Why I chose Mineral Oil

I have been using my staple products for quite some time now. I have narrowed it down to two products in each category of haircare. I have (2) two each shampoos, conditioners, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, sealants, moisturizers, and stylers. I adjust the product according to the look I wish to achieve. However the one thing that has eluded me is shine/sheen.

I recently came to a realization that two of my products gives me shine, Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue, and my hair grease. In addition I recently obtained some samples of products from Miss Jessie's to include Baby Buttercream, and Curly Pudding. Although the Baby Buttercream was .47oz. it was enough to see the properties of the product. It gave moisture and shine, and even fought off the South Florida heat and humidity when used during take down of my twist out.
I used the Curly Pudding to re-twist my hair and received moisturized, shiny twists, that resisted weather also. I haven't had these results with my staple styling or finishing products.

Now because the Miss Jessie's is not a product that I would purchase out right because of pricing I began to look for alternative products. When doing so I found the one common ingredient in these products that was absent from my other products, Mineral Oil.  Not to be outdone by ingredients I went out and purchased myself a 16oz. bottle of Mineral Oil for about $3.00.

I'm not an ingredient snob by far, however I want healthy hair. This is a clear, colorless, odorless, very lubricious, medium weight  oil. I figured out the best way to use this oil is to use it during the last step which is styling, after I've added moisture. I added a little to my twists after applying my twisting cream. It gave a nice shine/sheen, but not quite the look of Miss Jessie's products. I'm getting the feeling that the key is in the product formulation.  So with this in mind I mixed the oil into my styler (a small scoop, not the entire container) and finished the styling process. This yielded a result that was also good on shine/sheen, and close to the results of the Baby Buttercream, and Curly Pudding.

I have resolved to using the Mineral Oil during the last step of my regimen, and will continue to work out a formula that gives desired results. Until then I'm scouring the swap boards waiting for that deal on Baby Butttercream, or Curly Pudding. I know for sure mineral oil is accessible without having to mortgage the house.