Is there a difference between a hair mask and deep conditioning?

MDinLA

Well-Known Member
Is there really a difference? A lot of us add oils, honey etc to our conditioners and "deep condition" with it. But on some people do homemade hair masks which sometimes have the similar ingredients... Is there really a difference? Are their functions different?
 
I think they serve the same purpose. Maybe the mask is a little thicker/heavier than some DCs ?

This is what I was going to write. I bought a hair mask the other day and it's very thick with the consistency of a paste. A DC to me is just using any old conditioner which tends to be more watery than a paste. A DC with a regular conditioner may not claim to do the things a hair mask supposedly does like "repair" the hair.
 
I think that these are just marketing terms to sell the product. Just because it is called a mask does not mean that it is guaranteed to be thicker than a conditioner/dc. I know plenty of conditioners/dcs that are pretty thick.

I also don't think that is usually a difference between a regular conditioner and a dc. At least there is not a difference that you can read about in their over hyped description of the product.
 
I think that these are just marketing terms to sell the product. Just because it is called a mask does not mean that it is guaranteed to be thicker than a conditioner/dc. I know plenty of conditioners/dcs that are pretty thick.

I also don't think that is usually a difference between a regular conditioner and a dc. At least there is not a difference that you can read about in their over hyped description of the product.

True but some masks are thicker than deep conditioners and some are the same consistency. Masks also come in smaller jars.
 
I think that these are just marketing terms to sell the product. Just because it is called a mask does not mean that it is guaranteed to be thicker than a conditioner/dc. I know plenty of conditioners/dcs that are pretty thick.

I also don't think that is usually a difference between a regular conditioner and a dc. At least there is not a difference that you can read about in their over hyped description of the product.

I was thinking the same thing. My AO HSR is thicker than my NTM Mask.

OP I've been wanting to know the answer to this question too. I think its marketing like vkb mentioned above.
 
I think masks seem to go "deeper" because it seals the hair up completely. If it's doing a better job...dunno? Looks like I need to experiment!
 
Well there are conditioners that are specifically deep conditioners, meant to protect the hair from damage as they penetrate. And it seems as though that is also what a mask does... sooooo is there REALLY a difference? I read on one site that the mask is a quick fix. But then in others that it should be used once a month. You can also go to a spa and get a hair mask. So I'm kind of confused.

This is what I was going to write. I bought a hair mask the other day and it's very thick with the consistency of a paste. A DC to me is just using any old conditioner which tends to be more watery than a paste. A DC with a regular conditioner may not claim to do the things a hair mask supposedly does like "repair" the hair.
 
Thanks for your input. From the reading that I have been doing since I started reasing this... it seems that a regular conditioner is just really a detangler. But a deep conditioner is supposed to do as it is called... go deep into the cuticles, penetrate and protect the hair from damage. So now I'm like, ok... what does a mask do then that either don't do.... I couldn't find a specific answer anywhere on the internet, so of course I thought there must be someone on this forum of hair gurus that know. Dare I say it.... can it be that a mask goes the extra step and FIXES damaged hair? I know there are many of the thought that once hair is damaged, thats it, you can just only baby it until you eventually cut it off leaving only healthy hair. But is a hair mask the solution???

I think that these are just marketing terms to sell the product. Just because it is called a mask does not mean that it is guaranteed to be thicker than a conditioner/dc. I know plenty of conditioners/dcs that are pretty thick.

I also don't think that is usually a difference between a regular conditioner and a dc. At least there is not a difference that you can read about in their over hyped description of the product.
 
bumping...

Is there really a difference? A lot of us add oils, honey etc to our conditioners and "deep condition" with it. But on some people do homemade hair masks which sometimes have the similar ingredients... Is there really a difference? Are their functions different?
 
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