DCT Frequency

[WaitingSoLong]

It's winter here and I am finding I need to do a DCT (deep conditioning treatment) more often. I am wondering how often is too often. Is once a week too much? IS there such thing as too much? In the summer I almost never do it.

I usually wash my hair then slather on the DCT, get out of the shower, put it in a cap and sit most the day and rinse it out at night. I tend not to do it too often because of this time commitment but I can reduce it down to like an hour if I want.

I tried doing it on dry hair but CWC is some sort of evil for my hair so I HAVE to wash my hair first. It works well for me.

Anyone have a good recipe for a deep condition and protein treatment all in one?

What's your method? Frequency? Just curious :)

[rock007junkie]

My favorite protein/moisture teatment is Curl Junkie's Repair Me. I like this one because it's a strong protein treatment but you don;t have to use a moisturizing treatment afterwards. It does it all.

If you want something homemade you can always use whatever conditioner you have in handy and add an oil and honey...and for a shot of protein an egg.

Doing moisturzing treatment once a week is fine. In the winter you can even get away with doing them more than that. Protein treatments on the other hand, unless your hair is severely damage I would limit them to once a month.

[gonzobird]

My hair needs more moisture in the winter, too. I alternate with masks, heavier more "moisturizing" conditioners and put olive oil on my ends over night.

My hair looks gross when it gets too much moisture (heavy and weighted down looking) and then I lay off the deep treatments for a week or so.

The way I can see when its too much is when it you use siliconey masks, It just keeps coating the hair over and over to the point actual real moisture cant penetrate the hair, then it gets drier and drier and is a vicious cycle. Thats where I see it can be overdone.

I just use more natural shampoos and conditioners without anything bad in them (I can read every actual ingredient) and put the real moisturising stuff on just my hair from the ears down, and the more normal stuff everywhere else and my hair does awesome.

[jacqueline101]

I like the Aussie Deep Conditioner. Protein treatment in one I don't know of any don't use them. You could try the Aussie one its good.

[Sillage]

What's your method? Frequency? Just curious :)

I just started using the GVP/Sally's knock off of Joico K pak and I love it! http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-reconstructor/SBS-264022,default,pd.html?cm_vc=SEARCH

Smells like coconut milk, feels luxurious, so easy to comb thru my hair, and gives me great results. I was really impressed with how silky and smooth my hair was after using it. Planning on using it every time I dye my hair from now on. I followed it with Ion Extreme Moisture Creme which is a great heavy conditioner. Very moisturizing. http://www.sallybeauty.com/deep-conditioner/ION110,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair02

Ion also does a keratin mask http://www.sallybeauty.com/keratin-smoothing-masque/ION151,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair02 but it didn't give me the same impressive results as the GVP K pak.

To be honest, I don't really do DCTs as much as I used to because the results never last past a shampoo for me. Mostly I just use them after protein treatments.

[WaitingSoLong]

Thanks for the recommendations Sillage! That first one has some scary ingredients "human hair keratin". Hmm....lol

[Sillage]

Thanks for the recommendations Sillage! That first one has some scary ingredients "human hair keratin". Hmm....lol

http://i.imgur.com/WTqwF.gif

LOL I didn't even notice that!!!!!!!

Still going to use it tho-- the results are that good! :)

[kaydana]

I'm lazy, I usually just use normal conditioner as a deep treatment if I feel like my hair needs a bit more attention than usual. I've never noticed better results from more complicated/expensive treatments and as sillage said, the results just don't seem to last, so it doesn't seem worth the extra effort/expense.

[Sillage]

the results just don't seem to last, so it doesn't seem worth the extra effort/expense.


I thought I was the only one with this problem!!!!! Everybody else seems to love their SMT etc but I just don't notice lasting results. Like you said, it's not worth the extra effort/expense. Right now I only use DCT after I wash with a clarifying shampoo, after dying my hair, or after doing a protein treatment. Otherwise, why bother?

[DinaAG]

smt of half vatika moisturizer deep conditioner or giovanni protein infusion conditioner, quarter aloe vera gel and quarter oil mix (evoo, coconut and almonds)

[torrilin]

I don't usually find that special products are necessary for extra conditioning. If I want more moisturized hair, I should leave the conditioner on longer, or use a conditioner that doesn't need to be rinsed out. Or both. (on my hair, conditioner straight on dry hair is fine if the conditioner absorbs well to begin with, so that's also an option)

So I try to stick with my primary conditioner being one that makes a good leave in on my hair. I really like Alba Botanica's leave in, and since I found it I've been rebuying it 2 tubes at a time. I haven't yet tried adding extra coconut oil to it, but if I wanted more moisture yet, that would be the first thing I'd try.

While my hair doesn't mind protein treatments and sometimes even gets a more of a pretense of wave with them, it's rare for my hair to genuinely need protein. Pretty much any conditioner with protein will work for me.

[WaitingSoLong]

That is what I use, just a regular conditioner left in a couple/few hours. I tried SMT's and I didn't like them. But for protein I have only tried a couple things, one being homemade and one store bought. The homemade stuff was nasty but there was a much better result. The store bought stuff...I could not tell a difference at all.

[torrilin]

The two proteiny conditioners I've rebought are Nature's Gate Henna (which doesn't actually redden your hair) and Kiss My Face Mis-Treated. They do have an effect where if my hair is doing ok on moisture levels I will have a tiny bit more pretense of wave. For me this is a plus since I have a roundish face and wave tends to fluff up my hair and help my updos emphasize a heart shape. But it's pretty subtle stuff, and not something I count as worth bothering with on a regular basis.

I've used the Kiss My Face as a daily conditioner with my usual sort of leave in heavy routine too. I don't *think* it caused problems, but I don't think it detangles and conditions as efficiently as my favorite conditioner... and that makes it pretty damn expensive.

(while both conditioners have fragrance, the fragrance doesn't irritate my skin)

[Wahinee]

I deep condition once a week after I shampoo. I cowash a few times a week in between shampoos.

[SerinaDaith]

I just slathered my hair in coconut oil today and left it in most of the day before my usual sulfate free shampoo and coneless conditioner. I did shampoo all of my hair rather than just my scalp but my ends were tangling a lot all of the sudden so it needed some tlc. I haven't really done anything dt wise in months so I am sure it was time... I have nothing with the proteins I did one home made but it was horrible and made my hair very grumpy.