Advice from the Pros: What’s the Best Way to Deep Condition Your Hair?
If you have naturally dry hair that is hard to keep moisturized – especially if you color your hair frequently or rely on heat tools for your signature style – deep conditioning should be part of your beauty routine. There’s a lot of advice out there on the best way to deep condition, but the following advice from the experts can set things straight.
The Best Possible Moisturizing Treatment
Despite the rows and rows of products you can find on department store and salon shelves, the absolute best deep conditioning treatment you can get is from your stylist. It often goes by the name “hydration therapy” and involves using various types of products in very specific ways to help hydrate your hair in a way that other products simply cannot. Once you’ve received your first moisture treatment at an ultra-chic salon, your hair will be touchably soft for a long time to come.
Use the Right Conditioner
After your salon hydration, it’s important that you understand the best ways to hold on to that touchably-soft and moisturized hair at home for as long as possible. Fortunately, there are several tips for making sure you are deep conditioning properly, and the first starts with using the right conditioner. If your hair is fine and limp, find a product that adds volume. If your hair is thick and dry, you will need something designed to help impart some moisture. Talk to your stylist about the best products for your needs and be sure to listen carefully to his or her recommendations.
The Science Behind Deep Conditioning
Deep conditioning involves creating an environment in which the conditioning agents can bind to and penetrate the hair. You will need the proper pH, an ample amount of time, and in some cases even heat to make this happen. A high pH will help to open the cuticle of the hair, which allows for deeper penetration of the moisturizing ingredients. Though some salon products create this environment, most at-home care relies on heat and time.
After choosing the right conditioner based on your stylist’s advice, you need to leave it on your hair long enough for it to do its job. The longer you leave a good-quality conditioner on your hair, the more of it will absorb into the cortex, and the softer your hair will ultimately feel. Although the bottle may tell you to leave it on for three minutes, you can get even better results for leaving it on as long as 30 minutes. There is no real benefit to leaving it on any longer than this. For even better results, use a low-temperature heat cap for the full 20 minutes. Heat helps the penetration process a great deal.
Deep conditioning is not as simple as applying some conditioner to your hair in the shower, waiting three minutes, and then rinsing it clean. In fact, the best possible deep conditioning you can achieve is available from your stylist. Barring that, if you want to keep those results at home for as long as possible, leave your conditioner on your hair for about 20 minutes, and be sure to use low heat to help it do its job even better.