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banglaminerva
July 7th, 2009, 09:26 PM
I've been very intrigued lately with the notion of applying heat with oil or deep conditioning treatments, but not sure what that really requires. Just how hot does it need to get and how long does it need to stay hot?

I have warmed oil in a hot water bath, but it cools off pretty quickly... as in it's not even noticeably warm as it's going on my hair. Though it's definitely hot in my hand.

If I use the towel-from-the-dryer method, should the towel be as toasty hot as if I'd just done laundry? And short of doing laundry, do you just run the towel in the dryer for a while?

I tried heating my oiled hair with the blow dryer but hated running it for more than a few minutes and again, the hair seemed to cool off very quickly.

I've thought of using one of those air-activated heating pads under a towel, but wrapping it in something so there isn't direct contact with my hair.

Anyone's thoughts, opinion, wisdom, and experiences will be much appreciated!

krissykins
July 7th, 2009, 09:45 PM
I would like to know about this too, so I'm going to be watching this thread. :alien:

Dez
July 7th, 2009, 09:55 PM
i don't really know how hot it's supposed to be. Anytime my aunt did a hot oil pack i think we bought a V05 one from wal mart and followed the directions. It was always a very nice comfy warm, never too hot to handle.

Carolyn
July 8th, 2009, 06:23 AM
I have a Mastex electric heat cap and love it. It provides constant heat with something like 4 heat settings. Enchantress sells them.

Anlbe
July 8th, 2009, 07:30 AM
oooooo, I want one of those!

Merewen
July 8th, 2009, 07:31 AM
I see a lot of instructions for wrapping towels around your head to trap body heat. Yesterday for a little extra heat I warmed up one of those microwavable warm around-your-shoulders things and put it on top of the towel, and it seemed to work well. You're not gonna want blazing-hot-damaging heat; I made sure that I could comfortably touch my heat source before I plopped it on my head. The one drawback was it was really heavy!

Ursula
July 8th, 2009, 08:20 AM
There are electric heat-caps that you can buy, that are essentially the same thing as electric heating pads, but shaped like a cap. You can buy them online, or at Sally's. As they are electric (plug-in) you can not use them while you're in the bath or shower, and you probably want to be sure to have a showercap or plastic bag over your hair if it is wet, to keep it away from the electric stuff.

You can also buy microwave heat caps - a heating cap that had microwavable gel-packs in it, where you microwave to warm it up, and then wear it. I bought one, but found it to be far to small to fit over my head/hair. But I have a lot of hair, and a large head, they have worked well for others. These can be used in the bath, and in other situations where something electric would be ill-advised, and you don't have to stay near an outlet the whole time you're wearing it.

Stormsong
July 8th, 2009, 08:51 AM
Could always try wrapping your treated hair in clingfilm/saran wrap and then using a damp towel heated in the microwave to wrap around your head (obviously don't get it too hot!), possibly two towels so you could keep alternating them if they cool down too quickly?

I know when I do my henna colouring, once my head's wrapped in clingfilm, shower cap and then a towel, it pretty much starts trapping the heat you normally loose from your head quite quickly!

redneckprincess
July 8th, 2009, 10:18 AM
I just put a shower cap over the treated hair and hold a blowdrier on it for a few minutes every once in a while...then put a twisty towel over that to keep the heat in

GlassEyes
July 8th, 2009, 10:23 AM
I replace heat with time and sleep with deep treatments on with a wool cap.

I do wonder if heat would help though.

Fractalsofhair
July 8th, 2009, 10:46 AM
What I do is I just take a blowdrier to my hair with TONS of oil in it,(I mean dripping in oil, literally... I squeeze my hair and oil runs out. I have very dry hair, so this is a good cup or more of oil for me, for you it may only be a 1/2 cut, but it's certainly quite a lot) and I heat it till it's almost too hot for me to stand and let it sit for a good 2-4 hours, and let it be. It lets the oil absorb more I feel, into my scalp as my scalp is very dry and heat opens up the pores there. It's certainly better to use heat with an absorbable oil like coconut, since blowdrying can damage hair, but the oils will be absorbed, moisturizing hair. I wouldn't suggest using anything that gets above 200 or so degrees, since oils can burn hair and be dangerous. 200 would be hot water about. You don't want to use a flat iron and cause the oils to smoke!

Thila
July 8th, 2009, 11:17 AM
I use this if I am sitting in one place for very long. My SO calls it my alien telecommunication device:

http://www.sallybeauty.com/hair-Conditioning-Heat-Cap/SBS-255503,default,pd.html

If I am moving around I put on a shower cap then a winter cap. I create quite bit of my own heat especially when I am cleaning house. :)

banglaminerva
July 9th, 2009, 09:51 PM
Thank you, everyone! I'll head to Sally's tomorrow and see what I find.

Though I'm tempted to try to make a rice filled microwaveable "heating cap."

Flynn
July 9th, 2009, 10:03 PM
Though I'm tempted to try to make a rice filled microwaveable "heating cap."

That's exactly what I'd do if I wanted one... far, far cheaper than anything else.

dragonfrog
July 11th, 2009, 01:29 AM
How do you make a rice-filled microwavable heating cap?
I have tons of rice, and a sewing machine, and I'd love a homemade heating cap :)

Melisande
July 11th, 2009, 01:46 AM
I use physiotherapy heat pads (gel packs (http://www.benefitsnowshop.co.uk/media/pr/images/detail/PR15062-74912_6948.jpg)), two of them. I added pockets to my turbie towel (old washcloths in the exactly the same size as the heat pads) and I put the heat pads inside, then put the turbie towel on my head. It's my self made heat cap, and it works well for me.

EvaSimone
July 11th, 2009, 01:51 AM
I have a heat cap and like a gazillion others have said they work really well. Before I had the heat cap I would wrap my hair in saran wrap and then take a towel that was really pretty warm straight from the dryer and wrap it around my hair. Then I'd leave it for an hour or two. It always seemed to work well.

swanns
July 11th, 2009, 02:56 AM
Whenever I'm visiting my mum or when I go to the swimming hall, I apply lots of conditioner before going to the sauna. It really makes your hair softer, or at least I like to think so :) Sometimes I apply lots of coconut oil on my hair a few hours before I'm going to wash it out, then apply conditioner and go to the sauna, it washes out perfectly.

banglaminerva
July 11th, 2009, 12:02 PM
I'm sitting here right now with my hair oiled in a shower cap with a dollar store microfiber hair drying turbo thing 2 air activated heating pads over that then another hair turbo thing. Hope that makes sense! I bought el-cheepo heating pads and they're taking forever to heat up.

I wanted to try this out before I made a heating cap.

I looked at the microwave heating pads in the drug store and they all seemed heavier than I'd want to carry around on my head, so I probably will make one.

This is the construction I'm considering... thoughts??

I want even heating all around my head, so the rice can't shift much. So I was thinking of making square packets of rice all connected together to form the cap. I think sewing through a larger filled shape would be pain to sew through the rice.

I've made one before by just filling a tube sock with rice and rubber banding the top closed, but the rice shifts around.

Am I overthinking this?