By Cipriana of UrbanBushBabes.com
Whether you seal your entire strands or just your ends, finding a product that gives a long-lasting seal will benefit your hair in more ways than you can imagine.
I leave the majority of the sealing process to my ends, which I do weekly compared to the entire length of the strand which I do monthly. Everyone has different needs, and some may need to seal more than others, but since your ends are the oldest part of the strand they need a little more TLC.
One of the key tricks to a longer lasting seal is a thick oil or butter. Locking in moisture is quintessential for keeping dryness and breakage at bay. Here are 3 of my favorite sealing products and why they made the list.
1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
The benefits of extra virgin olive oil are plentiful but the biggest advantage is that your hair shaft is actually able to absorb this oil. There are very few oils that are capable of behaving like water in their ability to penetrate the strand, (coconut oil and avocado oil are also penetrating oils. See “UBB Quick Tip: Coconut, Olive, Avocado Oh My! Oils that Provide Real Moisture” for more info) although water is the only substance on the planet that can moisturize your hair 100%. To get the most benefits from your olive oil make sure you are using extra virgin (cold pressed) olive oil. “Pressed” means the fruit of the olive was crushed only once while “cold” is referring to the temperature of the fruit during the crushing process. If the temperature is too high during the crushing process this will affect the quality of the oil. Lower quality oils that are not cold pressed tend to be crushed multiple times at higher temperatures to extract more oil from the olive.
2. Jamaican Black Castor Oil
With a thick honey-like consistency a little literally goes a long way. Jamaican Black Castor Oil has been in my repertoire for over 5 years now and will continue to be a staple. Not only is this product inexpensive, it is organic, sulfate-free and known to promote hair growth if applied to the scalp.
3. Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque
Now this is a new one for me. With Sea Kelp, which helps to detoxify hair follicles of impurities and residue, and Argan Oil as key ingredients, I found that this product worked wonders on my ends, leaving them soft and silky. The masque can be used as a rinse-out conditioner, a leave-in conditioner or a styling cream. (When I used this as a styling cream I found that it acted more as a humectant, pulling moisture to my strands and causing my stretched styles to last about an hour versus a week). And by the way, the smell of this organic product is divine!
Click here to see Nikisha’s review of Shea Moisture Deep Treatment Masque
Tip
Regardless of what product you use to lock in that moisture, make sure that your strands are not drenched with water when you seal. If your strands are dripping wet, any oil or butter you apply will slip off. Damp hair will allow the oil or butter to clasp on to your strands creating a barrier to lock in the water.
Ladies, what products do you use to seal? Which are your favorites?
I currently use shea butter to seal the ends as well as the strands of hair. Sealing with shea butter works best when my hair is slightly damp. The product is much easier to apply. 🙂
Agreed.
And I love to use Olive Oil, the very first one you named! And its crazy, cause my family used to make fun of me cause thats all I would use. SMH, guess jokes on them! 🙂
That’s funny you say that, my mom made fun of me for using it. She was like your hair could catch on fire…lol smh…I was like and the other chemcial that you put in your hair are fire proof…lol
I am not crazy about oils on my thick,course/medium/fine 4a/4b hair. I find that oils tend to sit on top of my hair shaft and leave me with greasy hair. I prefer to lightly apply whipped shea butter after spritzing my hair with water section by section at night, and by the morning, the shea butter has absorbed and my hair stays moisturized all day. Team butta! lol
Yea, I have realized that oils don’t work for me neither, they kind of make my hair feel like straw. Butters are more for my hair.
And I am the reverse: Butters sit on my fine mostly-4b hair; oil sinks in. Proving once again that we’re all different…and that’s okay. Team Oil! 😉
+1. Team Oils! My favorite sealants are coconut and olive oil.
+1 My favorite sealant is coconut hands down. Butters just coats my scalp.
Just so you know.…coconut oil is a moisturizer not a sealant. 🙂
Actually coconut oil can be used as a sealant as well even though it can penetrate the hair shaft.
team oil!
Your comment just goes to show what works for one person may not work for others… For me oils are great for sealing but, shea butter just sits on top of my hair like a film.
I always say you have to find what’s right for YOUR own hair. I have mostly 4b/4c hair btw.
The shea moisture deep treatment masque works wonders as a styling product (mainly used for two strand twists) and a little goes a long way, but used as a deep condtioner I did not get the same results so for me it is best as a styling product. Olive oil and coconut oil are my top sealing oils I also use them for pre-poo treatment.
I agree! Shea Moisture deep treatment mask is a great styler for me but, it didn’t act as a humectant for my hair which I like, so I use it on humid days to retain length or my styling…
And when I tried to use it as a mask… my hair said oh no child that’s not going to work, lol.
I use castor oil to seal my ends and hairline. After cleansing and styling my hair, I apply castor oil to the ends of my braids/twists/etc. and to my hairline. Castor oil softens and smooths my coils quite nicely.
P.S. I use “regular” cold-pressed castor oil (Heritage brand or Now Solutions brand).
Shea butter, Shea Moisture masque, Vatika oil and castor oil work really well as a deep conditioner for me. I layer them, keep a plastic cap on for 30 min and my hair is super moisturized. I rinse it. Follow up with Shea Moisture conditioner and cold water. When styling, I need very little leave in because it is so moisturized.
I use my coconut-EVOO-rosemary-peppermint oil mix. My hair loves it.
My new favorite sealant is… Crisco & Coconut oil. Yes, Crisco. I blend them together in my mixer until creamy & smooth and put it in a jar. A little dab is all I need to seal in moisture. My hair stays soft for days!
.…I’m not knocking your method, but HOW did you come up with Crisco?! I never would’ve thought of that one!!
My grandma taught me crisco — she used it as skin lotion, too. Great stuff!
I’ve recently started using Jane Carter Solution Nourish & Shine, and it’s been doing wonders of sealing in moisture for my hair. Just a pea-sized amount per section is plenty.
yeah… i’ve been using s‑curl and organix coconut oil. It’s been working wonders for me.
Shame I can’t get my hands on shea moisture products in montreal.
Montreal in the house woot woot!! My hair actually seems to like both butters and oils…but I would LOVE to try the SheaMoisture as well.
I had been using Shea butter to seal but wasn’t too crazy about it but didn’t know what else to use. I am not a really big fan of using EVOO. When I ran out of shea butter I decided to try castor oil (regular cold pressed) and fell in love so I doubt I will be using anything else to seal. The Deep treatment mask was definitely great as a leave-in but not for what I purchased it for — deep treatment — so I did not purchase again.
As a transitioner, the only things that have really worked as a sealant were my whipped shea butter and castor oil (cold-pressed).
Both leave my hair soft…castor oil has the advantage of leaving the hair shiny…the only disadvantage is that the castor oil does leave the hair a bit oily, so I try to combat this by using it sparingly.
I did experiment with the shea moisture line and they didn’t do too much for me. Will revisit after I do my BC.
What if I want my hair to smell nice and not like… food?
The Deep Treatment Masque is great for sealing. I’ve used it for that and baggying as well.
Today i bought coconut oil, like actual liquid oil it did say it can be usedd for both hair and skin. would this still be a good idea to use on hair?
Yes, for generations, my family has used coconut oil for a head to toe moisturizer. I make my own coconut oil from scratch. Hard work, but I know its COCONUT OIL :). Enjoy!
My hair LOVES olive oil.
I’ve been using super gro & castor oil.
Also been taking vitamins 🙂
Once I found Jamaican black castor oil a year ago, my fine, low density hair is thicker then its ever been! I will ALWAYS use this product. 🙂
This is really helpful. I had never heard of the Jamaican Black Castor oil. I’m using the Organics Carrot oil. It seems to have a lot of the oils mixed together. This is fairly inexpensive as well, and you can find it most beauty supply stores… and Wal-Mart.
My hair is super is fine and thin, mostly 4a and some 3c. Oils make my hair feel just that…Oily…and straw-like, as someone else mentioned. I think it’s amazing how hair, even of the same texture, can vary so widely on what it likes. I’m still searching for something other than glycerine to moisturize my hair, because in the winter, that doesn’t even work!
I’m new to the practice of moisture and sealing. I don’t know where I’ve been. Lol. Anyway I have watched videos and read several blogs. I have relaxed hair and have been sealing it with coconut oil but at times it feels heavy on my fine hair. I switched to grapeseed oil but I don’t see it mentioned that often…bad choice? My hair isn’t that thick. I think I’ll try the Jamaican Black Castor Oil. Thanks for this awesome resource!
The question I have is about the JBCO, I have been reading a lot about it, and want to try it. The question I have is do you have to mix it with something? I have read that some people mix it with other oils and some dilute it with water. Is that a must.
I dilute the JBCO with grape seed oil. I tried to use it undiluted but it made my scalp itch. Once I diluted it I didn’t have any more issues. Some people can use it straight.
For me petroleum based grease has been the ONLY thing that truly seals in moisture for me. Ive tried all oils and I would have to moisturize every other day, but with petroleum mixed with natural oils with an out style my hair stays moist 4 days straight , sometimes 5, without re-moisturizing. And when my hair is in twists or braids my hair stays moist for 1 week to 1 1/2 weeks without re-moisturizing. Now I know that this all depends on you porosity, but for me its the only thing that truly seals my hair effectively and in… Read more »
straight up castor oil.
I have read a lot about using olive oil and coconut oils to moisturize. I’ve just started using cold pressed olive oil on my relaxed hair.
I use JBCO and organic extra virgin coconut oil mix to oil my scalp and seal my hair. I also do the inversion method once a month for a week.
HOW does one use the above mentioned products to properly and effectively seal hair?