How To Deep Condition Your Hair

Deep conditioning improves your hair health and assists in producing healthy,  soft, and easy-to-manage hair. With the use of the right product, deep conditioning can restore moisture to your hair, strengthen your hair, and can reduce damage caused by chemicals and styling products. There are two ways to deep condition (DC) your hair: DC on wet hair, or DC on dry hair. Many women DC on wet hair, however DC'ing on dry hair is becoming more popular.


DC on Wet Hair
Start by shampooing or co-washing your hair. Remove excess water from your hair by gently squeezing the water out, or placing a towel on your hair (no rubbing!), or placing a t-shirt on your hair, or allowing the water to drip off your hair.

Now apply a moisturizing conditioner to your strands and wear a shower cap or wrap hair in cling wrap. In order to allow the conditioner to penetrate, wrap a towel over your head or sit under a hooded dryer (known as "DC'ing with heat"). If using heat, you can sit for 20 minutes to one hour. Otherwise, you can sit for 30 minutes to a few hours. Some women DC overnight. In my experience, DC'ing overnight does not produce superior results. Also, it may cause itchy scalp.



DC on Dry Hair
This is the same as a DC on wet hair except that you do not wash your hair  first. DC'ing on dry hair is becoming more popular for two reasons. The first is that a dry hair DC reduces the number of times you have to step into the shower. The second is that it is believed that conditioner penetrates the hair shaft better when there are no water molecules taking up space where conditioner nutrients could penetrate.

When the conditioner has penetrated sufficiently, you can either rinse your hair, co-wash or shampoo. 

How To Deep Condition Your Hair

Deep conditioning improves your hair health and assists in producing healthy,  soft, and easy-to-manage hair. With the use of the right product, deep conditioning can restore moisture to your hair, strengthen your hair, and can reduce damage caused by chemicals and styling products. There are two ways to deep condition (DC) your hair: DC on wet hair, or DC on dry hair. Many women DC on wet hair, however DC'ing on dry hair is becoming more popular.


DC on Wet Hair
Start by shampooing or co-washing your hair. Remove excess water from your hair by gently squeezing the water out, or placing a towel on your hair (no rubbing!), or placing a t-shirt on your hair, or allowing the water to drip off your hair.

Now apply a moisturizing conditioner to your strands and wear a shower cap or wrap hair in cling wrap. In order to allow the conditioner to penetrate, wrap a towel over your head or sit under a hooded dryer (known as "DC'ing with heat"). If using heat, you can sit for 20 minutes to one hour. Otherwise, you can sit for 30 minutes to a few hours. Some women DC overnight. In my experience, DC'ing overnight does not produce superior results. Also, it may cause itchy scalp.



DC on Dry Hair
This is the same as a DC on wet hair except that you do not wash your hair  first. DC'ing on dry hair is becoming more popular for two reasons. The first is that a dry hair DC reduces the number of times you have to step into the shower. The second is that it is believed that conditioner penetrates the hair shaft better when there are no water molecules taking up space where conditioner nutrients could penetrate.

When the conditioner has penetrated sufficiently, you can either rinse your hair, co-wash or shampoo.