so many other types of products.”
Maya Smith, International Master of Natural Curls and founder of The Doux®, a haircare line she created specifically for naturally curly hair, says mousse can be used for “any style that requires definition and light hold. It can be used not only to set wash & go’s, but for twist outs and rod sets as well.”
As I’ve been starting to experiment with mousse more, I’ve wondered if I can use it on my dry hair as a refresher on second-day hair. According to Maya, “Mousse is best applied to wet hair for Wash & Go styling, but it can also be used to set a dry twist-out and to redefine the curl pattern. I wouldn’t recommend using it to replenish moisture on next-day hair.”
What causes that crunch?
Maya says, “It’s common for mousse to be combined with gel or cream because most mousse on the market contain alcohol to make the hair dry faster. They are also polymer-rich, which creates a sticky coating on the hair, much like a hairspray. This can leave hair feeling dry and stiff. We formulated our Mousse Def as an all-in-one solution for this problem. It creates the shine and definition of a mousse, yet leaves hair soft and touchable with no flaking.”
Maya recommends watching out for ingredients such as sodium laurel sulfate (SLS, Isopropyl, and Prolyene, which “have been found to cause breakage and dry out your hair). The best way to achieve healthy hair is to have that balance between protein and moisture.”
Brooke says it depends on the mousse, “lightweight, airy mousse or foam is great for wavy hair. Denser mousse is great for 2s and 3s and as a thin layer of added hold for more definition over a moisture foundation for well-hydrated 4s even!” For Maya, it depends on the hairstyle: “I recommend mousse for hair up to Type 4B, depending on the desired results.”
But before you rule mousse out for your Type 4C coils, Gerilyn Hayes, NaturallyCurly Senior Copywriter, loves using mousse on her 4C wash and go (like Camille Rose Spiked Honey Mousse). “I use about 5-6 pumps of mousse in my hair after shampooing and conditioning. I do this because I want to make sure that I’m starting with a clean scalp and curls that are free from any other previous products. And because my curls are very coarse and need lots of hydration, I make sure that my curls are soaked with water (which is why the shower is great for applying mousse to my hair).
To avoid product and water getting into my eyes, I flip my head over and scrunch my curls’ ends to my scalp. Although I do not have a lot of length, I still use this ends-to-root scrunching method to get the optimal curl definition. Sometimes I rake the mousse through my curls and then wrap them in a scarf, giving them more shine. Although rake versus scrunching may look similar to any onlooker, the textural differences are apparent to me!”
Who shouldn’t use mousse?
“Curls with moisture as the number one priority,” says Brooke, “or those who don’t need a product with general hold, but seek more of a product/product combo to hydrate than seal.” So if your curls are thirsty and your top priority is moisture, then you may want to opt for something like the LOC Method, which layers a leave-in for moisture, an oil to seal in the moisture, and then a cream for hold.
When to use mousse
Brooke prefers “the lightest weight mousse (she loves Bread Beauty Supply Hair Foam) in wavy hair for primary, general hold,” and this is how she recommends applying it:
On freshly rinsed detangled hair in the shower, glaze a small amount over the surface area of the hair.
Then flip and glaze another small amount over the underneath surface area.
Then, apply the majority of it via scrunching and distribute it in your palms, making sure not to flatten the airiness of the foam.
Before scrunching the ends of the hair up toward the scalp with a flat palm into a clenched fist motion, rotating your head to reach curls on either side.
If you’re using a denser foam and need more moisture, Brooke recommends applying it:
Once a leave-in or moisture foundation is either combed through or scrunched in sopping wet hair.
Then add a little denser mousse by finger combing detangled sections, or for longer curls, scrunching as above.
“This will create a cast of hold,” says Brooke, but before you worry about the crunch, remember you need to break that cast by scrunching out the crunch. “Release the cast once hair is fully dry by touching curls gently, or scrunching once more to release the wet-looking hold that was necessary during the drying process to maximize definition.”
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