WON BY GLORIA JOHNSON & SABIRAH WELDON!
If you’ve been on a healthy hair journey for any length of time you will be well aware of the importance of deep conditioning* your hair on a regular basis. Regular means different things to different people but as a rule of thumb, I recommend that you deep condition once a week without fail when you first begin your hair journey.
But why I hear you ask? The reason is not to make life more difficult for newbies but rather it’s likely that anyone just starting out doesn’t really know their hair. In the beginning you can’t really tell if your breakage is a result of over-processing, lack of moisture or if your hair is crying out for protein.
In my experience, the best way to figure out what your hair needs is to handle it on a consistent basis. I know this might sound counter-intuitive but at this stage of your hair journey you will probably be manipulating your hair more than is probably ideal.
Until you know for sure what your hair likes and dislikes and you can tell instantly when you are due a protein or moisture treatment just by the way your hair behaves, deep conditioning should remain a weekly event. Once your hair’s moisture-protein balance has been established you can cycle down to quick conditioning after your wash and deep condition just once or twice a month depending on your hair’s needs.
Using heat while you DC is the gold standard in black hair care and the reason why, to cut a long story short, is that heat makes things expand and your hair is no exception. With the expansion, your hair is able to take up more of the good stuff in conditioners be it protein, humectants or lubricating oils*.
Hair therapy wraps are popular among a lot of healthy hair journey-ers mostly because they are a cheaper alternative and they take up much less room than classic hood dryers. They can literally be shoved in a sock drawer when not in use and of course the fact that they are cordless means that you are free to go shopping (with a hat of course), do some housework or take a nap while you treat your tresses.
Two of you will win this handy hair helper this month. Just enter the competition & cross your fingers!