Confession! I do not like deep conditioning my hair! The whole hair washing process can get a bit time consuming especially when it includes that very important step. As much as I would rather just take care of my hair in five minutes I know that if I take the time to do it right my hair will flourish.
The truth is if you are going to spend 20 minutes to deep condition your hair you might as well do it right and with the right product. In this post, I want to talk about how to pick the right deep conditioner and how to get the most out of it when wash day comes around.
What type of conditioner do you need?
The type of conditioner you use for your hair will depend on a few factors, the state of your hair is one, the weather or season, and in some instances your hair type.
I have very fine hair as you can see from the picture above, so I like to choose conditioners that will strengthen my strands as well as give me maximum moisture at the same time.
During the Winter time, we may prefer to use conditioners that are filled with emollients and humectants that will help your hair to retain moisture throughout the week. During the Summertime you might choose a lighter conditioner or you might stick with your Winter product especially if your hair is extremely dry.
Why I picked the Hydration Elation as my deep conditioner of choice
Prior to wash day, I had my hair out all week long in somewhat of a fro and my hair was dry and seriously tangled. I needed something that would help to melt the tangles as well as instantly hydrate my curls before I attempted to do anything else to my hair.
I needed a product that had water listed as the first ingredient and a ton of emollients because I wanted enough slip to help with detangling. In addition to that, we were having a particularly chilly day and I wanted the moisture to remain intact for the week.
With that said I considered three things, the fact that I wore a style that contributed to my very dry hair, I considered the weather and I considered the ingredients that were in my conditioner of choice.
How to get the most out of your conditioner
I prefer to deep condition before I do anything else because as I mentioned my strands needed immediate moisture. I applied the Hydration Elation all over my hair from root to tip and ensured that the ends of my hair were covered well in conditioner. When you see your curl pattern starting to form you know for sure that the conditioner is doing what it needs to do.
From the picture you can kind of tell the state of my hair, how tangled it was, and how much of the conditioner it was absorbing with one application.
After coating my hair I put it in a pineapple and covered with a plastic cap so that I can use my overhead hair dryer to heat things up.
The reason we recommend using heat when deep conditioning is because it helps to further open the cuticles of the strand and allows the product to seep in, hydrating your curls from the inside out.
Another method is deep conditioning after you shampoo your hair which is just as effective as my method especially if you are that girl that has a ton of build up and you need to get rid of it with shampoo before applying new product.
The most important thing to consider, whether you deep condition before of after you shampoo is using heat so that your hair can get the most out of the ingredients in the product.
It is important to note that not all ingredients can penetrate the hair strand but since Hydration Elation has a variety of emollients each of them depending on their molecular weight will bind to the strand or penetrate it if they can.
How do you know that your deep conditioner worked for you?
I look for a few key responses from my hair once wash day is over that will determine if the process and product worked. I love soft hair, my strands need to feel smooth and my curl pattern should be restored, that simple! If your hair responds well to a product it should look and feel as if it was treated well.
This is one week after my deep condition – My hair is stretched but not one bit dry!
Comment below and let me know how you choose your deep conditioner!
**This post was sponsored by As I Am Naturally but the opinions are 100% my own!**