When I started my natural hair journey (the second time), I had no idea what deep conditioning was. I was one of those people who thought natural hair just grew out of your scalp, end of story! To me a deep conditioner, or any sort of conditioner for that matter, was meant for straight relaxed hair. Occasionally, my sisters and I would whip up an egg and avocado; but even then, I did not know exactly what that green paste was supposed to do for my hair. Now that I am a wise old owl (well, maybe not that old), I know that deep conditioning is probably the best thing you can do for your Afro-textured hair.

Type 4 hair is “coily”, and because of these coils, the sebum secreted by your scalp does not reach the full length of hair strands. This leaves Afro-textured hair very dry, hard and prone to breakage, so it’s vital to manually moisture and lubricate type 4 hair. A good way to do this is by deep conditioning.

What is deep conditioning?

First, I gots to tell you something funny. Until about four years ago, I had no clue deep conditioning was called that; every salon I visited called it “steaming”. What’s even funnier is that I thought it was meant for older people, “steaming” was something my mum did, and it had nothing to do with me! Imagine that… Back to business: to define deep conditioning.

Deep Conditioning refers to the process of restoring protein or moisture to your hair. Think of it as a literal treatment for your hair, which is either moisturizing or strengthening(protein-based). A deep conditioner is not the same as a regular rinse-out conditioner, in the sense that deep conditioners provide temporary repair to your hair. Small particles known as surface-active-agents aka surfactants found in deep conditioners adhere to gaps and damaged sections of the hair strand. The fix is temporary, and should be regimented to get the maximum benefits! Before I forget, the cover picture of this post has Cantu deep treatment masque. It doesn’t mean that you have to use Cantu for deep conditioning, it’s what I had at the time and you can use whatever product you love or have access to as long as it works. I will have some recommendations for you in good time, nonetheless.

Wait there’s more!

There’s a lot to cover at on this subject, so I’m going to do a whole series on it. Now I’m done teasing 🙂 Do you have any questions on Deep Conditioning? Feel free to leave me a comment. Till next time.

UPDATE: See related posts to follow series