HOW TO: CONDITION

Conditioning is thee most essential part of any haircare routine. Conditioner is a product that all hair needs; blonde, black, or gray, short or long, girl or boy, you need it in your life!

Think of conditioner as a patch, fixing all of the damaged spots of  your hair. 

Every so often I’ll get a client in my chair that almost seems to be bragging about the fact that they’ve decided to cut conditioner from their routine & I can’t help but *eyeroll* when I hear this. Not using conditioner is such a great disservice to your hair!
When visiting your hairstylist ask for a recommendation specific to your hair type, make sure it coincides with your hair flaws as well.
Truly, there is a conditioner out there for every person, it may take some trial and error before you find your match, when you do it’s life changing! Because I’m on an endless hunt for my perfect match I tend to buy travel size-small bottles to avoid spending big bucks on a product that I hate!

Now I know conditioning you hair seems like a mindless thing you can’t really mess up, but here are a few things I do to make sure my clients & I get the most of our conditioner.

First thing’s first- I rinse all of the shampoo from my hair, remove hair from the water stream & ring my hair getting the most moisture out that I can. If your hair is too wet when applying conditioner chances are the product will go straight down the drain before you reap the benefits, & we both know this stuff costs way too much to have that happen!

(The amount of conditioner I use depends on the quality of the product I am using, often times the more luxurious the conditioner, the less I use because it is more concentrated &/ made with better ingredients! )

Then I spot treat my hair by putting the conditioner where it is needed most; my long fringe that frames my face & the middle-ends on the rest of my hair. The reasons I make extra sure to condition these sections are; the hair is finest in this area which means it is extra sensitive & this hair also withholds the most heat/ styling because it frames my face, & ends need conditioning because they’ve most likely  endured some type of damage + they’ve been on your head for god knows how long.

Now this next step was an absolute game changer for me, combing/ brushing through while the conditioner is working its magic! Combing through the conditioner ensures even distribution of the product, making sure every strand is getting some TLC.  (Always start brushing at the ends of the hair to avoid stretching the hair & causing breakage! Wet or dry. )

At this point I will clip my hair up & continue other shower duties, like washing my body/face, or shaving, still trying my best not to let my hair enter the water stream!

Once I’m ready to exit the shower I turn the water temperature down to the lowest I can handle & thoroughly rinse the conditioner from my hair! Cold water will help you to have more smooth & shiny locks, with that being said hot water could be the cause of your dry, frizzy hair because it strips your natural oils.

Just because you’re out of the shower does not mean your job here is done, to protect hair from heat tools & the environment it’s important to use a leave-in conditioner/ serum on damp hair, whether styling or air drying all can benefit from this.

There you have it folks! How to condition your hair, by me, Alex Kumagai!