Deep moisturising treatments for hair - how do YOU use them?

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Do you use them on dry hair? Damp hair? Wet hair? Dirty hair? Or clean hair? And how long do you leave them on for?

[SeppV]

Depends on what kind of treatment....
when it comes to oiling, I coat my hair heavily the day before I take a shower, so on dry hair. Do oils have a different effect on wet hair? I never tried heavy oiling on wet hair.

Other than oiling I use masks when my hair is towel dry, then I ususally get into the sauna or something while waiting for it to work... my husband is finnish, so he doesn't know how to function without a sauna... and I guess the heat good for getting masks and oils deeply working in the hair :-)

Oils go on dirty hair, hair masks on shampooed hair... I use a hair mask whenever I deep clean and shampoo all of my hair. Perhaps once a month. The other three times I oil before CWC.

[KokoroDragon]

Treatments tend to weigh down my fine hair, but the few times I've used them I put them on dry hair. Not freshly shampoo'd, but not super dirty either. Unless it's oil I'm using. Occasionally I'll oil my hair a couple hours before washing.

[MusicalSpoons]

To me, moisturising is mostly conditioner. I OCWC and leave the first C on for a couple of hours; so it usually goes on wet (damp) oiled hair, and I tend to use a nice conditioner for that first C because my hair really feels the benefits.

I guess deep moisturising treatments are really supposed to go on clean hair but my scalp doesn't want to be wet for that long (airdrying after a wash is fine, but to be wet and trapped under a bun for an extra couple of hours doesn't work). So realistically if I didn't do it this way I don't think I'd do it at all

On average it tends to be every couple of weeks, when I do a full wash.

[Joules]

The closest I get to a treatment is my cone-free mask which I use every wash. I apply it very generously root to tip right after shampooing, brush it out with a tangle teezer and put a shower cap over it while I do other showery things. The steam from the shower helps it work better, or so I like to believe.

[lapushka]

I treat masks aka deep conditioners like regular conditioners. If it can't do its job in 2 minutes: it sucks. I have no time, literally no time to sit with this on my head (wet head) for 30, let alone 10 minutes. When washing my hair, the most I can give is 2 minutes for leaving stuff in. That's it.

They should really re-think this stuff and focus on how people wash their hair. Just my 2 €cts.

[Lady Stardust]

I use a Hot Head heat cap. I just use my usual conditioner, because I developed sensitivities to something or other that’s in a lot of conditioners. I shampoo my hair first and blot my hair with a microfibre towel so it doesn’t drip. I bought a reusable, washable shower cap, which is made from polyester I think. It’s great because I can sling it in the washing machine afterwards, and it’s comfortable to wear.

During the colder months, I use a little oil and add the conditioner on top. When it’s warmer, I use aloe vera gel (pretty much SMT but sometimes with oil and rarely with honey).

I put the shower cap on, warm up the Hot Head cap and leave it on for 20-ish minutes. I find it really relaxing and my hair feels great afterwards. The only problem is the SMT can make it so slippery it’s hard to keep up in a bun.

[sipnsun]

I apply my moisture treatment to dry dirty hair on wash days. I typically oil the night before and since the flax seed gel that I add to my SMT has distilled water in it I don't feel the need to wet it first. I let it sit as long as I can stand with a cap over it and then shampoo and condition as usual. If I do it after I shampoo my hair is a stringy, limp mess until I wash again.

[leafygreens18]

Ultimately what I have determined is that simplicity is best for me. When I was in my hair and LHC obsession (this forum was amazing for me when my hair wasn't yet long but I still wanted to obsess) I would do them before a wash on dry hair and again after, all kinds of ways. These days have been much simpler, I prefer to use a mask after I wash, I used to do the snowy deep moisture treatment from the forum but these days I get best results just using a good amount of conditioner, I often use a mask like the garner treats as a conditioner but otherwise nothing too special. No cones or sulfates and washing when I feel it every 2-5 days has really good results for me, my hair doesn't feel dry and the lack of damage means it's usually manageable and easy.

[shelomit]

I treat anything moisturizing the same way that I do conditioner. Unfortunately, conditioner doesn't seem to do much for me without time and heat : P I wet down and detangle my hair, work the conditioner/mask/whatever through it, then lump all the hair on top of my head and cover it up with a shower cap. I put a towel or a ratty headscarf on over the shower cap to keep some of the heat from my head trapped. Then I leave it until I get annoyed with it. Less then half an hour doesn't usually do a thing; most of the time I'd say I wind up leaving conditioner on my hair for about two hours. Then rinse it completely out. If any residue is left behind in my hair, it gets tangly and ill-behaved.

It may not be necessary to wet down my hair first now that I've moved back to a more humid place, but I started caring for my hair again back when I was living in high desert. Moisturizing treatments + dry hair + low ambient humidity = trouble.