Prior to making the adventure over I had been warned that the water here had adverese affects on your hair. This sparked my interest in finding hair products and methods that would help to keep my hair as healthy as possible. The first week of living in Abu Dhabi, I didn't use water on my hair because it was straightened. However, I did notice that my hair was extremely dry. As to be expected; the daily temperature is usually 100 degrees!
And then I washed my hair...the first day I didn't notice a big change, but then as I began to manipulate my hair into a style, I noticed how strawlike it was. Mind you, I washed with my Giovanni smooth and silk and conditioned with HEHH, my mistake was rinsing out my conditioner! HUGE no, no!
So, I believe that's the trick! Unfortunately, I have to begin using shampoo on my hair weekly instead of monthly and leaving in my conditioner instead of rinsing it out. I've been sealing in my moisture with a shea butter mix and once I move into my apartment I plan to stock up on the goodies that can be found in the UAE. For the past month, I've been using protective styles and spritz/sealing each and every day! I know this isn't the purpose of why Muslim women cover their hair, but it sure helps to protects your tresses from the brutal sun and heat combo!
Could I use Rose Water in place on Aloe Vera Juice? (they don't have avj here :/)
How have I been combating the heat?
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| Ends trimmed and evened up before my big move!! |
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| Nooo, I don't have to cover up! But it was extremely humid that night and I didn't want to run the risk of my hair frizzing up! So, I threw on a Shela! Its just a scarf! |
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| As my hair started to dry out, I had to apply Almond oi which weighed my hair down. So I started wearing it half up and half down. My curl ended up dropping! LOL |
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| After hanging at the pool, I decided to braid my hair up. I had to use a camera because, well that's all I had. Make it happen! |
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| It took my nearly 2 hours because I didn't have the right utensil |
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| I wore my hair this way for a week and a half. |
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| It seemed braids/flat twists were the best option to protect and moisturize. So, I flat twisted my hair back in to a bun. |
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| Around my edges I did braids to help with securing the hair and keeping a freshly braided look. this lasted about one week. |
What an exciting experience! When I was I lived in the Middle East, natural based products didn't work that well for me. I did use the Giovanni Direct leave in, but other than that I needed silicones to keep moisture in my hair. Mind you, I was relaxed then, but hopefully that'll help. The heat and sandstorms can wreck your hair, so moisturize and seal like your life depends on it.
ReplyDelete100 degrees daily...WOW! Cool that you were able to create some styles to protect your hair.
ReplyDeleteI recently did a cold hot oil treatment with coconut oil. I left it in and two strand twisted my hair. It extremely soft and touchable now! i think this will be my safe haven! I will definitely have to depend on deep conditioning more than i did in the states. The water has a high level of sodium, so I am planning to use bottled water to wash my hair!
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