How to: Different ways to Condition Your Natural Hair

Hi Naturalistas,

How are you doing and hope you are all enjoying the Rain?

Here is what I'd be sharing with you today (a post culled from Seriously natural) and I hope you all find it useful.


Knowing the difference between a regular (rinse out) conditioner, leave-in conditioner and a deep conditioner are crucial to keeping your hair properly conditioned, moisturized and overall healthy. Here is a breakdown of the three, when to use them and how.

Regular (Rinse Out) Conditioner
When to use: On washday

Every curly girl needs to use a rinse out conditioner because it keeps our hair moisturized in the days after styling. The natural oils from our scalp don’t travel all the way down our hair shaft because of our curl pattern in order to properly moisturize our hair. So we coat our hair with a rinse out conditioner so that it will stay moisturized in order for us to retain length.

If you’re complaining of dry hair and you don’t use a rinse out conditioner – there’s why. The conditioner closes our hair cuticle and keeps the moisture locked in after the shampoo has lifted our cuticles and stripped it. The closed cuticle makes it less susceptible to breakage when detangling with your fingers or combs. As well as, the conditioner makes our hair easy to detangle because of the ‘slip’ that comes with this heavy product as the rinse out conditioner is heavier than a leave-in. Our hair will stay moisturized even though we rinse it out therefore leaving it in our hair is not good. We should use a rinse out conditioner weekly to replace moisture lost throughout the week from the elements of the environment and our manipulation. If you want a moisturizing product to stay in your hair after wash day – use a leave in.

Leave-In Conditioner
When to use: On washday and days in-between

So, why do we use a leave in conditioner if we use a rinse out conditioner and deep conditioner? Because the leave-in serves a real purpose. This lightweight product acts as a protective barrier around our hair shaft for when it is being manipulated during the styling process, affected due to the environmental conditions and rubbing against our cotton clothes.
In addition, it adds a bit of moisture for the days after styling. Ladies, please don’t even consider just using leave-in conditioners (instead of the rinse out) because it’s simply isn’t moisturizing enough as they are have a higher water content, lighter than a rinse out are will not work longer than a day or so. They can be used daily because they are lighter and they make for better daily styling.

Deep Conditioner
When to use: On every washday!

If you want great moisture retention and elasticity – deep condition your hair every week with heat. The heat (a thermal cap or hair dryer) causes the cuticles to be raised and allows the emollients and moisturizing ingredients to fully penetrate and coat the hair shaft. Everyone should deep condition their hair because it adds an extra boost of moisture and protection for the days after styling. It should be done every week but can be stretched to biweekly depending on your hair preference.

Culled from Seriously Natural

Till then