Would it be okay for me to do a deep treatment with this conditioner?

[Pandora.]

By the way, I am not going cone-free. My hair has some damage so I think it would appreciate cones for now.

http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/haircare/women/elvive-damage-care/conditioner.aspx#tab:innovation

Being the hair care noob I am, I don't know whether there are certain conditioners you have to use.
Are there any specific conditioners you have to use for deep treatments, or can you choose any conditioner of your own choice? Thanks.

[Pandora.]

Also, would it be okay for me to leave the conditioner on for more than 1 hour?

[Lunami]

There is no way to tell without an INCI, but i'd say it's not a DT. Commercial conditioners like these are usually not very "rich". I don't know about the cones for your dry hair though, how are you thinking about that? My thought about the SLS you'll need to wash the cones out is not healthy for your dry hair and i'd avoid them if i wanted better hair. Cones can not condition the hair and re-build it, and shampoo is damaging to the hair.

You'll want a DT with ingredients such as oil. A conditioner with oil is not like oil alone. My hair does not take oil alone well but in conditioners it can be absorbed if i use a tiny amount. I would recommend you to go conditioner only if you really want to get better hair. If you want to protect your hair, use a leave in such as conditioner or oil. If you want info on CO or DT conditioners without cones, you can ask me! :)

I wish you good luck with your hair either way.

[Gypsygirl]

I think the clue is to find out which products works for you. ;) There's no such thing as a product you "have to use"- everyone's hair is different. What works for some, doesn't work at all for others. Experiment and enjoy your journey... ;) If you feel you need product-related advice, turn to someone who has the same hairtype. Chances are if their hair loves something, yours won't hate it. Good luck! :)

[Pandora.]

There is no way to tell without an INCI, but i'd say it's not a DT. Commercial conditioners like these are usually not very "rich". I don't know about the cones for your dry hair though, how are you thinking about that? My thought about the SLS you'll need to wash the cones out is not healthy for your dry hair and i'd avoid them if i wanted better hair. Cones can not condition the hair and re-build it, and shampoo is damaging to the hair.

You'll want a DT with ingredients such as oil. A conditioner with oil is not like oil alone. My hair does not take oil alone well but in conditioners it can be absorbed if i use a tiny amount. I would recommend you to go conditioner only if you really want to get better hair. If you want to protect your hair, use a leave in such as conditioner or oil. If you want info on CO or DT conditioners without cones, you can ask me! :)

I wish you good luck with your hair either way.

Apparently that conditioner is specifically for dry/damaged hair. Hmm, I don't know. *shrugs*


I think the clue is to find out which products works for you. ;) There's no such thing as a product you "have to use"- everyone's hair is different. What works for some, doesn't work at all for others. Experiment and enjoy your journey... ;) If you feel you need product-related advice, turn to someone who has the same hairtype. Chances are if their hair loves something, yours won't hate it. Good luck! :)

You're right, hopefully people with similar hairtypes to me will reply eventually. I guess it's just trial and error with these sorts of things. At the end of the day, hair care is all about experimenting and having fun with trying out different things. And thank you. :)

[Anje]

If you have it handy, could you post an ingredients list? (I'm not having much luck finding one online.) Then we can point out anything in it that you might want to avoid.

As a general rule, I think it's OK to put a normal conditioner on for a longer period of time, maybe with a heat cap or warm towel, and call it a deep treatment. Letting it marinate for a while in a conditioner that you normally like is unlikely to cause problems. Lots of us like to mix conditioner with aloe gel and honey to make an SMT, which can be more moisturizing than the conditioner alone.

Some of it comes down to what you want in a deep treatment. Does your hair want protein, more moisture, or a bit of both? Do your hair or scalp react badly to anything in particular (oils, humectants, proteins, silicones, fragrances, parabens, or any other allergans)?

[FrannyG]

I can't see any reason why you can't try this for a deep treatment. Leaving it on for an hour should be fine. See how your hair looks and feels afterwards, and you'll know if it was helpful or not.

As long as you know that you do have to clarify your hair to get rid of cone buildup periodically, this should be fine. You'll know when you have buildup when your hair begins to look dull and/or you get velcro ends.

After clarifying I would suggest an alternate deep treatment, like an SMT made with non-cone conditioner. Leave that in for an hour and after rinsing it, you can use the coney conditioner of your choice.

I was no-cone for a long time myself, until I had damage caused by removing dark brown dye that I tried for a year from my hair. I know that for others it may not be the best idea, but I never could have gotten through the worst of the damage without cones.

I still use cones on the last few inches of my hair, and will do so until the damage has been cut out.

Clarifying once in a while is not damaging as long as you do a good moisturizing treatment afterwards, which is why I suggested an SMT.

[Pandora.]

If you have it handy, could you post an ingredients list? (I'm not having much luck finding one online.) Then we can point out anything in it that you might want to avoid.

As a general rule, I think it's OK to put a normal conditioner on for a longer period of time, maybe with a heat cap or warm towel, and call it a deep treatment. Letting it marinate for a while in a conditioner that you normally like is unlikely to cause problems. Lots of us like to mix conditioner with aloe gel and honey to make an SMT, which can be more moisturizing than the conditioner alone.

Some of it comes down to what you want in a deep treatment. Does your hair want protein, more moisture, or a bit of both? Do your hair or scalp react badly to anything in particular (oils, humectants, proteins, silicones, fragrances, parabens, or any other allergans)?

I would go and get the conditioner, but my mom is in the shower right now and she will be in there for a long while. :p

To my knowledge, I don't think my scalp reacts to anything really. My hair definitely needs moisture, but how do I know if it needs protein? I don't know if it needs protein. :S


I can't see any reason why you can't try this for a deep treatment. Leaving it on for an hour should be fine. See how your hair looks and feels afterwards, and you'll know if it was helpful or not.

As long as you know that you do have to clarify your hair to get rid of cone buildup periodically, this should be fine. You'll know when you have buildup when your hair begins to look dull and/or you get velcro ends.

After clarifying I would suggest an alternate deep treatment, like an SMT made with non-cone conditioner. Leave that in for an hour and after rinsing it, you can use the coney conditioner of your choice.

I was no-cone for a long time myself, until I had damage caused by removing dark brown dye that I tried for a year from my hair. I know that for others it may not be the best idea, but I never could have gotten through the worst of the damage without cones.

I still use cones on the last few inches of my hair, and will do so until the damage has been cut out.

Clarifying once in a while is not damaging as long as you do a good moisturizing treatment afterwards, which is why I suggested an SMT.

I'm going to sound so stupid, but what are velcro ends? Also, is clarifying when you alternate between different shampoos? If not, I really don't fancy buying anymore expensive hair products/shampoos right now, since I'm pretty much broke. Though saying that, this week I'm going to my local Holland & Barrett store and I'm gonna buy some jojoba oil with some cash I've saved aside. As well as that, I'm pretty sure my local supermarket sell some super cheap almond cooking oil - you can use that on hair, right?

Gosh, SMT's look good, but they seem fairly high maintenance and time consuming. I definitely will have to try it one day, but again I need to go out and buy some cone-free conditioner, honey and aloe gel. The thing is, I have absolutely no IDEA where to buy aloe gel from in the UK! :p

Thanks for your input guys, it's such a big help for clueless people much like myself. :)

[Sammich]

You can go to Holland and Barretts for the aloe gel(Plus EOs), it's a pretty okayish price.

[HintOfMint]

Velcro ends are when the ends are rough, dry, and tangle easily (hence the "velcro")

Clarifying is just a thorough cleaning, usually with an SLS shampoo (that is what removes the silicones, along with other dirts and oils). It is so a moisturizing treatment with a lot of humectants can really penetrate the hair and do its job, and not just sit on top of product buildup.

[FrannyG]

I'm going to sound so stupid, but what are velcro ends? Also, is clarifying when you alternate between different shampoos? If not, I really don't fancy buying anymore expensive hair products/shampoos right now, since I'm pretty much broke. Though saying that, this week I'm going to my local Holland & Barrett store and I'm gonna buy some jojoba oil with some cash I've saved aside. As well as that, I'm pretty sure my local supermarket sell some super cheap almond cooking oil - you can use that on hair, right?

Gosh, SMT's look good, but they seem fairly high maintenance and time consuming. I definitely will have to try it one day, but again I need to go out and buy some cone-free conditioner, honey and aloe gel. The thing is, I have absolutely no IDEA where to buy aloe gel from in the UK! :p

Thanks for your input guys, it's such a big help for clueless people much like myself. :)

HintOfMint gave an excellent reply to the issue of clarifying hair and velcro ends. If you're going to use cones, you really do have to wash your hair with an SLS shampoo when you see or feel signs of buildup, or you'll start to seal moisture out, which you definitely don't want to do.

If you don't want to use aloe gel in your SMT, don't. I just use honey and conditioner these days, myself, as the aloe didn't make much difference for me.

SMT's are really not high maintenance at all, and it's really easy to find a very inexpensive cone-free conditioner. You'll have to ask the UKers what cheap cone-free conditioners are around, because you may not have what we have here.

It only takes a minute to mix up conditioner and honey, and you only need to put the mixture on your head for an hour. Believe me, it's worth it. Honey, being a humectant, really draws moisture into your hair. You won't be disappointed in the small time you invest in that deep treatment. Do it on a day when you have an extra hour on your hands.