is deep conditionning à myth ??

sipp100 said:
I stopped DC a year ago and I see absolutely no difference in retention or manageability. I was just wasting lots of time and money, SMH. I don't DC my daughters either, and their hair is very long (my avatar is my DD, siggy is me)

I'm not the only one, either. IIRC, FlowerHair doesn't DC. Neither does Ballerina1 from YT and she's Classic Length.
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I stopped, too. :look: My hair is actually healthier than when I was DC'ing. Go figure. *shrug* I just became tired of all the time & hopping in & out the shower. (I also stopped following another sacred LHCF rule :sekret:)

Also, when DC'ing prior to shampooing became popular, I wasn't convinced & realized DC'ing must not be all that integral if washing it out with shampoo could still yield benefits. That's when I stopped all together.

Then, someone here (long-time LCHFer with long hair) mentioned they stopped as well. It was great. lol.

Still, for newbies, I feel like I'm committing a sin telling not to DC :lol: , so I still advise it for them. It won't harm them & still sounds great, in theory.
 
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^^^ I couldn't do the hopping in and out of the shower either so I leave my DC in. It works for me in two ways. I don't waste product anymore as I am mindful of how much I am putting on my hair and I save time and effort (dc on towel-dried clean hair, remove heating cap after 30min-1 hr, seal with butter, and style). I use my steamer about 1x every 6 months or so and I will probably throw it away when we move at the end of this year.

My hair is happy and I am happy. Win-win-win.
 
Ogoma said:
^^^ I couldn't do the hopping in and out of the shower either so I leave my DC in. It works for me in two ways. I don't waste product anymore as I am mindful of how much I am putting on my hair and I save time and effort (dc on towel-dried clean hair, remove heating cap after 30min-1 hr, seal with butter, and style). I use my steamer about 1x every 6 months or so and I will probably throw it away when we move at the end of this year.

My hair is happy and I am happy. Win-win-win.
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That's a great idea! I'm gonna try it. Off to buy a heating cap....
Thanks.
 
secretdiamond said:
That's a great idea! I'm gonna try it. Off to buy a heating cap....
Thanks.
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You are welcome. I tried the hopping in or out 2-3x and just knew it was not sustainable in the long term :lol:.

I bought the microwave gel-based cap for about $25 so I can move around.
 
It's not a myth for me.

My hair is much softer when I dc with heat for at least 30 mins.
 
I don't often DC but when i do i see a difference in softness and smoothness .i think DC'ing overnight or with heat makes the hair more prone to damage .I'm saying this from experience.
 
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Interesting thread.

Dcing is hit or miss for me
Dcing overnight sometimes causes big time tangles ....

I get good results usually from Dcing with a short time with heat...
 
I think it depends on your water and climate. If you live in a humid climate you can do less to your hair. You can use less lotion too. I live in an extremely cold and dry climate. I must dc often and m/s often.

When I visit family in humid climates my hair is springy and supple. It retains moisture and frequent Dc's aren't necessary. However, back home with a high of 20f I have to be on my game. Most people sit up here and let their hair dry up and break off. They even say everyone's hair breaks off. I ask them about their regimen. They want to do the same thing they did while living in the south.

If your skin is ashy, your hair is thirsty.


Eta: I think products and coated hair deceive people about their hair needs.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y
 
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Wash day for me is generally a shampoo and DC and I love how my hair feels after a DC. However what I need most for retention is daily moisture. I can do the quick rinse out conditioning and still retain length. I do that when I'm really pressed for time. But my problem like curlycrocheter is that if I rinse out so soon, I feel like I am wasting conditioner and, by extension, money. It's a psychological thing. Like she said, might as well be pouring it down the drain.
 
MileHighDiva said:
coolsista-paris you should read Jc's numerous posts, regarding DC'ing on her blog http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/. She's a scientist and explains how/why everything works and/or doesn't work scientifically.

I'm sorry, but I'm to lazy to find all of the DC entries and post the links for you.:lol:
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When I stumbled upon her blog last year, I spent HOURS soaking up the info and everything made SO MUCH SENSE.

I do NOT DC. I don't need to use a steamer or heat cap, etc. Coconut oil or olive oil is magical. All that time/money spent doing the most and it's been scientifically proven that it doesn't even work.

Its hard to get rid of habits for some people and folks arent trying to hear it when they see someone with waist length hair doing the most but....the microscope and clinicals don't lie.
 
I absolutely agree with this part of her post:

Using heat is beneficial not for increasing swelling of hair or 'opening' cuticles but rather for allowing more conditioner to stick on the surface of hair (aDsorb)
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I have found DCing for at least 30 mins with heat to be beneficial for me and I think it is because the conditioner adsorbs better.

JC has a post on this as well. http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/deep-conditioning-effect-of-time-and.html

She has one on over-conditioned hair: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2012/10/do-you-need-to-deep-condition-your-hair.html
 
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HanaKuroi said:
I think it depends on your water and climate. If you live in a humid climate you can do less to your hair. You can use less lotion too. I live in an extremely cold and dry climate. I must dc often and m/s often.

When I visit family in humid climates my hair is springy and supple. It retains moisture and frequent Dc's aren't necessary. However, back home with a high of 20f I have to be on my game. Most people sit up here and let their hair dry up and break off. They even say everyone's hair breaks off. I ask them about their regimen. They want to do the same thing they did while living in the south.

If your skin is ashy, your hair is thirsty.


Eta: I think products and coated hair deceive people about their hair needs.

I can't see any mentions on my IPhone. PM me if it is a must see. Allons y
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HanaKuroi, ITA with the bolded. :lachen:

I also live where it's cold and dry. I'd be asking for a major setback by not DC'ing w/heat for at least 30 mins on each wash day. It's not $ and/or time down the drain for me, it's preserving the condition and health of my hair.
 
I was going to say its a myth because I condition only for the amount of time it takes to give myself a clean- so 5-10 minutes and my hair feels so conditioned, but then I just realised my overnight to 24hr prepooing is more than likely the reason for that.
 
DCing a myth??my new growth would say otherwise.

While liquids, oils and conditioning agents all do penetrate the hair shaft at varying degrees, there is more that ought to be considered in moisturizing/deep treating your hair. Like the study said, conditioning agents work externally on the hair as well. (besides penetrating the hair , it coats it also, trapping moisture too.) The reason why something like a conditioner can even penetrate the hair shaft is because of it's consistency, the conditioning agents it leaves behind, on and in the hair, is what keeps it soft and moisturized.

It's pretty much the same principle as moisturizing your skin also. Water doesn't moisturize, though it makes things moist, you'd need a sealant, the thing that's going to absorb/trap/and as a result coat the skin or shaft.:yawn: The nourishing aspect of the moisturizer, ever present and beneficial!(longer lasting than the water that quickly evaporated or dries from the skin.)

I know from personal experience that the effect DCing has on my hair is pretty dramatic! Without it my hair would dry/ashy !
 
i finally bought à real dc. ive been using apoghee 2 min reconstructor by leaving it in for long. my hair likes it.
but i thought i should try out à réal dc.

i took some elasta qp dpr+11.
ill try it out with heat. tonight or tomorrow.
 
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I don't have a dryer, so I DC without heat. My conditioner stays on for hours at a time out of sheer laziness. DCing is a must in my regimen b/c without it, my hair would be a dry, crunchy, shrunken mess.
 
DCing overnight makes my scalp itch something fierce. I really didn't notice a difference either. Deep conditioning is basically me getting in the shower, wetting my hair first, putting in conditioner and then continuing to bathe the rest of my body. After about 10 minutes of that, then I finger detangle and rinse out the conditioner. Otherwise I'll just wet my hair and add the conditioner after I finish bathing.
 
I used to DC overnight because I was lazy and my scalp suffered for it.

These past few weeks I only DC 1 to 2 hours using a microwavable heat cap. My hair and scalp are actually doing better.
 
does à dc work if done on braids ? i wash hair in sections and i do not undo thé braids until im finished.
im also planning to wear extension braids and i dont know if i could dc in them
 
I dont think its a myth my hair says otherwise I'm relaxed and when I don't dc my hair is dry and it breaks and my new growth hates me for that

When I do dc my new growth is more soft and manageable
 
Leaving conditioner on longer has never done anything for my hair. Heat has also done nothing. So I cut all of that out and use the recommended time and it works just fine. I also found it depends on the conditioner. Aubrey Organics is the only conditioner that has penetrated my hair deeply and it does so in a short amount of time. That's when you can tell a dc is living up to its name. It shouldn't take a long time to do its job. So quality-organic and rich ingredients are the main factors in the effectiveness of a dc.

When I do leave conditioner on for a long time or overnight it wreaks havoc on my scalp. The wet conditions overnight is like smothering my scalp and cutting off the circulation. Very unhealthy. So dc by the instructions, or keep searching, b/c I'm afraid you haven't found the right dc yet.
 
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coolsista-paris said:
does à dc work if done on braids ? i wash hair in sections and i do not undo thé braids until im finished.
im also planning to wear extension braids and i dont know if i could dc in them
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Yes, i always wash & dc in braids or twists-- it works great. I also do it while in extensions-- but would re-do them often b/c the cond'r can get caked in there and cause breakage.
 
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I have learned to disregard a lot of scientific overflow of information about hair on the internet because I been thrown off a lot in the past because of their recommendations. Like the time I thought deep conditioning was a myth :nono:. All I know is when I let my AO HSR sit in my hair for over 25 minutes it works better.

I really do think that some of the information out there were findings made many moons ago and just being reiterated over and over again. Like how they say red head have the least amount of hair on their heads.. every single red head I seen irl had super thick hair..and how Africans have the slowest growing hair..I mean like where is the original source of some of this information... now I'm rambling :look:
 
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virtuenow said:
Yes, i always wash & dc in braids or twists-- it works great. I also do it while in extensions-- but would re-do them often b/c the cond'r can get caked in there and cause breakage.
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i dc in 8 braids today and some dc wasn't rinsed out Well.

it did come out Well though.
 
DC is like spa day for me! I have to say from my experience, and I went without DC for a year or more and while I did retain noticeable moisture, it's not at all the same type of bounce, spring, and shine my hair gets now! I don't disagree with proven scientific facts and all that hooplah but, nobody will know my hair better than me. And until somebody comes to my house and crack my own hair's scientific code, we're gonna keep on doing exactly what works for me.
 
Diva_Esq said:
DCing and Cowashing.... best 2 myths that ever happened to my WHIP length hair!!!
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Exactly! :grin:

When I first noticed a huge turn around in my hair pre-LHCF, I was dc'ing 2x a week. When I found LHCF, I still had to dc 2x a week.

Now I dc around 1x a week. Since I use WEN for cowashing every other day, I can sometimes go 2 weeks, but weekly dc's keep my hair moisturized and soft.

I'm a dry, coarse, type 4 a/b. I wonder if anyone else with my hair type has been able to safely give up dc'ing.
 
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