How to Pre-Poo with Oil & Dry Detangle

In today’s video, I’m showing you how to do a pre-poo treatment and how to dry detangle your naturally curly hair to stop breakage and dryness.

Why you Should Pre-Poo

If you suffer from breakage and split ends, even though you take great care of your naturally curly hair, it could be caused by detangling. When our hair is wet, the cuticle layer is swelled, causing it to stick together, snap easily, and lose protein. If you have high porosity hair, and/or you are in the transitioning process, your hair is especially prone to breakage and protein loss when shampooing.

Using an oil on your hair before you shampoo will protect the hair from getting dried out. This step is referred to as doing a “pre-poo” treatment, because it’s applied before shampoo. Pro-poo treatments can be done using an oil or a deep conditioner.

Oils are not meant to moisturize the hair, rather they prevent de-hydration. Shampoo, even sulfate-free shampoos, can cause friction and dryness, especially if you wash your hair very frequently.

Penetrating vs. Sealing Oils

When it comes to pre-poo oils, I find that both penetrating and sealing oils work great. The majority of oil products contain oils that can do both. If your hair is easily weighed down and/or low porosity, I would look for more penetrating oils. Here is a list of common oils.

Dry Detangling

I prefer using an oil as my pre-poo step because it provides slip when dry detangling. Its best to detangle your hair when it’s dry, because when it’s wet it is easier to break and we’re less likely to be able to feel that breakage happening. It’s also best to use your fingers instead of a brush, and gentle massage and separate the knots out.

1. Section off your hair
2. Apply a small amount of oil to the ends of your hair
3. Gently & slowly separate and knots starting at the bottom
4. Gently comb through the strands with your fingers to remove loose hairs
5. Let it sit for at least 30 minutes, or overnight
6. Wet hair and apply conditioner to further detangle with your fingers
7. Apply shampoo to your roots, and gently massage your scalp
8. Let the water rinse the shampoo over your ends
9. Apply conditioner or a deep conditioning mask
10. Style

Tips:

• Avoid applying too much oil
• Let the oil soak in for at least 30 min
• Do not use a brush or comb
• Use a conditioner with slippery elm extract and/or aloe to provide slip
• Shampoo 2x if you still feel a residue on your scalp
• Clarify if needed to remove product buildup
• Deep condition afterwards for added moisture
• Avoid washing and styling your hair upside down to reduce tangles
• Avoid scrunching too hard when styling to prevent tangles
• Diffuse by hovering instead of touching the hair

Products:

• MICHE Polished Hair & Scalp Oil
• MICHE Indulge Deep Conditioner
• Curls Blueberry Bliss Hair Growth Oil
• TréLuxe Untie the Knot™ Nourishing Leave-In Conditioner
• Bounce Curl Enzyme Gentle Clarifying Shampoo, 10% off with code GENAMARIE
• HairRepear The Ultimate Hair Towel, 10% off with code GLAMMEUP

For more help with tangles, breakage, and frizz, watch this video.

Check out the Curly Haircare for Beginner playlist for more.