Regular Deep Conditioning is an absolute MUST in my hair care routine. And by regular I mean twice a week, once a week at least. Sounds like a lot of work I know but with practice it becomes quick and easy.
If I go any longer than a week, I immediately regret it. My hair gives me a side eye and immediately throws herself into a dry brittle mess, smh (shaking my head). Yes, dealing with my hair is like dealing with a little child sometimes! No joke!
That being said, I try to focus on moisture moisture moisture because my hair tends towards dryness. I do protein treatments every 2 weeks depending on how my hair feels.
What product to use???
Gosh! Finding the answer to this question was such a daunting task for me at the beginning of my hair journey for two major reasons:
- Hair blogger A (with fantabulous hair might I add) swears by product X; then hair blogger B (drool worthy hair, again) swears that product X caused major breakage for her and that product Y is the best thing ever; BUT blogger C says both X and Y are no good because they have either "cones" or "lanolin" or "parabens" so product Z is the way to go... you get the picture.
- Living in a small island, it can be difficult to find the products that you see other bloggers raving about. And when you do find them, usually online for me, they turn out to be so pricey. Then when you purchase a large bottle, try it, your hair hates it, then its a huge disappointment and a waste of your hard earned money!
Trust me the product trial and error phase was not cheap, but over the past few months after reading and experimenting and listening to my hair I found 4 deep conditioners that work well for me:
ORS Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner - My #1
Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Conditioner + Coconut Oil
Elasta QP Intense Moisturizing Deep Conditioner
Home-made Deep Conditioner Mix:
I learned how to MAKE my own deep conditioners when I realized I had quite a few products in my "stash" that I wasn't using (because they didn't quite gel with my hair) and as such would have to throw away.Sigh, all that money down that drain, I was so sad...
Thank goodness I didn't have the heart to throw them away, because no sooner had the thought entered my head, than I came across a YouTube video by Laila of "Fusion of Cultures" where she was explaining that she sometimes mixed an "OK" conditioner with other ingredients such as oils and honey to increase the conditioning effect of said conditioner.
DING DING DING!!! Light Bulb Moment! I didn't have to throw away products, I could just convert them into something I could use! Woot Woot!
I decided to give it a try. After a bit of experimenting I came up with a basic guideline for my mixes that didn't depend on me having "specific" products on hand, but rather "groups" of products.
Equation: Moisturizing Conditioner + Oil + Humectant = Moisturizing Awesome Sauce!
So my mixes are as follows:
(1) About 3 tablespoons of one conditioner that I'm trying to finish AND 3 tablespoons of one conditioner that is very moisturizing but doesn't give much "slip"(i.e. doesn't help the fingers to comb through the hair easily when conditioner is applied)
PLUS
(2) About 2 tablespoons each of any two of the following oils
PLUS
(3) +/- One teaspoon of a Humectant (to increase the moisturizing effect of the conditioner), in this case Glycerine or Honey
(I use only a small amount of honey or glycerine, because a little goes a long way for me. If I am heavy handed it gives my hair a sticky feel).
(4) Mix together in a clean plastic bowl, apply to damp or dry hair. Place a plastic cap over the hair, and sit under the drier for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, rinse thoroughly with a bit of warm water, followed by cold water, and done! Simple :-)
So that's about it :-)
I'm due a deep conditioning session right about now, but think I'll tackle that later on this evening and let you guys know how it goes.
Have a fantastic Monday!
Have a fantastic Monday!
Xoxo,
Rachie :-)
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