Why is Deep Conditioning Important & How to Pick the Right Deep Conditioner?

Deep conditioning is a key part of healthy hair care where you apply a rich hair conditioning treatment to your hair and leave it in for a specific amount of time. This could be for a variety of reasons (e.g. to repair damaged hair, strengthen or moisturize your hair).

This is different from regular conditioning in that normal conditioners are formulated to only hydrate your hair at the surface level but deep conditioners have a thick and paste-like consistency that allow them to penetrate deep into the cuticle of the hair to provide stronger and longer lasting benefits. 

Regardless of your hair type, everyone needs to include deep conditioning into their hair routine. But sometimes, it might be tricky to figure out the best type of deep conditioner to buy. So, in this article, we are going to help you out with that. 

But first, let’s take a look at some of the reasons why you need to deep-condition your hair in the first place! 

To prevent hair damage

Your hair is prone to damage from chemicals, heat and even the weather.  But, if you include a good deep conditioner into your routine, it could be very key in providing your hair with the necessary nutrients like hydrolyzed wheat protein, olive oil and other emollients that can help prevent damage from any of these factors.  

Promotes hair elasticity

If your hair doesn't have elasticity, it can become brittle and break. Hair elasticity is simply a measure of how much stretch your hair has and all hair types should have some amount of elasticity as this is an indication of how healthy it is and how much moisture it can retain. 

The nutrients stated earlier, in deep conditioners, help to promote hair elasticity by keeping the hair strands healthy and strong. So, if you can use your deep conditioner regularly, it will help keep your hair hydrated and give it more elasticity which means it’ll be less prone to breakage. 

Retains the moisture of the hair

Moisture is key to maintaining healthy hair growth. 

Most people always talk about the benefits of using a daily moisturizing cream in their hair routine. But some fail to realize that deep conditioning is an even greater way to help retain the moisture of your hair. 

The ingredients in deep conditioners are very effective in helping you prevent dry and itchy hair so make sure you don’t leave out deep conditioning if you want to keep your hair moisturized and soft over time. Some of these key ingredients that help deep conditioners work their magic are hydrolyzed wheat protein, shea butter, tea tree oil, glycerin and cetyl alcohol just to name a few. 

How to pick a good deep conditioner

Now that you know how important deep conditioning is for your hair, let’s see how you can choose a good deep conditioner. To do this, you’ll first want to consider some factors like your hair type, budget and the different types of deep conditioners. 

Hair type

Understanding your hair type will help determine if you want a thick or lighter product. For people with 3A - 4C curl patterns , you’ll most likely want to use a deep conditioner with a thick consistency but if you have  types 1A- 2C hair that’s more straight, loose or wavy, it’s usually best to go for something lighter. 

Budget

Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to break the bank to get a good deep conditioner. There are so many inexpensive deep- conditioning treatments that will work well for your hair type. We may be just a teensy bit biased but we recommend using our affordable intensive deep conditioner that helps to restore moisture to dry and damaged hair.  

Type of hair conditioner 

First, you need to know if your hair needs more moisture or increased strength. This will help you know what type of deep conditioner to choose. To do a test, take a strand of your hair and gently stretch it. If it feels dry to the touch, then you need more moisture. If it doesn’t feel so dry but snaps or breaks immediately when stretched, then you need more protein to strengthen it. And iIn a case where your hair feels dry and starts to break as soon as you stretch it, chances are you need both protein and moisture. 

Generally, there are two major types: Protein deep conditioners and Moisturizing deep conditioners. 

Depending on the needs of your hair, each type serves different purposes. 

Protein Deep Conditioners - Increased Strength

This type of deep-conditioner contains proteins that attach to the hair shaft and repair damaged parts. The protein in these conditioners provides the hair with a protective barrier and also hardens the cuticle of the hair. 

A protein deep conditioner can be a great choice if you notice your hair is weak or is damaged from color treatment or any other reason.  One thing to note when buying this type of deep-conditioner is to check if it contains amino acids or hydrolyzed palm oil as these are great ingredients that should be present in protein deep conditioners.  

Moisturizing Deep Conditioners - More Moisture

If your goal is to retain and add more moisture to your hair, a moisturizing deep conditioner is an ideal choice. 

This type contains humectants that attract moisture which is then absorbed into the hair.  A moisturizing deep conditioner will help retain moisture and keep your hair hydrated so ideally, it should contain ingredients such as olive oil, soybean oil and shea butter. 

While ourintensive deep conditioner is primarily a moisturizing conditioner that hydrates and restores moisture to dry and damaged hair, it also contains ingredients like hydrolyzed wheat protein that reduces hair breakage and the lauric acid in coconut oil that minimizes protein loss. So, if you’re looking for both moisture and increased protein, it can work well for your needs.  

Now, it’s over to you. Do you deep-condition? And if yes, do you have any tips that you absolutely swear by when choosing a good deep-conditioner? Let us know in the comments!

About Uhai

Uhai Hair is a line of versatile haircare products infused with high quality African ingredients such as superfood baobab, coconut oil and shea butter and designed to revive the hair and scalp.  The products are award-winning(the Oil Blend and the Intensive Deep Conditioner have won Allure’s Best in Beauty Awards) and have received recognition from Beauty Editors from leading publications including Allure,Marie Claire,Cosmopolitan,the LA Times,Harper’s Bazaar etc. Uhai Hair is available globally in Liberia, Kenya, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, and the U.S.  

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