Cone-Free Leave-in? (An alternative to Rusk Smoother)

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

Hello ladies,

I'm a new subscriber, about to relax my hair (I've been natural for two years). I'm trying to find a leave-in to use in my hair when it's relaxed. Right now, I already have my Infusium-23. I also recently purchased Rusk Smoother to use as a leave-in, but I recently discovered that it has Dimethicone.

I'm worried about using this, as cones made my hair very dry and brittle in the past when I was relaxed. Can someone recommend a moisturizing leave-in that is cone/alcohol-free that I can use in my hair while relaxed?

My strands are fine, and my hair was never greasy while relaxed...meaning I do like some movement/body when relaxed.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[robot.]

A lot of women like the Alba leave-in condish.


And welcome! Can I ask why you want to relax?

 

[IDareT'sHair]

Some of My Personal Faves are:

Alba Botanica
Beauty Without Cruelty
Dr. Bronners Lavender and Peppermint
Aubrey Organics Calaguala Fern

These are all Great Natural Leave-Ins

 

[KynniB]

giovanni direct is a good leave in. its pretty light too

 

[Lita]

Komaza- Califa Leave-in

Jasmines Bath & Beauty Products- Moisture Renewal Leave-in & Silk Spritz Leave-in

Hairveda-3 in 1 Whipped Cream Leave-in

Darcybotanicals-Spitz Leave-in

OyinHandMade-Juices & Berries Herbal Leave-in

Yea to Cucumbers -Leave-in

KBB-Hair Nectar
Happy Hair Growing!

 

[naturalpride]

Oyin Handmade Honey Hemp Conditioner is an excellent leave in.

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

Oyin Handmade Honey Hemp Conditioner is an excellent leave in.

I've heard so many good things about this conditioner (for natural hair, in particular), that I actually bought it and it had pretty much no effect on my hair. Perhaps my hair might react differently to it when I'm relaxed?

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

A lot of women like the Alba leave-in condish.


And welcome! Can I ask why you want to relax?

Thank you Robot Why do I want to relax? Honey, that's a LONGGGG, LONGGGG post that I can't even get into here! lol But I can't wait to relax again. I'll leave it at that, as the reasons are very LONG and deeply personal.

 

[robot.]

Understood. Well, you know you'll be able to find all the advice, support, and information you need here! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

ETA: how long is your hair now? do you know your type? do you have pictures?

 

[naturalpride]

I've heard so many good things about this conditioner (for natural hair, in particular), that I actually bought it and it had pretty much no effect on my hair. Perhaps my hair might react differently to it when I'm relaxed?

I love the honey hemp conditioner, but have you tried it on relaxed hair as a leave in, it definately has a different effect that as a deep conditioner

 

[mstar]

I love Elucence Moisture Balance conditioner as a leave-in...it's amazing.

Also Hairveda Whipped Cream is a great, light, moisturizing creamy leave-in.

Infusium 23 is also full of cones. I use CHI Keratin Mist, or Mane n Tail Hair Strengthening Spray instead.

 

[sharifeh]

I suggest you give the rusk a try too. It's a great product and it gave me much better results than other leave ins with cones..

 

[Patricia]

Have you tried the Rusk. you might like it. I'm just saying that cause cones don't bother my hair. Welcome to the hair boards

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

Understood. Well, you know you'll be able to find all the advice, support, and information you need here! I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

ETA: how long is your hair now? do you know your type? do you have pictures?

Thanks, Robot. I've been natural for exactly 22.5 months. My hair is between 8-9 inches all around - my hair grows at the standard rate of 4.5 inches per year and I'm not an advocate of regular trimming. Because my hair is usually in a protective style, I have to force myself to trim my ends...I only do this once per year. (It has worked wonders for me in length retention.) I do trim an individual strand if it has a single strand knot on it (which I was ambushed with once I finally hit the seven inch mark).

My hair type is really weird...I guess it's the same for all of us? I have 4a/4b/3a with 4 being he most dominant throughout my head. Believe me, there's no soft bed of curls on my head, unless you count the area near my ears and nape (which is 3). Otherwise, I just have a lot of conflicting texture, kinks, frizz, and tight coils.

I have a Fotki, but I have it locked unfortunately. This is something that drives me crazy about other 4 hairtypes, and here I am doing it myself. Mostly because I pretty much do little to nothing with my hair. It has been twisted/braided since the very beginning and I've only worn my hair out a couple of times (literally) but the knots that result prevent me from wanting to continue wearing it out.

Did you just big chop? If so, I will definitely unlock my Fotki or send you the password, just in case my Fotki holds some tips or ideas for you on your journey. Let me know...

Unrelated Note: I calculate hair growth using the metric system, since I find it more accurate than using inches. Hair usually grows at 1cm per month, which equals .4 inches (that's why Americans usually say "about half an inch" per month). So in a year, I typically expect 4.8 inches of growth on my head per year. I've noticed while lurking on Fotki and forums that a lot of women are often disappointed because they didn't gain 6 inches in a year. But that would be a lot faster than the "normal" or average growth rate, which is really 4.8 inches per year (1cm x 12 or rather .4 inches x 12)...not 6 inches.

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

Infusium 23 is also full of cones. I use CHI Keratin Mist, or Mane n Tail Hair Strengthening Spray instead.

I had NO IDEA. Thank you for this.

It never even occurred to me that Infusium would have cones...

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

I love the honey hemp conditioner, but have you tried it on relaxed hair as a leave in, it definately has a different effect that as a deep conditioner

Thank you, NaturalPride; can this be used as a leave-in before I set my hair (when relaxed) on magnetic rollers, as well? Do you think it's good for wet sets?

 

[robot.]

Thanks, Robot. I've been natural for exactly 22.5 months. My hair is between 8-9 inches all around - my hair grows at the standard rate of 4.5 inches per year and I'm not an advocate of regular trimming. Because my hair is usually in a protective style, I have to force myself to trim my ends...I only do this once per year. (It has worked wonders for me in length retention.) I do trim an individual strand if it has a single strand knot on it (which I was ambushed with once I finally hit the seven inch mark).

My hair type is really weird...I guess it's the same for all of us? I have 4a/4b/3a with 4 being he most dominant throughout my head. Believe me, there's no soft bed of curls on my head, unless you count the area near my ears and nape (which is 3). Otherwise, I just have a lot of conflicting texture, kinks, frizz, and tight coils.

I have a Fotki, but I have it locked unfortunately. This is something that drives me crazy about other 4 hairtypes, and here I am doing it myself. Mostly because I pretty much do little to nothing with my hair. It has been twisted/braided since the very beginning and I've only worn my hair out a couple of times (literally) but the knots that result prevent me from wanting to continue wearing it out.

Did you just big chop? If so, I will definitely unlock my Fotki or send you the password, just in case my Fotki holds some tips or ideas for you on your journey. Let me know...

It sounds like you're already very knowledgeable. What kind of protective styles do you do - only twists and braids? Maybe you're just bored with it. You can try cute updos, buns, flat twists, or a braid/twist out that I'm sure would look fabulous.

If it's your texture that's giving you trouble, what products do you use now? What's your regimen like? There are lots of ways the ladies here tame their texture without relaxing or damaging their curl pattern. There's shingling, yogurt treatments, bentonite clay, henna... there are lots of options you might consider before relaxing, and they won't harm your hair at all if you do them correctly.

If you still want to relax, maybe consider texlaxing instead - not leaving the relaxer on for the whole time, as to retain some curl pattern. Lots of women here do this successfully with gorgeous results: dlewis, vkb, prospurr. You might want to look into it.

And I have just BC'ed. I would love to see your fotki.

 

[AsianAfricanPrincess]

It sounds like you're already very knowledgeable. What kind of protective styles do you do - only twists and braids? Maybe you're just bored with it. You can try cute updos, buns, flat twists, or a braid/twist out that I'm sure would look fabulous.

If it's your texture that's giving you trouble, what products do you use now? What's your regimen like? There are lots of ways the ladies here tame their texture without relaxing or damaging their curl pattern. There's shingling, yogurt treatments, bentonite clay, henna... there are lots of options you might consider before relaxing, and they won't harm your hair at all if you do them correctly.

If you still want to relax, maybe consider texlaxing instead - not leaving the relaxer on for the whole time, as to retain some curl pattern. Lots of women here do this successfully with gorgeous results: dlewis, vkb, prospurr. You might want to look into it.

And I have just BC'ed. I would love to see your fotki.

I've pretty much only worn my hair in small twists or box braids (when my hair began to grow longer, I noticed knots even when I twisted...so I started doing box braids, which has lessened the problem. But I do still get knots). I am bored with it, but I'm also a bit tired of spending the rest of my youth or "pretty years" as they say back home with my hair in a protective style. For my texture of hair, there's not going to be any taming or defining. I've spent two years buying all of these "magical" or hyped products (including henna, which did nothing for me but fortify my hair and give me messy pillows). There's nothing I can do except keep my hair moist and as soft as possible...and wear protective styles. Oh well.

I've seen tons of people with looser curls (by that, I mean curls that are a bit larger in diameter, or curls that clump throughout) and they seem to fare well with being natural. They often rave about how "easy" it is. I've even seen some with hair that's supertight in coil and they look beautiful, as well. They do seem to require a lot more time maintaining/styling their hair than I would like to, though. But I have yet to see anyone with my hairtype, and I simply don't have the time to spend hours upon hours each week messing with my hair. When I was relaxed, my maintenance was very simple, I didn't have problems with breakage, and I loved wearing my hair out and looking like a girl. (I did have occassional problems with drynesss, which I believe in retrospect was caused by cones/serums)

I'm trying to keep this as vague as possible, because I don't want to state why I'd like to relax...it's very personal and I've lurked on some forums where people go apecrap because someone wants to relax. NOT going there. So I'll leave it at that. I know my hair's limits and I've come to accept it. I'm ready to be relaxed again.

Btw, I actually thought about texlaxing, but I'm pretty positive that with my hairtype, my hair will simply be frizzy afterwards (a lot of my hair doesn't curl at all, then some parts form small spirals...it's difficult for me to describe). Also, since it's the same as relaxing, essentially, I'd rather just relax. I miss my hair.

I'm planning to relax before or by the end of the year. I've been keeping my hair moisturized and my scalp healthy and just trying to make sure my hair is in the best condition possible for my relaxer.

 

[robot.]

You know your hair best and you have a clear idea of what you want to do. It sounds like you have all the information you need to maintain your hair (since you've been relaxed before). I'm sure the process will go fine and I hope the results are just what you wanted.

And don't worry about your reasoning - it's your head; you don't have to justify it to anyone but yourself. You gave being natural a good trial run and decided that it just didn't work for you - no problem with that! It's all a choice; some people prefer to be natural, others to relax. If you like it, I love it.

Now, the only thing you must do... is come back and post pictures.

 

[darlingdiva]

Jane Carter Solution Revitalizing Leave-In

It's watery & cone-free.

 

[naturalpride]

Thank you, NaturalPride; can this be used as a leave-in before I set my hair (when relaxed) on magnetic rollers, as well? Do you think it's good for wet sets?

Yes, I use it as a leave in before I rollerset on magnetic rollers; I only use about two dime sized amounts and it does not leave my hair heavy.