Using Vaseline on My Natural Hair?

When I was a little girl, my Mother would braid my hair every week using nothing but grease. My hair was nice, shiny and of course very long. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Well this was my story. Grease, Vaseline, hair pomade or whatever you call it, was a staple in my hair regimen for many years, especially when my Mother was taking care of it. I never really saw an issue with grease until I started my healthy hair journey. According to many, grease was a big no-no because it could clog the pores, dry out the hair and was just plain ole' greasy. Not to mention, the ingredients(lanolin, petroleum, mineral oil, parfum, green no 6, etc) in most of them aren't the best for our hair.

I have been looking for a way to keep my hair moisturized for a long period of time and wanted to revisit using grease despite the negativity surrounded them. Hey, it worked when I was a kid, right?
 I did a little research on the various kinds and because of the "bad" ingredients, I opted to use plain Vaseline and mix in a little olive oil. I figured because I use Vaseline on my body and lips, with no adverse effects, it would be okay to use on my hair.

Here's how it went: 

Day 1: Tuesday

At night, I separate my hair in sections, spritzed each section with water then sealed the water with the Vaseline/olive oil mixture. I used very little in each section because I was trying to avoid greasy hair. I did not apply to my scalp, only the length of my hair. I did about 10 braids afterwards.

Day 2: Wednesday

Hair felt very soft, could still feel the product on it and could also see it on my fingers whenever touching it. I did not have any "curl" definition. Did not re-apply at night

Day 3: Thursday  

Hair felt dry and somewhat straw like, but was still greasy. So I could still feel the product on my hair yet my hair was no longer soft. I spritzed with water and lightly applied more of the Vaseline/oil mix then did about 8 chunky braids at night.

Day 4: Friday 

Hair felt soft in the morning, but was very frizzy. By the end of the day, my hair was dry and greasy feeling. There wasn't any breakage, but it didn't feel good. I did not apply any more Vaseline that night though. Just lubricated my hands with oil, rubbed it through my hair, put my hair in a loose high puff, tied with a satin scarf and went to bed.

Day 5: Saturday 

Hair felt dry again, but lightly spritzed it with water and sealed with oil in the morning. Hair felt better, but since I was up for a wash the next morning, I didn't care much.

Day 6: Sunday

I washed and conditioned my hair. I used the Jane Carter Conditioning Cleanser which is a light cleanser, yet the grease was still able to wash out easily.

Note: I wore my hair loose and in a puff all of these days.

What I learned: 

• The soft hair feeling that the grease(Vaseline) gave me was only temporary 
• I do not miss the feeling of greasy hair 
• It did not help my hair stay moisturized longer. Although I only used water to moisturize, the thickness of the grease(Vaseline) should have held that moisture in. 
• It was not as difficult as some say to wash out. Although I didn't use store bought hair pomade such as Blue Magic or Softee
• I prefer the feeling of Shea Butter much better plus it absorbs in my hair better
• Grease (Vaseline) will probably work better for me if my hair were in a protective style such as braids or twists.  
• My hair only looked shiny on Day 1, 4 and 5. 

I'm glad I revisted hair grease so I could see how my hair reacts to it. It still works well for many people and could probably work well for myself if I switched up my methods. Although, I prefer using Shea-Butter(just as thick and inexpensive) instead. 

Have you used Vaseline or Hair Grease on your hair recently? How did your hair react?