Alternative ways to deep condition with heat, when you have no hooded dryer

For better moisture infusion you should always use heat when you deep condition your hair. The heat makes the hair cuticle open wider, and this enables the deep conditioner to absorb better. Your hair reaps more benefits from your deep conditioner, when you use a heat source. The ideal heat source, is to use a hooded dryer or steamer. 

What does one do if you do not have a hooded dryer or steamer?

Different ways to create heat when you deep condition

4 alternatives to hooded dryers:

BLOW DRYER HOODED ATTACHMENT
Purchase hooded attachment here

If you have a handheld blow dryer, you can purchase a very inexpensive bonnet attachment. Once attached it works just as good as a hooded dryer.The bonnets only attach to certain types of blow dryers so be sure it will fit your blow dryer. These travel really well and are easy to set up.

HEATED CONDITIONER METHOD

1. Put deep conditioner in a bowl.
2. Boil some water in a pot.
3. Remove from heat and sit bowl of conditioner inside hot water.
4. Cover with a top for five minutes. 
5. Quickly apply conditioner onto hair while it is still warm. 
6. Cover hair with a plastic cap, then cover cap with a towel. 
7. Proceed with housework, exercise, errands any activity which generates heat.   
8. Allow warm conditioner to marinate on your hair for 20 minutes, then rinse out with cool water. 

YOU WILL HAVE SOFT, LUSCIOUS HAIR!

SIX STEP BAGGY TREATMENT
1. Apply lots of conditioner to clean hair
2. Cover with a plastic cap.
3. Then cover cap with a hat or scarf.
4. Allow conditioner to sit on hair overnight.
5. Rinse out in morning with cool water.
6. Proceed with other treatments and styling.

HOT TOWEL STEAM METHOD
supplies needed: 
2 small towels 
deep conditioner 
2 plastic conditioning caps
1. Soak two bath cloths in hot water.
2. Shampoo hair.
3. Apply deep conditioner and quickly cover hair with one hot  towel, followed by a plastic conditioning cap.
4. Then apply second hot cloth on top of cap followed by a second conditioning cap. Wrap head in a topsie turby or a bath towel, for 20 minutes. 
5. Rinse out with cool water

OLD FASHION STEAM METHOD
1. Boil water, pour into a big bowl. 
2. Apply deep conditioner but DO NOT cover with a plastic cap. 
3. Using a large bath towel, cover head and make a tent over the bowl. Make an effort to keep all steam inside towel and going on your hair. Sit up as much as you need. Hold hair over steam for 15 minutes. 

Be very careful not to burn yourself with hot water. 

This method is not for the clumsy. 

Each of the above methods help you condition your hair better.

But remember a conditioning cap, hooded dryer or steamer is a good investment for coily hair care.

Help my hair is breaking!

Nothing makes you sigh harder, on your hair journey, than finding breakage. But do not panic because that creates stress, and stress is a top cause of some hair loss. Take an inventory of all broken areas, then follow these steps.

BREAKAGE

STEP ONE:  Access whether it is breakage or shedding.

Take a close look at the hair from your comb or sink. Are the majority of the pieces shorter than your hair? Do you see splits on the strands? If you answer yes to either of these questions then you are dealing with breakage and you want to correct this issue immediately.

But say  the majority of those strands you check are the same length as your hair. Check to see if you can see a white bulb on one end of the strands. The presence of a white bulb means that hair came from the root. This is shed hair. Now you must determine if this is normal shedding or excess shedding. Proceed to step four if your hair loss is due to shedding and not breakage.

STEP TWO:  Pinpoint the root cause of the breakage, and stop that action.

12 causes of breakage:
1. Constant dry, brittle hair
2. Weak hair from protein loss.
3. Untangling hair while wet or dry. (untangle damp)
4. Handling the hair rough.
5. Brushing your hair.
6. Tight cornrows
7. Tight braid extensions
8. Extensions applied improperly.
9. Products with harsh ingredients.
10. Hats, wigs and scarfs used can cause traction alopecia.
11. Your ends rubbing against harsh fabrics
12. Flat irons, pressing combs, blow dryers and hair color.

The leading causes of breakage is dry hair and protein loss. Most of what is listed above will fall into the loss of moisture category or protein loss. Access your regimen and pinpoint which one of the things listed above are you doing.  Understand that some of these causes, can cause breakage from just doing them one time. Once you determine what you are doing on the list, ask yourself why you have that step in your hair regimen. Then ask yourself do you really need that in your regimen. If you truly need it, then find a healthier alternative. Until you find an alternative stop doing that to your hair. Remember your goal is to stop the breakage. 
 

STEP THREE:  Repair the damage, if it is breakage.

This is a good time for a good trim. Depending on the severity of your breakage you may require a good cut. Do not hold on to damaged ugly ends. You will be surprised how fast your hair grows back after a good cut.

Once you have got you cut, now it is time to add strength to your hair by using protein. Your hair is mostly protein, but when it becomes damaged you have loss protein. A loss of protein leaves holes on your hair strands. Those weakened hair strands will surely break off without doing a good protein treatment. For severe breakage I recommend the aphogee 2 step treatment. Your first aphogee treatment will reduce your breakage by 50% or more. You wait 6 weeks then repeat the treatment. After 2 or 3 treatments your breakage should slow down to hardly nothing. If you have stopped doing what caused your breakage in the first place.

The aphogee 2 step treatment 

INCREASE LEAN PROTEINS IN YOUR DIET. TAKING A HAIR VITAMIN CAN HELP YOUR HAIR GROW IN STRONGER SO IT IS LESS LIKELY TO BREAK SO EASILY. HAIR VITAMINS DO WORK AND ARE GOOD INVESTMENTS.

SHEDDING

STEP FOUR:  You have accessed that your hair is shedding.

NORMAL SHEDDING

Hair sheds daily between 50 to 150 strands. Shedding is a normal stage in which your hair must go through. However your hair should not shed in clumps. When you style your hair in the morning you will have the most shedding, because the body repairs itself as we sleep. If you manipulate your hair several times a day expect the shed hair to slide out. If you are not finger combing or combing your hair daily then expect for the shed hair to build up. For example, if you have your hair in two strand twists for a week, expect all the accumulated daily shed hair to come out once you finger comb it. It will look like more hair than usual that is because it is accumulative shedding. Shed hairs should be the same length as your hair. So shed hair will be longer pieces and breakage will be shorter pieces. 

 

Excess shedding? Time to call the doctor.

EXCESS SHEDDING 

What if my hair is daily shedding in clumps?

When this happens the root cause is coming from the roots. So this is an internal issue, which requires an internal solution. Fish oil and a hair skin and nail supplement will sometimes reduce excess shedding. When the cause of your excess shedding is a vitamin deficiency. The only way you can accurately know whether you have a vitamin deficiency is to have your doctor perform blood tests. Seeking a doctors immediate attention when your hair is shedding in clumps is highly recommended, because this could mean the indication of an underlying health issue.  

Potential causes of excess shedding:
Pregnancy causes after pregnancy excess shedding.
Some illnesses
After surgery
Chronic stress
One traumatic stress situation
Certain products
Certain medications
Vitamin deficiency

BESIDES PREGNANCY SHEDDING MOST OF THESE ARE SERIOUS CONDITIONS. PLEASE SEE A DOCTOR ASAP AND TELL THE DOCTOR EVERYTHING.

IF YOU HEAR OR FEEL SNAPPING AND POPPING, WHEN YOU USE A COMB, THEN IT IS TIME TO PUT THE COMB AWAY AND FINGER COMB.

Be proactive with your hair care, stop breakage before it becomes to much. Do these two hair checkups twice a month to stay on top of your hair care.  

Tired of not reaching your length goals? Tired of having hair setbacks? You could benefit from having a Hair Growth Coach. One on one personalized service to help you grow your hair longer and stronger. Start today! Here!

Two hair checks you should do twice a month.

Sometimes breakage seems to just come out of no where, but the fact is, it started somewhere. Breakage does not just happen, it happens as a result of something you are doing or not doing. If you are on a journey to grow your hair as long and healthy as possible, here are two hair care checks you should do twice a month.

Hair check #1
HAIR WEBBING
(A COILY QUEEN TERM)

I created this term to describe what the hair does when it is not properly hydrated. It forms webs when you separate it. When the hair sticks  together in web like fashion this is called webbing. When the hair webs, this means your moisture routine is not working properly for you. 

This is a check up you want to do every other week. You always want to be proactive with hydration. Check four areas of your hair, the top, back and both sides of your hair for webbing. Just examine a small section from each area,  if more than two areas show webbing, this means your hair is not hydrated enough. Dehydrated hair left untreated will eventually break or split. So correction is in order. Before you blame your moisturizers, take a good look at all the other products you use on your hair. Certain harsh ingredients can pull the moisture out of your hair. Examine your cleansing and conditioning technique, be sure you are not missing any steps and you are shampooing and conditioning correctly.

It maybe time for a moisture infusion to get your hair hydrated correctly.  The nine day moisture treatment will help to get your moisture levels on the right track. Nine day treatment

Hair check #2
The sink test

Untangle your hair over the white sink in your bathroom. Examine the hair you see fall onto the sink. How does it look? If you see long pieces the length of your hair, that is normal shedding. If you see hair which is shorter than your hair that is breakage. If you see very small pieces of hair no longer than an eyelash, those are from split ends. Those small pieces of hair have broken off from your hair strands, and this has left a weak spot on your hair strand. This means it is likely that your hair will eventually break, even with normal manipulation. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

First shampoo and deep condition your hair correctly. Steps to correct deep conditioning here. Once you have finished and your hair is dry, smooth your fingers through your strands again. If you still see short pieces in the sink, then do a protein treatment asap, to stop the breakage.

WHAT WILL THE PROTEIN TREATMENT DO?

 The protein will stick to the individual hair strands, and give them the strength they need to survive manipulation. The hydrolyzed keratin protein will fill in any holes on the hair strands, left from the splits. After using a good protein treatment such as the aphogee 2 step, your breakage should stop by 50% or more. You should no longer see those short pieces in the sink. Be sure to follow the instructions of the protein treatment you choose.

Protein treatments Coily Queen recommended
Aphogee 2 step treatment
Shea Moisture weekly hair & scalp therapy
(lime green label)

TIP: IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN APPLY THE PROTEIN ONLY TO THE ENDS OF YOUR HAIR. DO THIS IF YOUR BREAKAGE IS NOT SEVERE. YOU HAVE TO BE THE BEST JUDGE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THAT CHANCE OR NOT.