Steamer

[ghanima]

Does anyone here own a steamer? what brand would you suggest? is it better than a hot cap, considering that hair is wet anyway, and usually held into a shower cap so, there should likely be steam inside. I don't have a hot cap either, just inquiring on which direction to go to moisturize low porosity 3A hair.

[Hairkay]

I haven't got one. You can do well with just as shower cap and warm towel or a beanie. Some people have been known to overdo it with the steamer. You don't need to spend more than 30 minutes steaming hair. If you like DIY here's some instructions how to make one to warm up in the microwave.

http://www.princesstafadzwa.com/make-microwavable-heating-cap-deep-conditioning/

[meteor]

Sorry, I'm no help here, as I've never used a steamer. I do like to use humectants (e.g. honey+conditioner or SMT treatments) specifically in steamy shower to help attract moisture, but I've never tried a steamer.
But I've always been curious about steamers in terms of their potential benefits. I understand that steaming can help stretch hair, which can be useful for all sorts of damp-setting techniques (e.g. rollers). But I've never seen any research that would suggest that steam is beneficial for hair overall. I guess, if the hair is extremely dry, then water (or steam) can be useful? But then, how is it better than simply wetting down hair or using a water spritzer or a humidifier? :hmm:

[ghanima]

Thanks.
The steamy shower would be the simplest thing, but my shower doesn't get steamy sigh... it's a little too open. Yeah the steam was mainly for the humectants. With oils I can just wet my hair before applying, and then keeping it warm is enough.

I am moving towards wetting down hair in-between my weekly shampoos too, in various ways, so far the one that has worked best was spritzing water+ACV just for the pH. Adding leave-in to the water has not been ultimately successful instead. Really, my hair doesn't like that I put anything on it, I am even questioning whether to use a conditioner at all. I was thinking of wetting my hair sometimes during my evening shower, but sleeping with too wet hair is very annoying, because they take too long to dry. Do you think there is any difference between warm or cold water in terms of how much the hair gets hydrated?

[Anje]

Anything that's supposed to be heated, I tend to just start with warm product, put a shower cap over it, and a warm beanie over that. Usually that's warm enough that I'm overheating after a while. :)

[likelikepenny]

I have low porosity hair as well and the only thing I've gotten to work to keep it moisturized is washing every day or every other day.

I use WCC (wash with diluted ACV, Moisturize with cone free conditioner, and condition again with silicone conditioner to seal in moisture) and then ROO (rinse out oil, just a few drops).

I've nixed out oil completely, except for ROO as it does nothing for my hair. I find aloe vera and silicones to be better at sealing my hair while simultaneously moisturizing it.

My hair also dries a lot faster with this regimen (I'm talking over 12 hours down to two or three). Is your hair prone to build up?

[ghanima]

@Anje
That's just perfect for everything without humectants, right?

[ghanima]

@likelikepenny
Yes, super-prone, after spraying no-cone leave-in and water like three times last week I had to clarify. I clarified and put no conditioner, nothing of nothing, and my hair is happy. I am thinking too that the best way to moisturize for me would probably be to shampoo or better simply wet my hair every second day instead of once a week. Or maybe steam, dunno.

[likelikepenny]

@likelikepenny
Yes, super-prone, after spraying no-cone leave-in and water like three times last week I had to clarify. I clarified and put no conditioner, nothing of nothing, and my hair is happy. I am thinking too that the best way to moisturize for me would probably be to shampoo or better simply wet my hair every second day instead of once a week. Or maybe steam, dunno.

I was looking into a steamer for the exact same reasons as you, but the one I wanted (a q-redew) is around $80 and I'm broke. Also I've heard of people over steamimg and effectively damaging their hair.

The DIY steamer is wayyyy too time consuming for me, so I find washing and conditioning my hair before braiding it or bunning for bed is the easiest way to do things. Plus it really cuts down on tangles since I finger detangle in the shower rather than allowing the tangles to sit for a week.

[likelikepenny]

If you don't mind the price though, the Q-Redew is the nicest one I've seen so far.

[Anje]

@Anje
That's just perfect for everything without humectants, right?
Oh, my hair LOVES humectants. Nothing wrong with soaking in them, in a humid environment like soaking in product under a plastic shower cap. And I rinse it out afterward, so I don't have large amounts of humectant remaining on my hair that could draw moisture out in a dry atmosphere.

Leaving humectants in, in a dry environment, can be bad and a lot of people don't do well with that. You'd want to be careful with leave ins or moisturizing spritzes that contain glycerin, for example. (I never particularly cared for leave ins and found glycerin specifically to be sticky in any amount when left on my hair, so I didn't use this. Also, the midwest isn't particularly dry except in the dead of winter when you're living with forced air heating.)

[ghanima]

Ah of course! with the method you mentioned earlier there is actually a humid environment under the shower cap, because of the water (wet hair) and heat combined... duh!

[ghanima]

I was looking into a steamer for the exact same reasons as you, but the one I wanted (a q-redew) is around $80 and I'm broke. Also I've heard of people over steamimg and effectively damaging their hair.

The DIY steamer is wayyyy too time consuming for me, so I find washing and conditioning my hair before braiding it or bunning for bed is the easiest way to do things. Plus it really cuts down on tangles since I finger detangle in the shower rather than allowing the tangles to sit for a week.

Yes, detangling every day or every other day is quite essential for me too, even if my hair are less curly and way shorter than yours.
Do your hair dry at all, bunned or braided? unfortunately mine don't.... even left loose and without products they'll take forever to dry! maybe I give it some more time to dry in the towel.

The q-redew looks good! not sure if they are ready for EU unfortunately, on their site they say something about them working on a version for 240 voltage.
I like that they say: 'When used on dry hair, the hair remains dry to the touch eliminating drying time. No need to rewet or spritz with water to refresh.'
It says it also helps to detangle? how?

[likelikepenny]

Yes, detangling every day or every other day is quite essential for me too, even if my hair are less curly and way shorter than yours.
Do your hair dry at all, bunned or braided? unfortunately mine don't.... even left loose and without products they'll take forever to dry! maybe I give it some more time to dry in the towel.

The q-redew looks good! not sure if they are ready for EU unfortunately, on their site they say something about them working on a version for 240 voltage.
I like that they say: 'When used on dry hair, the hair remains dry to the touch eliminating drying time. No need to rewet or spritz with water to refresh.'
It says it also helps to detangle? how?

Theres a bunch of tutorials and reviews on youtube but from what I understand, steam helps detangle in general. I used to detangle after a steamy shower without rewetting and it really helped.

After my shower, I plop my hair in a t-shirt for 45 minutes to an hour and then bun or braid it and go to sleep. Usually by the next morning it's dry. I notice my hair takes forever to dry when I have buildup which is a sign I need to clarify or switch up products that don't build up as much. Maybe this is a problem for you as well?

[lapushka]

I've heard of the "huetiful" steamer on Mo's channel, I think. If I remember correctly.

[ghanima]

I think that if I plopped it for 45 min like you do it would be much faster, absolutely. I am used to take a shower right before bed, I'll have to do it earlier and find something to do for that plopping hour - I guess it's doable.
I don't know if build-up makes too much of a difference in my case, when I clarified also three days ago it took forever anyway.

I have watched some tutorials on the site of the Q-Redew, wow! so interesting! why they only show 4 hair types btw?

[ghanima]

@Lapushka
yeah I've seen those, lots and lots of steam there, no kidding!

[likelikepenny]

I think that if I plopped it for 45 min like you do it would be much faster, absolutely. I am used to take a shower right before bed, I'll have to do it earlier and find something to do for that plopping hour - I guess it's doable.
I don't know if build-up makes too much of a difference in my case, when I clarified also three days ago it took forever anyway.

I have watched some tutorials on the site of the Q-Redew, wow! so interesting! why they only show 4 hair types btw?

Im guessing it's more geared toward type 4 because theres more of a market for it. It claims to defy shrinkage (type 4 can shrink up to 75%) and tends to be dryer in general. I don't think a person with type 1 hair would have as much use for it.

While I plop, I catch up on my tv shows or read a book, just a suggestion :)

ETA: You can always just go to sleep with your hair in the t-shirt. I tie mine like a turban and have slept in it before with no adverse consequences, but YMMV.

[meteor]

Yes, detangling every day or every other day is quite essential for me too, even if my hair are less curly and way shorter than yours.
Do your hair dry at all, bunned or braided? unfortunately mine don't.... even left loose and without products they'll take forever to dry! maybe I give it some more time to dry in the towel.

The q-redew looks good! not sure if they are ready for EU unfortunately, on their site they say something about them working on a version for 240 voltage.
I like that they say: 'When used on dry hair, the hair remains dry to the touch eliminating drying time. No need to rewet or spritz with water to refresh.'
It says it also helps to detangle? how?

My guess is steaming might help detangle by stretching the curl pattern temporarily, adding a bit more elasticity to the detangling process. :hmm:
According to JC from Natural Haven Bloom, steaming can help stretch hair more than getting hair wet (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uS5Q1jQzc94/UtRwIcTNuoI/AAAAAAAABPQ/E7R9TqBh17g/s1600/effect_of_steam_on_hair.jpg), though there isn't much relevant research on this: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2014/01/are-steamers-really-worth-buying.html. According to her, it also looks like prolonged steaming might cause disulfide bonds to break (i.e. cause damage)?

[likelikepenny]

My guess is steaming might help detangle by stretching the curl pattern temporarily, adding a bit more elasticity to the detangling process. :hmm:
According to JC from Natural Haven Bloom, steaming can help stretch hair more than getting hair wet (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uS5Q1jQzc94/UtRwIcTNuoI/AAAAAAAABPQ/E7R9TqBh17g/s1600/effect_of_steam_on_hair.jpg), though there isn't much relevant research on this: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2014/01/are-steamers-really-worth-buying.html. According to her, it also looks like prolonged steaming might cause disulfide bonds to break (i.e. cause damage)?

Disulfide bonds relax (?) temporarily when wet as well. Hence the "don't comb/brush your hair when wet" saying for straighties. For curly hair, I don't see a danger as long as you don't over do it.

[meteor]

Disulfide bonds relax (?) temporarily when wet as well. Hence the "don't comb/brush your hair when wet" saying for straighties. For curly hair, I don't see a danger as long as you don't over do it.

Are you sure that's not just hydrogen bonds that you are talking about, if you mean using water at ambient temperatures? :hmm: Hydrogen bonds are physical side bonds that are easily broken by water or heat and can be reformed by drying or cooling the hair. Breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds is not damage, unlike breaking and reforming disulfide bonds...


Disulfide bonds are *a lot* stronger (and fewer) and can be broken by some damaging chemical treatments (e.g. perms, relaxers, oxidative dyes, etc...), direct heat at very high temperatures, etc.

(This covers it rather nicely: http://www.mattersingray.com.au/h73rdr53s/staff_room/magazines/hs_temporary_changes/hs1.htm and http://www.texascollaborative.org/hildasustaita/module%20files/topic3.htm)

[meteor]

By the way, in case someone's interested, I just found that study on animal fibers mentioned on the Natural Haven Bloom blog... :) Full version can be found on University of Leeds' website: https://www.leeds.ac.uk/heritage/Astbury/bibliography/Astbury_and_Woods_1934.pdf - I know the study is super ancient, but it's really fascinating, especially on the subject of elasticity recovery issues after stretching in water vs. steam at different temperatures...

[Nymphe]

I think the damage comes from the constant lifting/contracting of the cuticle layer. I have read about the overuse of steamers (usually with deep conditioners) causing actual damage.

[likelikepenny]

Are you sure that's not just hydrogen bonds that you are talking about, if you mean using water at ambient temperatures? :hmm: Hydrogen bonds are physical side bonds that are easily broken by water or heat and can be reformed by drying or cooling the hair. Breaking and reforming hydrogen bonds is not damage, unlike breaking and reforming disulfide bonds...


Disulfide bonds are *a lot* stronger (and fewer) and can be broken by some damaging chemical treatments (e.g. perms, relaxers, oxidative dyes, etc...), direct heat at very high temperatures, etc.

(This covers it rather nicely: http://www.mattersingray.com.au/h73rdr53s/staff_room/magazines/hs_temporary_changes/hs1.htm and http://www.texascollaborative.org/hildasustaita/module%20files/topic3.htm)

Thank you for the information. I'm very foggy on this subject as you can see :)

[- Lizzy -]

I have never even heard of this but it sounds interesting :razz: