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Hi there! I will be sharing how to deep condition natural hair. Deep conditioning of natural hair is the process of applying conditioning products to the hair to add moisture, restore oils, and prevent breakages and split ends. It is very beneficial to natural hair and should be an essential part of your hair regime.
Natural hair is more susceptible to damage and this damage is usually caused as a result of dryness, single knots, tangles, and lack of good hair routines. Personally, I incorporate deep condition into my hair regime at least twice a month and during the busy months, I ensure I deep condition once a month.
Benefits of deep condition
Benefits of deep conditioning your natural hair are huge. By including a deep condition routine into your regime, helps ensures your hair remains healthy, hydrated, shiny, and damage-free. These are five key benefits of deep conditioning your natural hair.
- Prevents Hair damage
The regular deep condition allows the essential ingredients in the products to penetrate the hair shafts and give nourishment to your hair. By penetrating the hair shafts, the ingredients are more beneficial to your hair and are able to repair damage and prevent split ends.
- Improves Elasticity
Healthy natural hair has elasticity. If you pull on your hair, it should bounce back. Hair without elasticity is more susceptible to damage and breakage. Too much use of heat may sometimes cause loss of elasticity and damage to natural hair. Deep conditioning helps promotes elasticity of your hair.
- Improves Moisture
I love it when my hair is well moisturized and not dry. Dry, brittle, dull hair is unattractive and leads to hair breakage and prevents retention of growth. If you use hair color or heat tools, deep conditioning is key to keep hair damage at bay and maintain healthy hair.
- Strengthens Hair
Deep conditioning strengthens your hair. By including oils and ayurvedic herbs into your deep condition routine, it strengthens weakened hair from bleaching, dye and heat.
- Improves Hair Shine and Manageability
Moisturized, healthy hair is more manageable. Deep conditioning adds shine to your hair and promotes hair shine and softness. Deep conditioning also balances the pH of your hair.
How often should you deep condition your hair?
Now that we know the benefits of deep conditioning, le’s talk about how often to deep condition to get all these amazing benefits. It is advisable to deep condition at least twice a month.
If your schedule permits, you can choose to deep condition once a week. If you wear your hair in protective styles, you can choose to deep condition on your hair wash day.
Deep Condition 4c Hair/ Curly hair
Deep condition your hair is good for your hair natural or not. To deep condition your hair, you can use a store-bought deep conditioner or a DIY deep conditioner using a few things in your kitchen. Whichever one you decide to use, follow these steps.
- Ensure your hair properly detangled and section hair into 4. Finger detangling is encouraged.
- If your hair is dry, spray your hair with water to wet it a bit. I prefer deep condition my wet hair vs dry hair.
- Apply product to your hair, section by section focusing on the ends of your hair.
- Ensure your hair is covered with product.
- Cover your hair with a shower cap, plastic bag or wrap with cling film.
- Use a heating cap, hooded dryer, steamer or wrap a damp warm towel around your hair.
- Leave on for 30 Minutes and Rinse out with warm water.
Deep Conditioning Products
There are various deep conditioning products in the market based on what they do. Some deep conditioners hydrate and moisturize, some repair and some are protein treatments. It is important to understand your hair and know what it needs to balance between moisture and protein deep conditioning. These are my top 10 deep conditioner products for natural hair.
- Shea Moisture raw shea butter deep treatment masque
- Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Marfura oil hydration masque
- Obia Naturals Babassu Deep Conditioner
- Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil strengthen and restore treatment masque
- Eden BodyworksJojoba Monoi Deep Conditioner
- Cantu deep treatment masque
- As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner
- Manechoice Green Tea & Carrot Deep restorative Mask
- Mielle Organics Babassu Oil & Mint Conditioner
- Africa’s Best Hair Mayonnaise
DIY Deep Conditioner
Store-bought deep conditioner can be pricey and may contain ingredients that do not work for your hair.
These DIY deep conditioners are easy to make and work wonders on your natural hair. It is important to use all products mixed and discard any extra. Here are Three DIY deep conditioners for your hair.
- Avocado & Honey DIY Deep Conditioner
This DIY Avocado & Honey Deep conditioner adds moisture to your hair. Here is what you will need to make this homemade conditioner.
1 Avocado
2 Tablespoon of Coconut Oil
3-5 drops of Peppermint Essential oil
2 Tablespoon of Honey.
Combine all ingredients in a plastic mixing bowl, whip, or mix thoroughly. Apply to Hair as outlined above.
- Mayo & Honey DIY Deep Conditioner
1/2 cup of Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoon of Honey
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
3 -5 drops of Peppermint oil
Combine all ingredients in a plastic mixing bowl, mix thoroughly.
Apply to damp hair and leave on for 30mins -45mins.
- Banana & Honey DIY Deep Conditioner
Bananas are high in Biotin, which promotes hair growth. This DIY deep conditioner promotes hair growth.
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 Tablespoon of Honey
- 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil
Combine all ingredients in a plastic mixing bowl, mash the bananas, and whip all ingredients together. Apply to damp hair and leave on for 30-45mins.
Deep Conditioning Tips
Do you wash your hair before deep conditioning?
If it is your wash day, you can choose to wash your hair before deep conditioning. If your hair is dry, spray water to dampen hair before applying deep conditioner.
How long should you deep condition natural hair?
There are no benefits to keeping your deep conditioner on for more than 60mins. Keeping your deep conditioner overnight does not do any extra to your hair. Keep your deep conditioner on for 30minutes- 45 minutes for optimal effect.
What is the best homemade deep hair conditioner?
The good thing about DIY deep conditioners is you can tweak and adjust the ingredients to suit your hair needs and the ingredients available in your kitchen.
Can you use regular conditioner to deep condition?
Yes, you can! Normal conditioner can be used to deep condition. I usually add a few of my favorite oils to my conditioner to deep condition my hair.
More Beauty Posts On The Blog
Protective Styles for Natural Hair
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~Bunmi
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