Last Updated on April 1, 2022 by Il-ham B
I don’t know about you but for me, wash day is one of the most dreaded moments in my hair care regimen. Believe that I will skip it every chance I get. That’s if my hair can handle it for another week or so. Because there is a lot that goes into that process, the most important being deep conditioner.
Depending on what your hair needs at that time, wash days can look like; pre-poo, shampoo, clay-mask, deep conditioning, moisturizing then styling. I know, it’s a lot.
Additionally, when it comes to my hair, I am constantly trying to find ways to maintain the health of my hair and retain length. With that in mind, deep conditioning in my opinion – is the most crucial step in the whole process. I say this because my hair used to be dry, brittle, and hard to the touch until I started deep conditioning my hair regularly (every wash day).
With that, the process requires you to be well equipped with the right tools and products, by listening to your hair and providing it with what it needs. this could be moisture, nourishment, or strength.
Conditioner vs Deep Conditioner (DC)
For those who don’t know, deep conditioning is the process of treating your hair with a mask that penetrates your strands to nourish it from the inside out. It has a thicker consistency that should be left in the hair for about 30mins. If you want to benefit from its full effect, I suggest you cover your hair with a plastic cap, add heat or sit under a hooded steamer. This process will have your hair feeling moisturized for a longer time. Pretty much till your next wash day.
On the other hand, a conditioner is of a lighter consistency and is typically used right after shampooing your hair. Its main purpose is to help smoothen your strands and to reduce frizz while being most effective when left in the hair for at least 3-5 mins. Further, Its effects will only last a few days.
Regular conditioners are usually much (3x) cheaper than deep conditioners, which are not always easily accessible. Making them the perfect base for DIYing your deep conditions.
Can you turn a regular conditioner into a deep conditioner?
The answer is YES! you definitely can. I will show you how to, with the help of a few ingredients you can find in your kitchen. Again knowing what your hair needs will help you create the most effective deep conditioner for your hair. Whether that may be moisture retention, protein, nourishment, or all of the above.
The following ingredients will help you determine what to add to your conditioner and even your DC for an extra boost. I will also include a bonus ingredient at the end of this post. These 5 ingredients are honey, eggs, banana, avocado, and yogurt.
Honey
As you already know, honey is produced by honey bees. These bees collect the nectar of flowering plants. They then consume, digest, and regurgitate it inside the beehive to produce a sweet, syrup-like substance.
Honey is rich in antioxidants, contains amino acids, vitamins, and minerals which makes it the perfect ingredient to add to your hair regimen. As a conditioner, it provides moisture, helps retain moisture by acting as a natural humectant and an emollient.
The results are; It promotes a healthy scalp, hair growth, increases shine, and reduces breakage.
Add Honey to your conditioner to boost moisture.
Eggs
The better parts of most breakfast. Eggs are a superfood. Supplying almost all the rich nutrients and benefits for the body. Can you imagine what it can do for your hair?
With properties such as vitamin A, D, and E, biotin, and folate, it contains the nutrients composed in a healthy glossy head of hair.
The yolk alone helps replenish moisture and the protein levels in your hair. It is loaded with healthy fats that make your strands feel sleek, shiny, and fuller which makes for a great deep conditioner.
Let’s not forget about the added benefits to the scalp, by promoting healthy new growth that does not break and is less prone to shedding.
Add eggs to your conditioner to boost protein.
Banana
Bananas are rich in nutrients such as potassium, vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and natural oils. It also contains anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties. This helps to moisturize flaky dry scalp and prevent dandruff.
All the properties contained in bananas promote hair elasticity, protect the hair against slips ends, and prevent breakage. The silica contained in bananas smoothes out frizzy hair making your hair shinier and more manageable.
Add bananas to your conditioner to boost elasticity.
Avocado
Avocado is a natural hair moisturizer because it contains high levels of fats that are great for nourishing and hydrating hair follicles. It is also filled with vitamins and antioxidants.
When the properties contained in avocados are absorbed into the scalp and the hair shaft, it stimulates hair growth and protects the hair against damages and dryness. This helps repair the hair by preventing it from becoming dry, brittle, and breaking off. additionally, it protects the hair from UV radiation.
Add avocado to your conditioner to repair and strengthen.
plain yogurt
Did you know that yogurt promotes strong healthy hair? As another delicious treat, yogurt is full of nutrients like vitamin B5, calcium, probiotics, and protein.
It deeply cleanses the scalp by clearing dead skin cells (dandruff), removes excess oil, soothes irritated scalp, prevents shedding, balances the scalp’s PH, and improves the overall health of your scalp to boost growth.
Another essential part of hair growth is avoiding breakage. Yogurt does that by keeping your hair moisturized and strong, adding softness, and increasing shine.
Add yogurt to your conditioner to restore the health of your hair.
OIL – bonus
For oils, check out my blog post on THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PENETRATING OILS VS SEALING OILS. It will inform you of everything you need to know about what kinds of oils are best to add to your deep conditioners.
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All things considered, an unbalanced diet, chemical treatment, styling tools, environmental damages, and the time of the year can all contribute to hair damage. By stripping your hair moisture, minerals, and protein balance. This leads to dry, weak stands that break and frizz more easily
With that comes hours of binge-watching YouTube videos and experimenting with different products that promise everything under the sun. All that is good and dandy but the part that’s missing is knowing what your hair needs at every stage of your hair journey.
As previously mentioned, deep conditioning my hair regularly has helped my hair be more manageable, softer/ silkier to the touch, and stronger. In turn, my hair breaks less which helps me retain length.
The ingredients above have helped me on my hair journey. I hope this blog post helps you too! Share this post with someone who could benefit and your thoughts in the comments section below if you found this information useful. What’s your favorite ingredient on the list? How often do you use a deep conditioner?
