Leave In or Rinse out, Condition or Not Condition that is the Question? HELP?!

Beautiful 

Ladies and Gentleman of Color, welcome back to ALL THINGS ABOUT HEALTHY, BEAUTIFUL, BLACK HAIR powered by  EMBRACE! 

One phrase that I hear from our Beautiful, Black, Electrifying Women is, "It's just hair, it doesn't define me." When encountering a life challenging event, our hair is usually the first to go. It usually marks the beginning or the end of a particular chapter in our life. Our hair defines our culture, it tells our individual history, it gives us an opportunity to express our feelings to the world. The decision to have hair, not have hair, have blond or blue hair is ours, and ours alone, it's the one thing we truly own. 

Unfortunately, there is so much contradicting information out there about how to, when to, and what to do with our hair, that it's easy to get lost and want to give up. For those of you who know me personally, you know I am obsessive about everything I do. Learning everything I could about hair was my goal, that quickly turned into learning everything I could about hair health, and that quickly turned into learning everything I could about Black Health. What does all of this have to do with how you condition your hair???

There are so many options out there, standard rinse out conditioners, deep conditioning rinse out conditioners, leave-in conditioners, which one is best for you and why? It's very easy to get lost in all the talk about hair textures (1a to 4c), the depth and density of your hair and hair strands, but let's focus on why you would use a conditioner at all. Hair conditioners have one purpose, to make your hair more manageable! As your hair gets healthier it becomes thicker, fuller, and more dense, which makes it more difficult to manage. Hair conditioner is designed to be used right after a wash, when the hair is in its most raw form. It's designed to make the hair follicle soft to the touch, strands easy to comb through and easier to manipulate.

It's a must have for all Women of Color, or so we've been told. Let's look at the benefits of rinse out conditioners (to include deep conditioning) first. 

1. Re-Hydrating Hair Follicles - Hydrating the hair follicle gives the hair a full and strong feeling. There is nothing better than feeling like you just got your hair done. 
2. Moisturizing the Hair Follicle - Most rinse out conditioners have a moisturizing agent in them. After washing and adding a conditioner, having a moisturizing agent is a must. It protects the hair from FRIZZING and POOFING. 
3. Coating the Follicle - Most rinse out conditioners contain Dimethicone or Silicone. They are bonding agents that minimize breakage and allows the hair to be combed through. 
4. Longevity - Rinse out conditioners have lasting power, they only have to be applied after your wash routine, the results lasts for weeks at a time. We all like minimizing work, don't we? Of Course we do!

Sounds like rinse out conditioners are the way to go, but wait, the story doesn't end there. 

Dr. Jessica Helm, Environmental Research Scientist at the Silent Spring Institute, has studied the impact that Women of Color have disproportionately been subjected to due to the use of unregulated and harmful chemicals used in our hair care products. The likes of hair relaxers, hot oil treatments, anti-frizz agents, and hair conditioners were all tested, 18 different examples. They ALL included, but not limited to, the likes of parabens, silicones, carcinogens and endocrine disrupting chemicals. What's worse, most of them were not listed on the label. 

Our skin is our body’s largest organ and it absorbs 98% of the chemical compounds we put on it. That includes your body washes, lotions, sun screens and even shampoos and conditioners. If it touches the skin it's at risk for absorption. The studies show, the effects of these agents being absorbed by our skin include Uterine Fibroids, Infertility, Early Onset of Puberty, and increased rates of Endometrial and Breast Cancer. What's Craziest is these chemicals are only prominent in products sold and marketed to People Of Color. Most countries outside of the United States have banned the selling of American based Black Hair and Skin Care Products.

This creates quite the dilemma; how are we supposed to manage our hair without these products? We were determined to find an answer. After countless hours of research and effort we found a solution. We realized that we could not produce a rinse out conditioner and get the same results safely. 

We did HOWEVER Produce a Botanical Leave In Conditioner!

BLISS RECONSTRUCTING LEAVE-IN CONDITIONER - First let's look at the contents that make up our leave-in conditioner. All ingredients are listed below:

Olive Oil, Hyssop Oil, Soy Oil, Castor Oil, Peanut Oil, Coconut Oil, Banana Oil, Jojoba Oil, Aloe Oil, Honeysuckle Oil,  Clove Oil,  Cinnamon Oil, Deionized Water, Hydrolyzed Protein,  Vitamin E, Ox2, Citrus Extract

The first thing you notice is that you can pronounce all of our ingredients. Secondly, none of our ingredients have been linked to killing you or causing hormonal issues in our men (that's correct, it affects our men as well), women and children. The real question is did we accomplish the goal? Remember, conditioners are designed to help you manage your unmanageable hair. Well, let's review the benefits again and see! 

The first thing you notice is that you can pronounce all of our ingredients. Secondly, none of our ingredients have been linked to killing you or causing hormonal issues in our men (that's correct, it affects our men as well), women and children. The real question is did we accomplish the goal? Remember, conditioners are designed to help you manage your unmanageable hair. Well, let's review the benefits again and see! 

1. Re-Hydrating Hair Follicles - Hydrating the hair follicle gives the hair a full and strong feeling. There is nothing better than feeling like you just got your hair done. Check Mission Accomplished
2. Moisturizing the Hair Follicle - Most rinse out conditioners have a moisturizing agent in them. After washing and adding a conditioner, having a moisturizing agent is a must. It protects the hair from FRIZZING and POOFING. Check Mission Accomplished - We found that pairing Bliss Reconstructing Leave-In Conditioner with Treasure Superior Hair Loss Prevention Moisturizer work better than most combinations found on the market.
3. Coating the Follicle - Most rinse out conditioners contain Dimethicone or Silicone, they are bonding agents that minimize breakage and allows the hair to be combed through. Check Mission Accomplished - We found that paring Bliss Reconstructing Leave-In Conditioner with Treasure Superior Hair Loss Prevention Moisturizer creates the same protection you would achieve with a silicone based agent without the harmful chemicals.
   
   
4. Longevity - Rinse out conditioners have lasting power, they only have to be applied after your wash routine, the results last for weeks at a time. We all like minimizing work, don't we? 
   
   This is where things get real. Unfortunately, we can't create the staying power found in some of your Harsh Hard Core Rinse Out Conditioners.
   
   Let's take an apple for instance. Nature puts a natural shield on an apple, we call that the apple's skin. That skin is covered with natural oils and minerals. Most think this is to protect the apple from the elements, its main purpose is to help the apple maintain its inner moisture (just like your hair). Being natural it has a shelf life and dies with time, it's how nature works. So how do you get that Pretty Red Shiny Apple in your grocery store, months later? Esters, and alcohols like heptacosanol and malol as well as hydrocarbons such as triacontane, C30H62. 
   
   Because we are reapplying a natural layer of protectant, Treasure Superior Hair Loss Prevention Moisturizer and the Bliss Reconstructing Leave-In Conditioner would need to be reapplied as needed. It can be applied on both wet or dry hair, regardless of how far out your wash day is. Simply damp the hair and apply at your leisure. If you choose to wash your hair weekly you could. Divine Rejuvenating Shampoo doesn't strip your hair of its natural minerals, it actually rejuvenates the scalp. We believe it's a small price to pay for the bigger picture. 
   
   

It's not which conditioner, or how to condition, it's what's in your conditioner that's important! I know so many Black Women and Black Girls that have menstrual issues, fibroids plague Black Women like a rite of passage, and the amount of Black Women having hysterectomies are at an all-time high. The real question is, when did Health become a Black problem? I'll end this one like I'll end them all. 

Ladies, we are not trying to change the world, just the perception of what Beauty is. I watch my beautiful daughters fight to fit in, fight to be accepted, they are willing to sacrifice their health and their Real Beauty for a moment in the sun. Sitting by while companies prey on our woman, stealing our beauty and selling it back to us with a promise backed by wet toilet paper. Selling us harmful products designed to rid us of our Natural Beauty, simply to keep us coming back for more.  If you are happy with your hair and pleased with the products you use, by all means continue to use them, share them so others know they exist. If you are not happy with your damaged and broken hair, if you are tired of the ‘let it grow’ then ‘cut it all off again’ cycle, make a change. We would love to be a part of your journey. Thank you and remember IT'S YOUR BEAUTY EMBRACE IT. 

 

Lucan Breedlove 

Co-Founder 

Embrace Hair and Skin Care LLC