Deep Conditioner.

What a deep conditioner does that your rinse-out cannot

A deep conditioner sits on the hair for ten to thirty minutes so the ingredients have time to move past the cuticle. A normal rinse-out smooths the surface in two minutes and washes straight back off. Curly, coily and textured hair needs the longer version, because every bend in the strand is a place where scalp oils stop travelling and where the cuticle lifts slightly. This collection runs from five minute options like the Camille Rose Rosemary Oil mask through to weekly staples such as ORS Max Moisture Deep Treatment Conditioner.

Moisture masks and protein masks are two different jobs

Moisture masks are the ones most people reach for. Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus, Bella Curls Coconut Oil Masque and the Garnier Hair Food masks all sit in that group, softening the hair so detangling stops being a fight. Strengthening masks do something else. African Pride Peppermint, Rosemary & Sage and the Safah's Natural rice water mask put structure back into hair that has been bleached, relaxed, heat styled or worn in tension styles.

Telling which one you need is simpler than it sounds. Wet a strand and stretch it gently. If it stretches a long way and then snaps, and your curls feel limp and mushy, you want strengthening. If it barely stretches, feels rough like dry straw and refuses to clump, you want moisture. Most heads run about three moisture treatments to every strengthening one.

Getting more out of the same tub

Work on clean, damp hair in four or six sections. Start at the ends, which are the oldest and thirstiest part of the hair, then move up. Detangle while the product is in, with fingers or a wide-tooth comb, never on dry hair. Then cover up. A plastic cap traps body heat, and the Magic Collection heat-process cap goes further by warming the section so the conditioner moves in faster. Twenty minutes under a cap does more than an hour of mask sitting on uncovered hair.

British water and British weather change the result

Hard water across London and much of the south and east leaves mineral deposits on the cuticle. Those deposits make hair feel coated and rough however much conditioner you pile on, and they blunt the effect of a good mask. Clarify first, deep condition second. Shea Moisture High Porosity Moisture Replenish Masque is worth trying if your hair soaks up product and feels dry again within hours.

Seasons pull in opposite directions here. British summers can sit at 75 to 90 percent humidity, which swells the cuticle and turns definition into frizz, so lighter masks with a little protein hold shape better. Winter flips it: central heating drops indoor air to roughly 30 percent humidity and pulls moisture out of the strand, so the heavier butter and oil based masks earn their keep from October onwards.

Picking by curl type

Waves in the 2A to 2C range go flat under thick butters, so the OSMO Essence Renourishing Curl Mask or one of the Garnier Hair Food masks is the safer pick. Curls from 3A to 3C handle most of this range comfortably. Coily and kinky textures, 4A through 4C, usually want the richest options, and Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil or a hot oil treatment before wash day will suit that hair better than anything light.