When I first started my natural hair journey, I would dread wash day. I knew I would be spending at least an hour in the shower de-tangling my hair, losing chunks of hair in the process while depleting all the hot water. That all changed when I discovered pre-poo for natural hair.
Pre-poo, which is short for pre-shampoo, is essentially a treatment to your hair before shampooing. Pre-pooing conditions and softens your hair, protecting your strands from getting overly stripped by shampoo. Kinky, coily, and curly hair tends to be dryer than straighter textures, and can easily become dehydrated and straw-like from harsh shampoos.
Another amazing benefit of pre-pooing? It makes detangling so much easier. On wash day, my first step is to divide my hair into four sections and go in with African Pride Moisture Miracle Aloe and Coconut Water Detangle and Condition Pre-Shampoo. I work the pre-poo into each section and gently detangle with the Felicia Leatherwood Detangler Brush, starting from the ends of my hair and going up to the roots. For extra conditioning, I leave it on for15 minutes before hopping in the shower.
I highly recommend always detangling before shampooing, as this helps remove all shed hair, which causes tangles and knots in the shower. You risk ending up with matted hair if you jump straight into shampooing without detangling first. Pre-pooing and detangling before shampooing greatly reduces hair breakage. Once I started using pre-poo in my routine, I finally started to retain length and see the health of my hair improve.
The slip of the African Pride Pre-Shampoo is amazing and melts tangles away. After rinsing out and shampooing, my hair is still moisturized and shiny, even if I used a clarifying shampoo. Aloe and coconut fruit juice are in the top five ingredients of the ingredient list, meaning they are highly concentrated in the product.
Another pro? The African Pride Pre-Poo is only $4.99! In a time when most high quality natural hair products are $15 and up, this product is a steal. I won’t gate keep because I want all my natural hair girlies to flourish, too.
Even though it’s adding a step, pre-pooing will actually reduce the time — and the stress — of your wash day significantly. If you’re suffering from breakage, start incorporating a pre-poo into your routine.
Do you pre-shampoo? What do you use? Share your favorite pre-poo products in the comments!
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