The Main Hair Food
Deep Condition
If you want to cook a nice meal, you’ll make a list. Then make sure the necessary ingredients are available.
Now if you want to cook(get) long and soft hair, the maggi and salt you need is a deep conditioner.
When you wash your hair without a deep conditioner, the food you are cooking on your hair will be tasteless.
The result will be dryness and breakage.
Deep conditioners are divided into protein deep conditioners and moisturizing deep conditioners.
- Protein Deep Conditioner
It contains hydrolyzed proteins(e.g hydrolyzed keratin, hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydrolyzed collagen) that are broken down into small molecules.
These protein sizes are small enough to assimilate into your hair structure.
As such they can penetrate your cuticles to strengthen, repair, and fill in the gaps along your hair structure. (Prevents and stops breakage)
They do not just sit on your strands. This is why an egg is not a protein DC. The molecules found in your eggs are too big to penetrate. As a result, they just sit on your strands.
Note: A protein DC MUST be followed up with a Moisturizing DC. If you don’t, your hair will still break.
Protein strengthens/hardens
Moisture softens.A balance of both of them will give you longer hair.
2. Moisturizing Deep conditioner
It is a product you are meant to use every wash day. It infuses moisture into your hair, deep into your hair cortex(the inner part of your hair).
Not all conditioners can do this. For example, instant conditioners only cater for the surface of your hair and the softening is temporary.
Moisturising deep conditioners on the other hand cater for both the surface and inner part of your hair because the molecules of your deep conditioner are smaller.
The moisturizing/softening effect lasts for a longer time and keeps hair breakage away.
Why should you deep condition your relaxed hair or natural hair?
1. Relaxer weakens your hair: After a relaxer application, your hair comes out weaker. It needs proteins to strengthen it and prevent it from breaking. It also needs moisture to soften it.
You need to rebuild those bonds that your relaxer damaged. This is the key to a healthy long relaxed hair.
If you don’t deep condition before and after your relaxer touch-up, you are setting up yourself for breakage.
2. Soft Hair: One of the many benefits of deep conditioning is that it infuses moisture deep into your cortex (inner part of your hair). Your instant and leave in conditioner no fit reach here
When your cortex is moisturized, your hair will be soft, easy to comb and will not break.
So if you dey find long hair, start deep conditioning on wash day. Your moisturizers will work better and you will retain moisture better after you Deep condition.
3. Longer hair: Deep conditioners that contain hydrolyzed protein are responsible for stopping breakage or preventing breakage.
If your hair stops breaking, it will get longer.
Can I use an instant/regular conditioner as a substitute for the deep conditioner?
No ma/sir. An instant conditioner cannot act as a substitute.
Your deep conditioner cannot be replaced with the other types of conditioners since they are different and do not do the same thing
Can I use DIYs instead of products?
Image from Wholefully
DIYs will not solve your breakage issues.
You can get moisture from DIYS but not protein. You need hydrolyzed proteins which are found only in products. You cannot DIY hydrolyzed proteins.
And your hair needs a balance of protein and moisture to not break.
Please, get a store bought deep conditioner. I’ve used both DIYs and products and products do the job.
How to Identify a Deep Conditioner
It usually has the name deep conditioner or masque on the label. It can also have “intensive conditioning" on the label, etc
It is thicker in consistency. Must be rinsed out. The conditioning time is longer compared to that of an instant conditioner.
🍁Protein Deep Conditioners: Protein conditioners have hydrolzed proteins listed out in amongst the first 6 ingredients. E.g hydrolyzed wheat, hydrolzed keratin, hydrolyzed silk, etc
A good example is Aphogee 2 step protein treatment or the 2 minutes reconstructor.
🍁Moisturizing Deep conditioners. The first 5 ingredients are mostly moisturizing ingredients. Down the ingredients list, you may see a hydrolyzed protein.
But that does not make it a protein treatment. It is still a moisturizing deep conditioner.
Moisturising deep conditioners are of 2 types:
- Protein free moisturizing deep conditioners e.g.Aussie 3 minutes moisture miracle, Mina care Ayurvedic Deep conditioner, etc
- Moisturizing Deep conditioner that contain a minute quantity of protein. Example, Bellestar Deep conditioner, Aphogee balancing moisturizer, sunny isle masque, ORS replenishing conditioner
Which Deep conditioners should I use on my hair, when to use and how often?
If your hair is breaking and you are trying to decide which one to get, do this test:
Gently pull your hair from both ends. If it breaks immediately, you need a protein free moisturising deep conditioner.
If it stretches really well before it breaks, you need a protein treatment.
- If nothing is wrong with your hair but you just want to maintain your hair, start with a moisturizing deep conditioner. Use it every time you wash your hair.
- If you did a protein treatment, a moisturizing deep conditioner must be used after rinsing off your protein treatment (applies to both relaxed hair and natural hair)
- For relaxed hair, Protein deep conditioners should be used every time you relax your hair. Then follow up with a moisturizing deep conditioner. You can also use it once every 6–8weeks.
- For natural hair, a protein deep conditioner should be used if your hair is breaking from a lack of protein. You can also create a regimen to do this once in 3months or every 6–8weeks.
Please note that Deep conditioners are only used after shampooing.
HOW TO USE A DEEP CONDITIONER TO DEEP CONDITION.
1. It should be done on clean hair/freshly washed hair. Divide your hair into sections. Then pick a section
2. Apply the deep conditioner from your ends to your roots. It should not touch your scalp.
3. Twist up that section.
4. Repeat for all the other sections. Then cover with a processing cap.
5. Use a heat cap if you have low porosity.
6. Stay for 30 mins then rinse off. This last step is very important. A deep conditioner does everything it is supposed to do within 30 mins. After 30 mins you are asking for breakage. Again, you are not meant to leave it in. USE ENOUGH WATER TO RINSE OFF!
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