How Often Should You Deep Condition Your Hair?

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How do you keep your hair looking great? You could use styling products and styling tools! But that just brings a temporary solution. The best way to make your hair look great is to keep it healthy by using a deep conditioner.

How often should you deep condition your hair? You should really be deep conditioning your hair regularly. However, regularly is a loose word. There are some who might need to deep condition more often than others on a regular schedule.

If you want to make your hair healthier through deep conditioning, let us help you figure out when you need to. We’ll also give you some tips on how to tell you that your hair is really in need of a deep conditioning treatment.

Contents

What Is A Deep Conditioner?

There are many different products for hair now, it’s crazy! We have shampoos, conditioners, deep conditioners, hair masks, hair dyes, color toning shampoos, keratin treatments, and many other products.

Let’s take a closer look at deep conditioners.

Deep conditioners are products that come in either a creamy or pasty texture. Usually, they are thicker than your regular conditioners.

These deep conditioners are formulated with ingredients that can efficiently penetrate the hair to nourish it or repair it. Due to their heavier consistency, they need to be kept longer on the hair for them to successfully penetrate the hair shaft.

Usually, they are left on the hair for about 30 minutes, sometimes more. This depends on the product you choose, so be sure to read your instructions.

Additionally, heat could be used to help open up the cuticles to allow the product to more effectively penetrate the hair shaft.

Deep conditioners are meant to temporarily repair the hair. It helps fight dryness, frizziness, and damaged hair strands.

Benefits Of Using A Deep Conditioner

Deep conditioners will help hydrate hair and counter dryness caused by a variety of factors. It helps improve the hair’s elasticity so it can stretch better.

It doesn’t only make your hair look good and feel soft but it prevents hair breakage too. They are meant to nourish the hair to give it what it needs.

How Often Should You Deep Condition Your Hair?

Most people only need a once-a-month deep conditioning session to help repair their hair, including those with low porosity hair. However, if your hair is damaged, very frizzy, and dry, you may increase the frequency of deep conditioning the hair.

It is important to allow the deep conditioner to stay on the hair for a minimum of 5 minutes, depending on the deep conditioner you use.

Giving ample time helps make sure it penetrates the hair and effectively softens and moisturizes the hair.

As we’ve said, once a month treatment works for most people. But you may need more deep conditioning treatment if you belong in any of the following:

If You Spend Loads Of Time Outdoors

Sun exposure has positive and negative effects on hair. It helps with the production of vitamin D, which helps stimulate the hair follicles.

However, too much sun exposure can also cause damage to your hair due to exposure to UV light. When this happens, the cuticle can get damaged and can lead to the weakening of the hair.

Hair breakage and hair-splitting are more common for those who do not take extra care of their hair and are exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time.

A deep conditioning treatment will help moisturize the hair so that it can reverse the dryness brought about by too much sun exposure.

If You Use Heat Stylers Often

Don’t you just love how straight and sleek your hair is after using your favorite tourmaline hair straightener ? We love using heat stylers too, whether they are straighteners or curlers.

However, one drawback to using them is heat damage. You have to make sure that you always use a heat protectant whenever you heat style your hair. Heat protectants work well!

Too much heat styling, even with heat protectants, can still leave your hair dry. To combat this dryness, you have to use a deep conditioning treatment for your hair.

You may need to deep condition your hair twice a week to make sure it is still moisturized and to avoid damage.

If You Have Curly Hair

Whether your hair is wavy or curly, you may need to deep condition more than once a month. Your natural curl pattern will look better or better reveal itself if the hair is healthy and moisturized.

Using a deep conditioner helps control the frizz as well. Just make sure to start with deep conditioning once a week then increase it to twice a week if your curls still look undernourished.

If You Have Color-Treated Hair

Color treatments are products that can dry your hair even if they make your hair look beautifully colored. If you had your hair colored, make sure you use a deep conditioning treatment after the procedure to regain the moisture that is lost.

This is particularly true if you’ve bleached your hair, which is quite damaging.

If You Swim A Lot

When you swim often and wet your hair, it is exposed to moisture but it isn’t really being moisturized. Most pools contain chlorine to remove bacteria but it could also dry out your hair and skin (as well as turn it greenish).

You may feel that your hair is drier or rougher to touch. It could be more prone to damage.

If swimming is already part of your lifestyle and can’t be avoided, the best thing you can do for your hair is to have more frequent deep conditioning sessions.

Tips To Deep Conditioning Your Hair

When deep conditioning your hair, you usually need to leave it on the hair longer than if you used a regular conditioner. Different brands will have different recommendations depending on their formulation, so pay attention to your particular conditioner.

You can deep condition your hair while you are in the shower. Just apply the deep conditioner to your hair and wear a shower cap. Then you can wash your body, exfoliate, shave or just soak in the bathtub.

If you are using hot water to shower, the steam present while you’re washing your body will be helpful for the deep conditioner. It can better be absorbed due to the heat.

Alternatively, you can deep condition your hair outside of the shower. You can do this by applying a deep conditioner and wearing a plastic cap.

While waiting for the deep conditioner to work its magic, you can do any other activity you want.

If you go to a salon, they are likely to use a steam cap over your head to heat it up. There are some heating caps you can purchase to do this in the comfort of your own home.

When deep conditioning your hair, make sure that you shampoo it first. The product gets better absorbed when your hair is clean.

Start the application of the deep conditioner from the ends of your hair and work your way towards the scalp. However, don’t apply too much on your scalp. It can make your hair look greasy and weighed down.

Many deep conditioner manufacturers suggest rinsing it out with cold water so that the cuticle closes. Make sure that you first allow your hair to cool off if you used a steam cap so your hair doesn’t get shocked.

What Happens If You Overdo It?

Deep conditioning products are more efficient in moisturizing your hair than regular conditioners. It may be tempting to do it every day to make sure your hair doesn’t dry up.

However, you can overdo deep conditioning treatments.

When you over-condition your hair, it becomes limp or mushy. This condition is known as hygral-fatigue.

One of the things that you can do to over-moisturize hair is to use a protein treatment. Make sure that you are mindful of how often you deep condition your hair.

You should adjust the frequency depending on your hair’s current state.