BACK TO BASICS: Deep Conditioning

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Moisture, moisture, MOISTURE! I cannot begin to emphasize the importance of moisture for curly haired girls, especially for us type 4 haired sistas. One way you can curb thirsty tresses is to deep condition your hair. Deep conditioning your hair-or as us Kenyan girls call it ‘treating’- will help you prevent breakage, and repair any damage that may have been caused through styling, use of heat, and over manipulation.Please note, I deep condition my hair once a week. I always start on clean, freshly washed hair (either after a weekly or bi-weekly co-wash, and after my monthly shampoo).

This is how I DC my hair in Seven Easy Steps:

1. Part hair into four large sections (or however many sections is comfortable for you to work with) It is always easier to work with sections of hair as opposed to tackling the entire head of hair. Honey, my hair is so thick, the only way I can ensure I condition my entire head of hair is to section it.

2. Generously coat hair with your deep conditioner of choice. If you haven’t found one that’s doing you justice, I will provide a list of my favourite products that I use to deep condition my hair.

3. Make sure you coat your hair evenly from root to tip. Apply more generously at the ends of your hair. The ends are the oldest part of your hair and therefore, the weakest and most prone to breakage. Applying more deep conditioner to your ends will help maintain them and protect them from breakage that can occur during styling. Our goal is to retain length people!

4. Cover your hair with a plastic cap and go about your business for an hour or so. Depending on how dry or damaged my hair feels, I may keep it in for upto 3 or 4 hours. If you have a steamer, you may choose to sit under the steamer for about 15minutes.

5.  Detangle the hair section by section and rinse out the product. You can choose to use a wide toothed comb, your Denman (if you are confused about what this is, i got you honey, click here) or my personal favourite, my fingers!

6. Apply your favourite natural oil generously to each section. Make sure to massage your scalp to enhance blood circulation. Don’t forget to Coat your ends! This will nourish your hair and lock in the moisture from your deep conditioning session. Your ends are the oldest and most fragile parts of your hair. This means that they are the most prone to breakage and damage, ensure that they are well moisturised to avoid split ends. (The general rule is to respect your elders right? That applies to hair too)

7. Seal in your moisture by using a sealant such as castor oil or my personal favourite, my whipped Shea butter cream(click here for the recipe). Don’t forget a little extra for those ends, et voila, you’re done! Style as desired.

Do you deep condition your hair? If so, which deep conditioners have you tried that are working miracles for you? Do let me know.

Happy Nappy Hair!

Yvette Kemi