Go Deep! With Your Conditioner

By: Colleen

Once upon a time I had a bob. A stacked bob, thankyouverymuch. This bob gave great bitch face. I always looked pulled together, like I knew what I was doing. That's important when you actually have no clue what you're doing.

(Picture)

But the bob was killing my hair. You see, I have naturally wavy hair that reforms its shape easily. This is great for styling because I can go back and forth from curls to straight without any problems, but it also means I've had to embrace some protective styling for when I sleep or else we're playing Russian roulette with my hair. When you like to sleep as much as I do, there isn't a lot of time for variables in the A.M. But that itty bitty bob? There was absolutely no way that was gonna doobie wrap for me. This meant heat styling my hair every. Single. Day. Forever. That also meant I had crunchy, fried hair. No bueno. Plus, um I wanted braids like Katniss. I'm not even going to lie. I craved them.

And so came the decision to grow my bob out. It was hard at first, but I'm coming up on like month 7 of growing it out and am just past my shoulders. It's awesome because I'm now able to do some styling, AND I've been able to rehab my hair along the way with the magic of deep conditioners.  Here are some of my favorite ways to sneak some extra lovin' into my hair.

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask

It feels so much better in your hair than it does when the container falls on your foot. 

Sometimes I call this my hair pudding because the consistency reminds me of pudding. It smells really nice and is easy to distribute through your hair with your hands. This is a pretty fast mask - about 5 minutes is all you need, but it still packs a punch and definitely adds more slip to my hair. The smell is delicious and this sucker sits in my shower at all times.

Straight Up Coconut Oil

Coconut oil basically is what the muggles have been given instead of phoenix tears. If you've been uninitiated to its many benefits, take a minute and pinterest your heart out. Got it? Good. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, but will start to melt in your hands. I find it easiest to take a chunk in my hands and rub it on the ends of my hair, then start to work it up the shaft, adding as I need more. Then I clip it all back and let it chill for as long as I can stand. Then I shampoo it out (sometimes I have to double wash) and don't worry about conditioning if it still feels hydrated.

Wizard Hippie Concoction

This is for some intense help for your hair. I mix about equal parts olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and honey, then slap it all over my head. I let that sit for about an hour and then rinse it out. You could full on shampoo it right now, but I like to rinse and leave the shampooing for morning so the leftover olive oil has time to penetrate the strands. The honey is super hydrating, and the vinegar adds shine while also exfoliating your scalp (super important if you have gross scalp crap. No shade, I get it, too) and clarifying. Dry your hair, twirl around the bathroom, look in the mirror and tell yourself it's because you're worth it.

Ion Color Defense Intense Moisture

Plus, Purple

This stuff is amazing. It is incredibly thick, smells like cinnamon, and will leave your hair so slick you could gather up the neighborhood children and use it as a slip and slide. I use this multiple times a week and let it sit on my hair according to how parched it is. Just colored? I leave it on for the length of a shave, body wash down, and maybe some singing. Everything's doing okay? It might just last for a quick suds up.


What's your favorite deep conditioner? Have you ever had to send your hair to rehab? What magical concoctions make you yell "You're a wizard, "Arry!" at your reflection in the mirror?

Colleen is over on Twitter at @bevilledeggs.