What is a deep conditioning hair mask, anyway? Can you make one at home?

Let’s unpack this together.

A deep conditioning hair mask is a hair product that delivers intense moisture, strengthens and restores damaged hair by deeply penetrating the cuticles. It combines both the properties of a regular deep conditioner and a deep healing hair mask.  

Think of a deep conditioning hair mask as an all-in-one hair treatment that will not only moisturize and make your hair manageable, but will also strengthen and repair any damage.

This makes it good for promoting hair growth and repairing damaged hair.

It’s rare to find brands that have products labelled as deep conditioning hair masks, most products come as either a deep conditioner or a hair mask a.k.a Masque.

And honestly, sometimes these two are used to mean the same thing!

With that said, how do you make a deep conditioning hair mask?

Let’s tackle this in next section below.

How to Make a Deep Conditioning Hair Mask | DIY Recipes

Use the following recipes to make a homemade deep conditioning hair mask that will be good for restoring the health of your hair.

Mayonnaise Deep Conditioning Hair Mask

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

How to prepare and use a mayonnaise deep conditioning hair mask

1. Mix all the ingredients to for a thick paste
2. Apply the paste on your hair and scalp
3. Cover your head with a plastic cap and place a warm towel over the cap. The warm towel will open the hair cuticles and increase absorption of nutrients from the deep conditioning hair mask
4. Leave the mask for 30 – 45 minutes
5. Rinse off the mask thoroughly with cold.  Do not rinse the with warm water as this will make the egg to cook

Benefits of each of the ingredients in this mask

Eggs are rich in proteins, vitamins A and D, folate, and biotin all good for nourishing and restoring damaged hair.

Olive oil on the other hand is great for moisturizing the hair. Its primary elements are oleic acid, palmitic acid, and squalene that give it the softening and moisturizing properties.

Honey has both emollient and humectant properties which makes it a great moisturizer. [1]

It is also packed with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties that help keep off dandruff and other scalp conditions.

Additionally, honey promotes growth of epithelial cells on the scalp. These are the cells which make up the follicles and ducts that are responsible for hair growth.

Avocado and Aloe Vera Deep Conditioning Hair Mask

Ingredients

• 1 Avocado
• 1/2 cup Aloe Vera Juice
• 2 tbsp Shea Butter
• 3 tsp Coconut Milk
• 1 tbsp honey

How to prepare and use a mayonnaise deep conditioning hair mask

1. Blend all the ingredients in fine paste.  Ensure this is finely blended to avoid residue in the hair
2. Apply the paste on your hair and scalp
3. Cover your head with a plastic cap and leave the mask for 30 – 45 minutes
4. Rinse off the mask thoroughly with cold.  

Aloe Vera is great for nourishing and moisturizing the hair.

It is packed with enzymes such as catalase, cellulase, lipase, all very good for stimulating healthy hair growth. It also contains minerals such as calcium and magnesium.

Additionally, Aloe vera also has anti-inflammatory properties due to the presence of fatty acids hence good for maintaining a healthy scalp health.

Avocado is rich in vitamin B complex that helps keep the hair strong. It’s also rich in potassium, magnesium among many other minerals.

These minerals seal the hair cuticles making your hair smoother and stronger.  

Shea butter is rich in vitamins A, E and F which offers UV protection and provides the hair with fatty acids and the nutrients necessary for growth.

Coconut milk is rich in Lauric acid which is known for its ability to penetrate hair easily and strengthen the cuticle. It’s also high in proteins good for the hair.

Fenugreek Herbal Deep Conditioning Hair Mask

Ingredients

• 1 Avocado
• 1 cup Aloe Vera Juice
• 3 tbsp Fenugreek Powder
• 3 tbsp Coconut Milk

How to prepare and use a mayonnaise deep conditioning hair mask

1. Blend all the ingredients in fine paste.  Ensure this is finely blended to avoid residue in the hair
2. Strain the paste through a large sieve to remove the large particles
3. Apply the paste on your hair and scalp
4. Cover your head with a plastic cap and put a warm towel over the cap. This ensures the hair absorbs all the nutrients from the mixture.
5. Leave in the mask for 30 – 45 minutes
6. Rinse off the mask thoroughly with cold and proceed to cleanse with a moisturizing shampoo

Benefits of using Fenugreek in the mask

Fenugreek is rich in proteins, vitamin A, K, C, folic acid, potassium, calcium and iron.

Fenugreek also has a high nicotinic content which has been seen to work well against hair loss and treating scalp issues according to one research. [2]

Fenugreek is a greet conditioning agent that provide slip to the hair. It makes detangling easy while enhancing the natural curl pattern.

Here is another interesting DIY deep conditioning hair mask/treatment by Laila Washington that you should absolutely try. She has used 2 store both bought deep conditioners and added herbs and natural oils to make the treatment.

When preparing these homemade deep conditioning hair masks, you need to take note of the following:

1. Always start with a small quantity and patch test before going all out with the mask. If there is an ingredient that you react with, feel free to replace it with an alternative or vary the recipe with an ingredient that works well with your hair
2. Aim to make enough for one use and if you have any left overs, freeze the mask for a maximum of 1 month.
3. You can also decide to use a preservative if you prefer to make larger quantities
4. Some of the recipes will have a strong smell, you can mask the smell with essential oils such as peppermint, lavender, mint etc.
5. Use these deep conditioning masks at most once a month, as they are heavily loaded with proteins.

That is it for this article.  I hope you are inspired enough to try these recipes. As these are DIYs, feel free to play around with different ingredients.

Did you know hair porosity plays a key role in hair growth? Take this simple hair porosity test to determine if your hair is HIGH, LOW or NORMAL porosity.

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