Why Deep Condition For More Than 1 HR?

[ajacks]

I usually do 60 minutes w/o heat; 30 minutes w/ heat. Anything longer than that was just laziness and not intentional. I would never DC overnight. The idea of sleeping with wet hair does not appeal to me.

 

[BirdieGray]

I just realized a few months ago that I can't do the overnight DC thing. My hair doesn't like it, so I've stopped doing it. Now I try to do and hour without heat as the max, if I'm feeling lazy, I may leave it on for two hours, but that's it.

 

[Artemis]

I dc'd overnight once and my hair was way overmoisturized and mushy Never again.

IMO if you only dc 2x/month or less, then 30-45 min is ok with or without heat.
I dc 1-2x/wk with heat so I never go over 10-15 min.
If you are dc-ing once/wk, 20 min w/heat, 45 min max w/o heat.

You hair is only going to absorb what it can absorb. Sitting with conditioner in your hair for days is pointless (and sometimes detrimental) IMO. Esp. counterproductive if your strands are fine. I can see coarse hair wanting to leave conditioner on longer, but less than hour.

Once your hair isn't damaged anymore, you should not need to leave it on that long anyways.

 

[Lyoness]

I don't use heat so I just slap it on, leave it to do its job while I do mine and watch TV lol. When my programs are done I rinse it out.. I think the maximum is what suits your lifestyle & condition of your hair.

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Girl, Lemme tell ya....
Here is what I do know.... When I started conditioning ( years ago) for more than 10 minutes.... A lot changed.

Now that I condition at least an hour or two..... the WHOLE world changed.

So - I don't care what people say - I will always pre poo for at least an hour.... and post poo for at least an hour.

 

[Lanea87]

I DC for 1hr every week, switching from moisture and protein.

 

[Simply_Kelz]

I usually do it overnight, because I'm lazy. But if not, then 30-45 minutes with heat is good.

 

[blasianbeauty]

I always DC for a hour or more but never overnight. Is there a such thing is DC'ing too much?

I wonder this myself sometimes. To answer the OP, I do leave my conditioner on overnight at times, at least an hour for sure.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

i deep con for no more than an hour. Doing it overnight gives me headaches

 

[SouthernStunner]

I do it for an hour w/ heat or 2 hours without heat. Sometimes I do it overnight but again that is laziness on my part. I have noticed that doing it overnight actually fits my scheudle better. I work full time, full time in school and have a hubby and twin boys so doing it at night and waking up in the morning and rinsing works for me.

 

[Dommo]

I chose 30 minutes or less...I don't have time to keep conditioner in longer than that nor does it make any difference to my hair(it'll still work nicely) And Keeping it in overnight makes me feel uncomfortable

 

[tenderheaded]

I've gotten in the habit of pre-treating w/ SE hair mayo or ORS pak for at least 1 1/2 hrs. In the winter I'll do 20-30 min of that under the dryer. In the summer it's no heat. If I'm stretching (17 wks post now) I'll do SE MegaCholesterol for 20 min after the wash. I can actually comb my hair after this!!!

 

[Platinum]

I had a problem with dry hair a few months ago. Overnight DC'ing has worked wonders for my hair. I like to DC with a moisturizing condish. Sometimes I mix my Ayurvedic powders into my DC, wake up, rinse with cold water, and seal with an oil. I do this 2-3 times a week. I noticed that the condition of my hair has improved since I sarted doing this.

 

[ShaniKeys]

i deep con for no more than an hour. Doing it overnight gives me headaches

I rarely DC overnight, I only do it when I feel like my hair needs it. And about a week or two ago I DC overnight, I don`t know whether it was that earthy smell of the Ojon restorative treatment or what but I got a headache and felt like vomiting, seriously. It had never happened to me before.

 

[msa]

I do overnight but...1)I don't use "products", usually just oils 2)it takes a while for stuff to absorb and 3) I'm lazy.

When I do castor oil it actually takes all night for it to completely absorb so it makes more sense for me to do it that way. And since I'm lazy it works out fine if I just rinse in the morning. I used to use Giovanni Smooth as Silk conditioner overnight and that was fine, my hair was never mushy as a result.

 

[betty-boo]

I read here that a 15 min DC with heat, is roughly equivalent to a 1 hour DC without heat. So I just do whatever I have time for.

But like msa, I sleep overnight with oil once a week, so my hair is not over mushy. I have done this before with a moisturising conditioner and it was VERY mushy. Never again!

 

[Lucky's Mom]

I had a problem with dry hair a few months ago. Overnight DC'ing has worked wonders for my hair. I like to DC with a moisturizing condish. Sometimes I mix my Ayurvedic powders into my DC, wake up, rinse with cold water, and seal with an oil. I do this 2-3 times a week. I noticed that the condition of my hair has improved since I sarted doing this.

HMMMMM - I may try this!!!! Thanks Platinum...

 

[Lucky's Mom]

When I had my overmoist hair, I had been baggying with DC on my hair overnight every night for like - 3 weeks straight?

OUCH!!!! I hate baggies. That is why moisture outside of the baggy is best for me...

 

[Superfly Sister]

I deep condition any thing from 1-2 hours. my olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil mix stays in my hair over night and I rinse in the morning.,

 

[Latomian]

I just put the heating cap on my head with the DC and then do odd things around the house. I can sometimes DC in excess of 5hrs but I've never had a problem with it.

 

[cutiebe2]

im lazy!!!! sometimes I just fall asleep with DC in my hair. Other times I use my heating cap for 30mins and thats it

 

[Soul♥Flower]

lazy. I'm actually over here about to fall asleep w/ a head full of conditioner right now.

 

[BeautifulRoots]

Hmm...glad you posted about it. You know, now that I think about it, I may be one of those people that benefit from long periods of time with DC. I remember about a month ago on two occasions, I was washing my hair, got lazy and kept the DC on most of the day or overnight. My hair was softer than normal and I had beautiful results with whatever style I tried. The past two wash days, I just DC for an hour. My hair wasn't acting quite like it was during the times I DC for long periods of times. To each their own I guess...I think im going to start DC longer now.

 

[BGT]

I DC under a dryer for 10-15 minutes and my hair is always moisturized. The 30 minutes+ that you guys spend, I use that time for roller sets.

 

[tbaby_8]

I just DC for about 10-15 minutes once a week, with heat. That's about all I have time for. If I don't use heat, then I may DC for about 30-1 hour because I am usually doing something around the house.

 

[Allandra]

I deep condition for 30 minutes or less. I don't think it can do anything more after that (at least on my hair).

 

[ToyToy]

I don't DC very often, but when I do, I do it for about 30 minutes. I don't think there's an added benefit to my hair if I leave it on longer than that.

 

[Naturelle]

So basically from everyone's posts, there doesn't seem to be an added benefit? Just personal preference for you and your hair?

 

[hairsothick]

I DC overnight once a week. Every night would be too much. When I get my rollaround dryer, I won't DC overnight at all unless I'm feeling lazy.

 

[Aggie]

After going thru the Deep Conditining thread I started to think about the length of time spent.

I usually dc for a min of 30 min, sometimes an hour. But I'm wondering if there is any sense to deep conditioning for longer than that? I'm not sure if there would be any extra added benefits (ie. 3 hours, 6 hours overnight) for dc'ing. I'm wondering if the hair would just reject all the extra because too much is being pumped in? (I'm not usre if that even makes sense) but someone feel free to correct me and educate me if I'm wrong.

If dc'ing (esp using heat) once the hair shaft is open and you've allowed time for moisture/protein to penetrate, wouldn't the next best thing be too close the cuticle up as soon as the the hair shaft is penetrated as supposed to waiting hours on end?

I'm no expert I'm just wondering. I dc weekly and I'd like to up my dc regimen. But I want to know if there is a point to going beyond a certain time frame.

I know people have experiences with overnight dc'ing, but then I frequently read where ppl over'dc which of course leads to mushy hair prone to breakage.

So I guess the question would be if you are going to dc what would be the min and max time (if any) to reap the full benefit?

IMHO, min 30 max 1 hr.

Hi Naturelle,

I voted depend on hair need and the reason I did that is because I use henna and other ayurveda powders that can be very drying to the hair. They also strengthens the hair strands like you wouldn't believe and in order to get the suppleness back in my hair, I DC much longer than my usual 30-60 minutes. I'd say at least 3-5 hours even to overnight at times to ensure I get the elasticity back in my hair. So in answer to your question, yes it is beneficial to DC longer than an hour but depending on the need of the hair at the time.

Let me elaborate further. When I first did a henna treatment on my hair, I only DC'ed for about an hour and a half and my hair was still extremely hard, so I lengthen the time to 3 hours and it came out better but when I DC'ed 5 hours to overnight, my hair came out wonderful and soft and silky. I realized then that the length of time I DC'ed actually mattered again dependingon my hair's needs.

Another case in point, when I went to Canada this past summer, there was virtually no humidity. Now mind you, I live in the Bahamas where the humidity is almost always above 85%. My hair reacted violently to the change in humidity and started breaking like crazy. I came home and DC'ed like there was no tomorrow and my hair bounced back in short order. The humidity at home helped to keep that moisture level up in my hair as well. Hope this was helpful.