Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Cosmetic Mineral Oil Or Baby Oil Summary


Conditioners are not without their uses. The coatings and waxes most contain fill in the gaps in cuticles from damage and help smooth the hair and make it easy to comb. That is what catnip steeped for 4.75 hours does for my hair when I use it as a treatment. Catnip also moisturizes my hair very well.

Without mineral oil in them, conditioners are not great moisturizers for hair. Other oils, butters or silicone cannot outperform mineral oil for that or its detangling effects.

My hair is not damaged. I can use baby oil drops on my hair without catnip. Friends of mine can go without conditioning and use baby oil drops too.

For those with damaged hair using a light conditioner first may be helpful.

It is not an either or proposition to get great hair. There is no reason to me why you cannot mix it up and add the mineral oil to conditioner (drops) or use a conditioner lightly and the drops over that one time and go without conditioning first another time, whatever works best.

You can use a protein treatment if desired and use the drops as a moisturizing treatment afterward on damp hair or use a moisturizing conditioner lightly after the protein treatment and use the drops after that on damp hair for extra moisturizing.

Using mineral oil drops as a pre-treatment before washing with shampoo may be helpful but not necessary. Less drops would be needed afterward for detangling I would bet.

For those who clarify anyway because of conditioner and conditioning shampoo or styling aids, the above are options to try. Cosmetic mineral oil or lightweight mineral oil baby oil otherwise is very easy to completely shampoo or conditoner only wash remove from hair.

For those like me who do not want build-up or to clarify and if your hair is not damaged, clarify the hair first and try the drops alone on damp hair and switch to a shampoo that does not cause build-up. I had no build-up on my hair when I used the baby oil without anything else on my hair after washing and I got 0 tangles. It may be, that that if someone does not want to use conditioner following clarifying, that a well diluted vinegar rinse can be substituted for conditioner. A well diluted vinegar or lemon juice, or citric acid rinse is no doubt more acidic than the shampoo used and that may be enough to reduce tangling, before the oil is applied. My shampoo, although not a clarifying one is more acidic than others I have used in the past.

If the hair has a great moisture level, the drops can be used on dry hair (as opposed to damp or very damp hair). It may also be, that by continuous use of the oil, dry hair can be moisturized enough, to no longer require the oil being used on damp hair and using it on dry hair can be done to maintain the new, moisturized level.

The key is less is more with cosmetic mineral oil. Use and think small drops.

It spreads so easily, that much less than you would ever think necessary can give fantastic results without the downsides of vegetable oils or butters - heavy, greasy, stringy, sticky hair. To top it off, it is antistatic and helps control frizz.