What is a Conditioning Treatment?

Wrap your hair in luxury with deep conditioning.

What do you think of when you hear about deep conditioner or conditioning treatment? Most people think of hot oil treatments. Well, there is a whole lot more to them that. There are as many options as there are types of hair, maybe more. How do you choose the right one? You educate yourself on what your hair needs and how to find the right fit for your hair.

There are many reasons you might need a deep treatment for your hair. Most people decide to use one when they start to see damage or split ends. The best time to start using one is before this starts happening. The problem with waiting until you see damage is that it will take a lot longer to see major improvements. But, once you see damage, you need to be sure you are using the right kind of conditioning treatment. First you need to decide why your hair is damaged. Hair naturally receives damage from the environment (heat, cold, wind, water conditions, sun, just to name a few), but everything we do to it also makes a huge impact. The kind of products we use, including shampoo, daily conditioner, mousse, gel, hairspray, etc, as well as the way we treat our hair (blowdrying, curling iron, flat iron, rollers, brushes, hair ties) and chemicals we use such as perms, color, and highlights play a huge role in the health of your hair.

Moisturizing Treatments - If your hair suffers from mechanical damage, usually from heat styling or if you have naturally dry or curly hair, this treatment is probably best for you. Our daily routines tend to suck the moisture right out of our hair. Moisturizing treatments replace the moisture our hair lacks.

Repair Treatments - If your hair has been colored, highlighted, bleached, permed, or chemically straightened, it could be lacking protein. Repair treatments usually include the protein your hair is missing. As simple as this sounds, if you only add protein without also adding moisture, it can cause more damage or the protein will not grab onto the hair. Be sure to use a professional repair treatment from a salon.

Moisturizing and Repair Treatments - Sometimes, your hair has both mechanical damage and chemical damage. In this case, you will need a special deep conditioner that will provide both protein and moisture. Keep in mind that these will have more moisture than what is in the repair treatments.

There are different ways you can apply these deep conditioners. The best way is to have them done in the salon when you get your hair cut. This allows the stylist to help you decide which one is best for your hair, as well as make sure you get it distributed throughout the hair well. There is also the option of sitting under the dryer to force the treatment deeper into the hair shaft. There are also take home treatments that you can use at home. You can use them after you shampoo your hair and leave on for the recommended time, or you can leave them on for several hours to get even better results. I have some clients who even sleep in them.

As you see, there are lots of options to choose from. The first step is analyzing your hair to see what it needs. Remember, not all hair is the same. What works for your best friend may not work as well for you. Choose the right product for your hair and you will see major improvements in the health of your hair.