Wash Day: Pre-Poo It Up!

If you use sulfate shampoos like me, adding the pre-poo step to your wash day is a must. I need that extra protection from the drying effects of my sulfate shampoos. How I pre-poo varies depending on Cherrelle’s (my hair) needs. This week she needed a little extra moisture so I used a conditioner mix to pre-poo. Pre-pooing (Pre-Shampoo) is simply applying oil or conditioner before shampoo to add extra moisture and/or to protect the hair from sulfate-based shampoos. We will chat more about that later. 😉

1. Pre-poo with Suave Almond & Shea Butter conditioner mixed with vegetable glycerin and wheat germ oil. I can’t seem to find raw honey near me and I am completely out. I prefer to add honey to my pre-poo and deep conditioner over any other natural moisturizer. I normally reserve molasses for shedding issues (not having any at the moment). Desperate times call for… Glycerin it is! I need the extra moisture and this is my only option. I am out of a few things including my fave pre-poo conditioner, Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose. I’m running low on my other staples and for some reason, I just decided not to use those. I’m holding on to my Jessie Curl Deep Conditioning Treatment and my Dabur Amla Intensive Repair Therapy for dear life. Anywho, let’s get back to my wash day. I can’t express how important the pre-poo step is for me.

2. Shampoo using Keracare Moisturizing Shampoo on my scalp only. I leave the run-off to clean the length of my hair to avoid as much stripping as possible.

3. Detangled in the shower using VO5 Moisture Milk

4. My scalp is a little dry with some itching so I did a quick vinegar rinse and let it sit while I was taking a shower. Today, I changed it up a bit and mixed 1oz of apple cider vinegar (ACV) with 7oz of water, and applied the mixture directly to my scalp.

5. Deep Conditioned using Curl Junkie Hibiscus & Banana Deep Fix Moisturizing Conditioner mixed with hemp oil. I’ve had this in my stash for a few years and only used it once. I know…so sad. Anywho, I steamed using my large steamer for 20 mins. I then covered my hair with a plastic cap to hold all of that goodness in while I did a few things around the house.

6. I air-dried for 30 mins with my hair up in my Curly Tee. I removed the Tee and applied Hairveda’s Whipped Ends Creme Hydration as my leave-in…another item hidden in my stash. A new addition to my products is the Perfectly Pure Shea Butter. I decided to crack it open and use it to seal my hair. I wanted to try it pure before I mix in other products. I pulled it back into a bun and tied a scarf around the edges to smooth them out.

In addition to the benefits of adding a pre-poo step to wash day, using products from my stash seems to be a theme for today. Two items were pulled from my stashed and used in today’s wash day. I am disappointed in myself for not using them more. I am really trying to work through my stash while trying new products.

My goal is to move back to using more natural products. Natural items cost a bit more but I feel they are truly worth it. I will still have my inexpensive favorites but I want to go back to more natural-based products. Anywho, that is my wash day in a nutshell. My pre-poo set the tone for my wash day and made the process easier. Detangling well moisturized hair is so much easier than trying to detangle dry stripped hair.

Do you pre-poo? What is your favorite product to pre-poo? Are you an oil pre-pooer or conditioner?