Everyone’s hair suffers from damage inflicted from daily styling, hot tools, chemicals, sun exposure, and more. It may feel overwhelming—the things that come between you and your good hair days.
Here’s a little pro secret: Even if you feel your hair isn’t damaged, deep conditioning is a great preventative tool to maintain your healthy looking hair. If you already have healthy looking hair, you may ask yourself: is it necessary to deep condition? The answer is: All hair needs regular deep conditioning. Whether it’s considered healthy or has some damage, your hair will surely benefit from the nurturing and hydrating ingredients that deep conditioners offer. After deep conditioning, hair looks shinier and healthier, feels softer and silkier, and is more manageable.
Benefits of Deep Conditioning
The ingredients in a deep conditioner are designed to hydrate and soften hair damaged by chemical processing (like hair color, perming or chemical straightening), heat exposure (to include curling & flat irons and the damaging effect of the sun), and medications (yes…some medication can leave hair feeling dry and rough).
Deep conditioning also helps to improve hair elasticity by restoring moisture that allows the hair to better resist stretching and tension. Think of your hair like a rubber band, the more elasticity (or flexibility enabled by good hydration) it has, the longer it can resist tension or stretching before it breaks.
In addition to making the hair look healthier and feel softer, deep conditioners are essential for preventing and combating hair breakage. The essential ingredients offered by deep conditioners are intended to mend and nourish your hair, so you’ll need to leave the deep conditioner in your hair a bit longer than a traditional conditioner before rinsing so that it can really penetrate the hair. Deep conditioning ingredients we love are:
- Avocado oil
- Almond oil
- Rosehip oil
- Aloe vera
- Argan oil
- Coconut oil
- Sunflower seed oil
Guess what: Every single one of these ingredients is utilized in our Allure Readers' Choice Award-Winning deep conditioning mask!
How often should I deep condition my hair?
Every person has different deep conditioning needs. Most people are fine deep conditioning 2-4 times per month. If your hair is severely damaged or dry, you should be deep condition once a week.
Tips for deep conditioning
Generally, leaving a deep conditioner on for 5-30 minutes (depending on the condition of your hair) should give your hair ample time to absorb the nutrients and hydration that deep conditioners offer. There are a few different ways you can deep condition your hair: You can deep condition in the shower. It’s best to apply the conditioner and leave it on while you wash and shave. The steam will also be beneficial in helping the conditioner absorb better.
Another way of going about it is by applying a deep conditioner to your hair and leaving it on for a while with a plastic cap. You can also apply the cap to your hair and sit under a heated lamp or dryer to get the conditioner to seep through the hair. Doing so will better allow the deep conditioner to penetrate the hair and will also help certain ingredients infuse the hair cuticle. When using a deep conditioner:
- Always shampoo hair first. Deep conditioning works much better on clean hair.
- Apply conditioner starting at the ends, and work it up toward the scalp.
- Don’t apply too much. This can weigh hair down and make it look or feel greasy.
- Rinse the conditioner off with cold water. It helps close the hair cuticle, leaving all the nourishing oils infused onto the hair.
- Try sleeping with deep conditioner applied to the hair and rinse it out the next morning when your hair needs extra love. And don’t forget to use some sort of plastic hair wrap to protect your pillowcase!
It is so necessary to make deep conditioning part of your hair care regimen. The bottom line is even with regular conditioning you still need to deep condition. Hair that's chemically treated - including colored, permed or straightened - needs extra deep conditioning attention to look and feel shiny, improve manageability, and prevent breakage.
