Why I Deep Condition Overnight

In all honesty, I stumbled upon over night conditioning. Most days, I don't get to twirling around in my hair until after the sun sets. I have two minions who are no good to anyone unless they get 9 hours of sleep. My hooded dryer isn't exactly what I would consider whisper quiet. My heating cap was slowly dying. I was pretty exhausted but I knew that my hair needed a good moisturizing #washdayexperience. Just leaving my deep conditioner siting on my hair overnight would have to do. Months later, I'm still loving it and my hair feels great.

So here's my disclaimer. This technique, like everything else in the healthy hair care arena, won't work for everyone. One of my all time fave bloggers Shelli from Hairscapades hates it with a passion (You can read about here: Why I Stopped Deep Conditioning Overnight). It's your hair and your life, figure out what works the best for you. With that legalise jargon out of the way, here are the semi-aka-not at all-scientific reasons that it works for me and might work for you too:


Does your hair love moisture?
Mine does. It loves it a lot. My hair would run off to Vegas and marry a sexy slim bottle of Matrix Hydrasource conditioner if it wasn't attached to my head. #dontjudgeme. No, I'm serious. I see that judgy look alll up on your face while you're reading this. I'm dead serious. I noticed that with deep conditioning overnight, I don't have to moisturize and seal as often throughout the week. Which is great because between you and I, I forget to. A LOT.

Do you have a protein rich regimen?
We will debate about protein products, how to use them and why from now until the end of the world ladies. All I know is that protein helps my hair. It's helped me thwart breakage and I'm not so sure that I'd be at MBL without it. I've written about protein a billion times (in my head) and I few times here, here, and here. Protein is like wine. Sure it can be nice on it's own---but when you balance it with the perfect meal, all bets are off. Protein needs moisture to balance it out.

Are you short on time?
As a mother, wife, employee, friend, church leader, workout warrior..omgosh this list could go on forever so I'll stop now...balancing it all and having happy hair is hard. Most days, it doesn't go my way. Most days, my hair is piled on top of my head in a not-chic-or-trendy-at-all-bun. I have to multitask and over night conditioning does just that for me.

So now you know my perfectly imperfect reasons why I deep conditioner overnight. Here's how I do it:

1. Detangle- I always detangle my hair pre-wash. When I don't it's disaster. I love using extra virgin coconut oil to help loosen single strand knots. 
2. Apply- I've found that my best overnight conditioning sessions are when I apply the conditioner to unwashed hair. No excess water to drip and be all annoying too. 
3. Protect- Cover your hair with a plastic cap AND a scarf. Not your good scarf, but that old raggedy cotton one. You know...just in case. 
4. Sleep- My favorite part! My overnight deep conditioning session last for about 5 hours. I know, I know. I should probably get more sleep than that. But...well...I don't. Ha-ha!
5. Rinse- In the morning, rinse your hair to find super moisturized buttery strands.

Can you over-condition your hair?
Moisture overload is real, just like protein overload. If you hair feels gummy, mushy, or too elastic. Meh. Overnight conditioning worked too well for you. Grab a medium protein conditioner like Joico K-Pak, apply and let sit for 10-15 minutes with heat.

Will my scalp get gross?
Maybe. I don't typically apply conditioner to my scalp. But if your scalp starts to itch---that's a sure fire sign that your hair doesn't like overnight conditioning. So wash it out ASAP. And if for some reason, you're brave enough to try it again, try applying castor oil to your scalp first. If should act as a barrier to protect your scalp from the moisture.

So, what's your take? Is overnight deep conditioning for you or for the birds?

Besitos!
KLP