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Deep conditioning is one of the biggest dilemmas when it comes to hair care. Many women are wondering whether they should leave their conditioner on for an hour or 30 minutes. If you also have some questions about deep conditioning, then let’s take a look at the dos and don’ts of using deep conditioning.
Specialists advise women to use deep conditioning on a regular basis. In this way, your hair will be softer, and you will avoid frizz and breakage. It is important to know that the term ‘regularly’ is determined by you and your routines. You can deep condition your hair every four days or every two weeks. It all depends on your personal hair care and routines. Experts argue that once a week is ideal for proper hair care.
Deep conditioning will revitalize your hair and maintain it healthy
However, it depends on your hair type. Therefore, if your hair feels limp and weak, then you should undergo deep conditioning every 2 or 3 weeks. If it feels dry, apply this treatment twice a week.
Deep conditioning is meant to for about 20 to 30 minutes, avoiding leaving it on for hours on end.
If you want your deep conditioner to make your hair super soft or super strong, depending on its ingredients, then heat it up. Based on the article by JC of The Natural Haven heating the deep conditioner up to 35 degrees Celsius boosts the effectiveness of adsorption. If you heat the conditioner in a hot water bath, it will offer you the best results.
Heating your conditioner before applying it will offer you the best results
Another important advice that you should keep in mind is to alternate the deep conditioning sessions between moisture and protein. In this way, you will maintain your hair nourished, soft and strong. If you want a strengthening treatment, then use conditioners that contain henna, keratin, amino acids and hydrolyzed proteins. For softness and moisture, you could use conditioners that contain ceramides, aloe vera, glycerin, cetearyl, stearyl, and cetyl.
These were some of the most important dos. Now, let’s see the don’ts.
The most important ‘don’t’ regarding deep conditioning is to avoid leaving your conditioner on for hours on end or overnight. The usual deep conditioning process lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. If your deep conditioner doesn’t work after this time span, then you should try to replace it. Nevertheless, if you over-condition your hair, you may risk having a weak, mushy hair, which is called hygral fatigue.
Another crucial fact is to avoid storing your conditioner for a long time. Even if you mix two of your favorite conditioners or if you make your own DIY mix containing Hello Hydration, Greek yogurt, and avocados, don’t keep them for more than a few days. Nevertheless, if you refrigerate the mix, you may use it for a week, but that’s it. Keeping these mixes for too long fuels the development of bacteria.
You should avoid using a DIY mix for more than a few days
Don’t be fooled by marketing strategies. The basic conditioner should contain water, fatty alcohol, like cetearyl, stearyl and cetyl, gentle surfactants, such as methosulfate and behentrimonium chloride, emollients and humectant, like glycerin, aloe vera, sugar, honey, propylene glycol. Any other ingredients added may be just a marketing strategy which will make you waste a lot of money to obtain the same results.
All in all, pay attention to the ingredients on your conditioner bottle and use it regularly. Avoid using DIY mixes for more than a few days and heat up your conditioner before applying it.
