The perils of over-moisturising your hair

I never realised my hair could be OVER moisturised...but yes, that's what I've been doing it seems. I'm the kind of girl who doesn't like her hair to feel or look 'dry', so I overcompensate by adding a little too much of everything.

Often we forget that our scalps naturally produce oils to keep our roots healthy, hence why when applying products, a little really does go a long way and we should concentrate on the mid and end section of hair as this has been around the longest and requires the most care.

Recently I was left horrified after I got my scalp analysed by the Curls unleashed team at Curlvolution. They used a probe, similar to one that would be used to check your ears, (if my memory serves me correctly). Once the probe had been safely nested in my hair an image of my scalp popped up on the monitor in front of me. I was astonished to see my scalp gleaming before me looking VERY greasy and oil logged LOL......right around my follicles there were puddles of oil. IT DID NOT look good, and I was quite embarrassed. To be honest the night before I'd probably been super heavy handed, spritzing each section of hair with water before adding hair butter and castor oil then twisting. I loved the twist out the next day, but to be honest it did feel a little bit greasy.

The lady carrying out the analysis said despite the oil slick my scalp looked healthy, and there was no evidence of dead skin. I asked what the negatives were of having an overly oily scalp and she said that when the follicles are pooled with oil as mine were it blocks the area, which in turn does not allow your hair to breath or grow and can cause infections. To counteract we must use clarifying shampoos to thoroughly cleanse and wash the scalp and hair of dirt, grease and impurities, and only apply oils and butters to the ends and mid sections of the hair as these are the oldest and driest points. Our follicles create their own special oils which take care of the root, hence why we do not have to apply products directly to our scalp very often.

Needless to say I have heeded this advice and I have been careful to only apply product to the end and mid section of my hair and I must say I am thoroughly pleased with the results. My hair has felt and looked a lot better since.....

Still loving my easy, breezy Mum bun - Lol. Learning to keep
my ends and mid sections nourished.

HAIR CRUSH!! - This is my goal.

Don't forget to visit my online store www.NaturallyNourishing.co.uk to get your hands on gorgeous natural, hair, skin and body products that my family, friends and I have grown to personally know and LOVE. I'm so excited to announce they'll be new lines added soon so watch this space. You can also keep up to date by following on Twitter, Instagram (@NaturallyNou) and Facebook.

Dr Organics - Tea Tree Shampoo

I haven't been asked to write about this product, so this is not technically a review, but I simply had to share with you all, this fabulous shampoo I bought from Holland and Barrett at the weekend.

My son had really bad cradle cap from the age of two months. My daughters never had it so when I first started seeing the thick, scaly crust forming, I thought slathering his scalp in oil, brushing out the flakes and using cradle cap shampoo would solve the problem. It didn't. The cradle cap although somewhat improved was still visible. His scalp was always dry and red and he would constantly scratch it until it bled, this was despite me constantly spritzing with water and olive oil several times a day.

I've been searching high and low to find a product that would alleviate his symptoms. So I was chuffed to bits when I came across the Dr organics range in Holland and Barrett. The range is free from harsh chemicals and parabens and is also fragrance and preservative free. There are a number of different products within the range, but I thought I'd try the tea tree shampoo, especially since tea tree has healing properties. It's not cheap at £5.39 for a 265 ml bottle, but at this stage I was willing to do what it takes to give my little boy some peace from the endless itching and scratching brought on by all the dryness on his scalp.

Let me tell you it's one of the best decisions I've made. I used the shampoo that same evening and because he is little, I only used a pea sized amount. Straight after rinsing I could see the results.  His scalp was clearer and didn't look red and angry. I moisturised his head with olive oil as I usually would and the dryness has virtually gone. He's hardly even scratching anymore and that's only after two days. I am super impressed so I had to tell you all about it. If you are experiencing something similar maybe it could work for you or your little ones too. Click here to visit the Holland and Barrett website.

....Oh and if you celebrate it, Happy Valentines day!! x