Exposure to heat, chemical treatments, and all other kinds of stress our hair goes through during styling can cause dry and damaged hair. Other times, the shampoos we use in washing our hair tend to strip our hair of its natural moisture and damage our strands. This is why a hair care routine like the pre-poo treatment is important. This treatment can help us restore the extra moisture and lost nutrients that our natural hair needs to grow healthy. So what exactly is a pre-poo and what are the benefits for your hair? Keep reading to find out!
What is a Pre-poo?
A pre-poo, also known as the pre-shampoo treatment is simply the treatment you apply to your hair before shampooing. Similar to a hot oil treatment, the pre-poo is the process of applying oil treatment to your hair before the actual shampoo or conditioner process on wash days. While you can use any natural oils of your choice, you can also opt for regular items in your kitchen like banana or yogurt to make your DIY pre-poo treatment. A pre-poo treatment helps the hair retain some moisture that could be lost due to the sulfates in shampoos, restores shine, and makes the hair more manageable.
How Often Should I Pre-poo my Hair?
The frequency of your pre-poo treatment is totally up to you. It could be on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. However, you must remember that your pre-poo should be done before you wash your hair so you can keep your hair moisturized and make it easier to detangle.
Can You Pre-poo Your Hair Overnight?
It is totally fine to pre-poo your hair overnight. Pre-pooing overnight will give your hair the extra TLC you need while absorbing the strands with moisture to nourish them well. When you leave your pre-poo in overnight, remember to gather your hair into a braid or twist to prevent tangles or knots while you sleep. Then cover it up with a plastic cap and layer over a scarf or bonnet. The next morning, you can rinse your hair out and style.
What Pre-poo Recipes Can You Try?
Your choice of pre-poo is dependent on your preference. There are several types of pre-poo to try out. Some of them include:
- Pre-poo oils - Oils are a great way to restore moisture and vitality to your hair. Some oils you can use for pre-pooing are avocado, coconut, almond, or argan oil.
- Pre-poo Aloe Vera gel: Aloe Vera oil is also another great option for your hair since it increases moisture in your hair. It also works to cure or prevent dandruff.
- Pre-poo butter: Shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter are some examples of butter you can use for pre-pooing. These products can help to rebuild damaged hair follicles and promote hair growth and volume. In addition, they are a boost for shinier, softer hair.
What Are The Benefits Of A Pre-poo?
Here are 4 reasons why a pre-poo can work wonders for your hair.
1. Detangles your hair
During pre-poo treatments, your tangled hair is being taken care of because the oils that are being absorbed into your hair strands make it softer and easier to detangle. The resultant effect is that subsequent pre-pooing will help prevent hair damage, hair thinning, and tangles or knots during washing.
2. Adds moisture to your hair
Your kinky curls would always be in need of moisture and a pre-poo treatment provides that in abundance. This treatment restores the moisture lost during chemical and heat applications and ensures that you do not lose moisture during shampooing.
3. Boosts the effect of your conditioner
Conditioners can only do their work when they are allowed to be absorbed into your hair. However, we sometimes wash off our conditioner almost immediately after application. Because pre-poo needs to stay in your hair for a while, it allows the conditioner to supply the required nutrients to your hair strands.
4. Promotes softer and shiny hair
Regular shampoos have a cleansing effect that tends to strip the hair of its natural oils which do the work of adding sheen to the hair. The oils contained in your pre-poo treatment, when applied to the hair can leave it looking shiny and soft. It also makes it easier for you to style and flaunt your curls.
What You Need To Do A Pre-poo
To do a pre-poo on your natural hair, you need the following:
- Natural hair oil: Coconut, olive, and castor oils are good options.
- Hair clips or elastic bands to part your hair into sections
- A plastic hair cap to trap heat
- Wide-tooth comb or detangling brush
- Spray bottle of water
- A satin bonnet
How To Do A Pre-poo
Since pre-poo is done before shampooing and conditioning, you should do the pre-poo method on dry hair. You can watch this detailed tutorial by Gloria to see how to do a pre-poo treatment on your natural hair.
Step 1: Part your hair into sections
- To make the pre-pooing process easier for you, part your hair into sections depending on the length and thickness of your hair. This would make it easier to distribute the product evenly over your hair.
Step 2: Spritz water over each section
- The next step is to moisturize each section of your hair with water. To do this, take out one section and divide it into smaller sections.
- Then spray each smaller section with water, and then work that water from roots to ends to allow your oil of choice to be applied easier.
Step 3: Apply oil to each section
- Now, apply any of your oil of choice to each section and massage it from roots to ends. Avocado, olive and coconut oil are great options to choose from.
Step 4: Detangle each section
- After applying the oil to that section, thoroughly detangle it using a wide-tooth comb or detangling brush.
Step 5: Twist each section of hair
- You can then twist that section of hair to get it out of the way.
Step 6: Cover up your hair to lock in moisture
- The next thing you should do is cover up your hair with a plastic cap and let it sit for some time. You could also prepoo your hair overnight if you like. The longer you leave the prepoo, the softer and shinier your hair will be. However, don't forget to cover your hair with a scarf so the nutrients can be effectively absorbed into your hair and scalp.
Step 7: Wash your hair thoroughly
- After you have allowed your pre-poo to sit in your hair for some minutes, you can then unravel the twists, shampoo, condition, and rinse your hair to avoid any product build-up or residue in your hair.
- Next, you can add apply your leave-in, comb, and style your hair as desired.