Have you heard of all the different “poo” treatments for your hair?

The word “poo” is actually a shortened version of shampoo.  Poo is often used to reference no-poo, pre-poo, diluted poo and post-poo, to name a few of the more popular poo combos.

The poo treatments are very popular in some segments of the hair world because certain types of hair require special no-poo as well as pre and post poo treatments to keep tresses strong, healthy, soft and with minimal damage some shampoo treatments have been proven to cause.

What is a Pre-Poo?

Pre-poo isn’t a new concept.   Jennifer Aniston made news many years ago on Friends when she revealed she often utilized different pre-shampoo nourishment oils on her naturally wavy tresses to keep them shiny and soft.

Pre-poing involves utilizing some sort of a pre-shampoo treatment (hot or lukewarm oil, conditioning creams or protein masks) applied to hair and/or scalp before applying actual shampoo.

Some hair consumers only apply a pre-poo treatment to the most damaged sections of their hair while other apply it from the scalp to the roots.

Whether you pre-poo or not is a personal preference based on your hair type, texture and condition.  What type of pre-poo treatment you use is also based on your hair type, texture, length and condition.

Types Of Pre-Poo Treatments Utilized

Talk to a group of pre-poo fans and you will get a wide range of answers about the type of pre-poo products they use.  I personally always pre-poo my very long hair.  Not only is it naturally dry, it’s highlighted 4-6x a year.  I also worry about split ends.

I developed my HairTopia Beautiful Hair Oil specifically to use with my own pre-poo treatments.  I apply a few drops of Beautiful Hair Oil, which contains a base of organic jojoba oil and many hair friendly essential oils, and warm them in the palms of my hands, distributing to my fingertips.

I then “rake” my oil covered fingers completely through the ends of my hair making sure all of the driest sections are covered with the oil.  I wrap my hair into a loose bun and let the oil soak for several oils before I do my no-poo cleansing treatment.

I have also used the nourishing oil as an overnight pre-treatment and under a hood dryer for a more intense treatment but without the overnight commitment.

Benefits of Pre-pooing

Pre-poo treatments help prepare hair for the harsh detergents in the shampoo process by coating the hair shaft.  Performing regular pre-poo treatments will also help to remove heavy product build-up on the scalp.

In addition, pre-poos help condition the hair. It seems counter intuitive. Why would we put a product on our hair that we were eventually just going to wash out? Actually, conditioners and oil often work better when applied to dry hair.

Think of a sponge. If you place a dry sponge on a spill, it will absorb more than if you place a wet sponge on that same spill. Our hair reacts the same way, absorbing conditioner a lot more effectively when the hair shaft is not swollen with water molecules.

Ways to Pre-Poo

There are a myriad of ways to pre-poo. All pre-poo methods involve applying hot oil to scalp and/or hair.

Once the hot oils are applied (to either dry or moistened hair) there are different processing methods.

These include:

1.  Applying pre-poo treatment to the ends and dry sections and allowing to soak into the hair for up to 30 minutes before cleansing.  You can wrap hair into a bun, pin it up or wrap it in plastic.
2.  Covering with some type of wrap – sleep cap, plastic cap, silk scarf – and allow pre-poo treatment to soak into hair overnight while sleeping.
3.  Wrapping oiled hair in a warm moistened towel topped with a plastic shower style cap and allowing to remain on hair for 2-4 hours.
4.  Applying plastic cap and/or wrap to pre-pooed hair and sitting under a hood style dryer set on a hot heat for 30-45 minutes.

After you try a pre-poo treatment you will be amazed at how much more conditioned your hair looks and feels.

Do you pre-poo?  If so, please share your own special treatment methods.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 pm and is filed under Hair, Hair Recipes, Shampoo Treatments, Treatments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.