8 Hair Masks & Deep Conditioners That Revitalize Dry, Damaged Hair
I recently decided to highlight my hair with the Pintura hand painting method. While I love my hair color, I did have some damage to my normally healthy hair.
Waking up to chunks of my hair coming out was not ideal, but luckily it wasn't enough for me to panic. Instead, I did what I do best — gave my hair some extra TLC with H2O and a deep conditioner.
I know that breakage post any service isn't normal and since the stylist who did my hair wasn't of much help. The writer in me researched deep conditioners that are good for restoring damaged, color-treated hair for myself and for anyone that finds themselves in a similar situation. I also reached out to other curly stylists to get their recommendations on what to use and added those brands to this list.
Here are eight deep conditioners to keep in your beauty drawer for hair-mergencies.
*This list is specially curated by the xoNecole team and some links are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, xoNecole might earn a small commission.
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask
Amazon
This mask was a staple when my hair was relaxed because it just worked. For added benefits (for this and any conditioner), add a shower cap and sit under the dryer for 15 to 20 minutes for deeper hydration.
EDEN BodyWorks JojOba Monoi Deep Conditioner
Amazon
After being introduced to EDEN BodyWorks at BeautyCon two years ago, I fell in love with their deep conditioner. Made with Coconut, Jojoba, and Monoi, the triple threat can help restore hair experiencing damage from over-processing, heat damage, and dryness that can plague natural hair.
Ouidad Curl Recovery™ Melt-Down Extreme Repair Mask
Ouidad
Adding new products to my hair care regimen is always a fun experiment. At the recommendation of one of my coily hair icons, I invested in this mask. With ingredients like Mafura Butter and Kalahari Melon Seed Oil, Ouidad says this mask helps the hair regain elasticity and manageability. I'm here to tell you it does just that. My hair has never felt better.
TGIN Honey Miracle Hair Mask
Amazon
My friend and fellow naturalista recommended this brand to me. Once I saw the rave reviews, I added this "miracle" mask to my Amazon shopping cart without a second thought.
Olapex N°5 Bond Maintenance™ Conditioner
Olapex
Olapex is used in salons (this was recommended to me by a curly stylist) and offers four products to consumers that aren't pros. Their Bond Maintenance Conditioner is one of those. The conditioner helps restore broken hair bonds and is safe to be used on color-treated tresses.
Camille Rose Natural Algae Deep Conditioner
Camille Rose
Camille Rose is a fan favorite in the haircare world, and their algae deep conditioner comes highly rated. Made with cocoa and mango butter's along with pure blue-green algae, there isn't a shortage of vitamins and minerals that will help repair and nourish your curls.
Oribe Moisture & Control Deep Treatment Masque
Nordstrom
When I saw that Elaine Welteroth used this conditioner, I had to check it out. Now, the price tag might make you reconsider it, but the mask helps restore hair elasticity, and repairs split ends.
Shea Moisture 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Rehydration Treatment Masque
SheaMoisture
I am thankful I had this in my shower because it has been a lifesaver. The day I noticed the clumps of hair falling out from my ends, I got in the shower and used this. My dry hair felt like itself after rinsing and adding my leave-in. I know this isn't the solution to the damage, but it helped a lot.
Want more stories like this? Sign up for our newsletter here to receive our latest articles and news straight to your inbox.
I Tried A $30 Curl Elongator On My 4C Hair
I Tried This $14 Hair Gel On My 4C Natural Hair & This Is What Happened...
10 Releases To Add To Your Beauty Collection This Month
Featured image by Giphy
Originally published on September 10, 2019
- This Is Why Your Natural Hair Ain't Growin' - xoNecole ›
- Top 5 Best Deep Conditioners for Natural Hair - xoNecole ›
- Best Butt Masks & Skincare Products You Need - xoNecole: Women's Interest, Love, Wellness, Beauty ›
- Scared To Straighten Your Natural Hair? Let's Debunk The Heat Damage Myths - xoNecole: Lifestyle, Culture, Love, & Wellness ›
- The best hair mask you can buy - Business Insider ›
- Best hair mask: Deep conditioning treatments for dry, damaged and ... ›
- Best Hair Masks for Dry, Damaged Hair That Will Repair and ... ›
- 12 Best Deep Conditioners and Hair Masks of 2019 - Damaged Hair ... ›
- 17 Best Hair Masks and Deep Conditioners Under $20 | Allure ›
- The 10 best hair masks and deep conditioners to try now ›
- The 12 Best Deep Conditioners You Need Right Now - Hair Masks ... ›
- 6 Best Deep Conditioning Hair Masks for Fine, Natural, Curly Hair ... ›
Bianca Lambert is a proud Atlanta native soaking up the Los Angeles sun. She is the founder of Mae B: a stationery company for women of color and a digital content creator on a mission to elevate the voices of women of color everywhere.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image courtesy
There Are Actually Scientific Reasons Why So Many Of Us Adore The Fall Season
Chile, maybe I’m just biased, but when I read earlier this year that the majority of Americans prefer the fall season over any other one, all I thought was, “Duh.” There really is no telling just how many articles I’ve written for this platform alone that have mentioned how fond I am of autumn and especially the month of October. I like the temperatures (well, I mean, global warming excluded). I like the scenery. I dig the outfits. I like pulling out my blankets and sipping on warm cider — hell, when it comes to fall, I adore pretty much everything about it.
Know what’s wild, though? There are actually some science-based reasons why so many of us are such big fans of that time of the year — one that is steadily approaching. So, if you’ve been trying to talk yourself out of getting a new neutral-colored comforter for your bed or you’re wondering if you’ve already gone too far with the pumpkins that you’ve got on your porch — my answer would be that you haven’t done enough to officially ring fall in! I’m not the only one who thinks that, either. Quite a bit of research thoroughly agrees.
It Takes Us Back to Our Childhoods
Unsplash
It’s very common for fall to create feelings of nostalgia.For instance, even though it’s the season that technically doesn’t happen until the third week of September, many of us associate it with the first day of school, high school games, new television schedule line-ups (gee, remember that?), some of our favorite foods and drinks (like ginger snaps and hot cocoa), corn mazes, carving pumpkins, going trick-or-treating, attending fall festivals and so much other stuff that made autumn such a special time while growing up. Yeah, I bet if you thought back to what fall was like back when you were a kid right now, at least a couple of memories would immediately bring a smile to your face. (See…I told you.)
The Aesthetic Is Cozy and Comforting
Unsplash
Scented candles. Roaring fireplaces. Fresh chrysanthemums. Foliage art. Metallic branches in vases. Neutral throw rugs. Carved pumpkins. Warm hues. Big throw pills. Cable-knit blankets. All of these are things that say “fall is here” in the most cozy and comforting ways. I mean, can you think of another time of year that beckons you to stay indoors more than fall does? Yeah, me neither.
It Boosts Your Self-Image
Getty Images
Listen, if there’s one thing that I’m gonna do during the fall and winter seasons, it’s layer my outfits. That’s actually one of the reasons why I like fall so much — it’s because the fashion and style takes tend to be super on-point. And yes, based on what I’ve read, that’s another reason why a lot of people like the fall so much…since layering is about adding additional articles of clothing on, you don’t have to worry (as much) about the condition that your body is in like you do in the summertime. And when your body image is elevated, so is your confidence overall.
The Landscape Calms Us Down
Unsplash
You might’ve already been aware of the fact that when you spend time in nature, it can help to de-stress you. Well, were you also aware of the fact that the beautiful colors of fall foliage can keep you calm as well? If you know anything about color psychology, this makes a lot of sense, considering a lot of leaves are shades of red (love), orange (happiness), and yellow (hope). So, if you’ve had a really stressful day at work, take the long way home to check out some fall trees or even rake up a pile and jump into them like when you were a kid. It could end up giving you the feeling of much-needed relief that you’ve been looking for.
It Creates a “Temporal Landmark”
Unsplash
If you’ve never heard of a temporal landmark before, the long short of it is it’s moments in time that stand out to you to the point that it creates the perceptions that you currently have, plus it influences how you use your time in real-time. Since the holiday season kicks off during the fall season, activities like football games and homecomings mean a lot to people, and for some of us, the fall season marks the beginning of a new year (Rosh Hashanah), that’s another thing that makes autumn such a wonderful time of the year — we enjoy the way that we spend that season…a lot.
It’s an Unexpected Motivator
Unsplash
On the heels of what I just said, whether you observe Rosh Hashanah or the winding down of the year is simply when you choose to pause and reflect in preparation for the calendar new year that is to come, some people really like the fall season because it motivates them to set new plans and goals. In fact, when you get a chance, check out “Why Fall Is The Perfect Time To Prep For The New Year.”
Using the next couple of months to ease into the new year makes a helluva lot more sense than jotting something down on New Year’s Eve real quick and then pressuring yourself to follow through for the first month of January.
It Means More Time with Family and Friends
Unsplash
There’s probably no other time in the year when you are able to spend so much quality time with your loved ones than during the fall season, especially if they live out of town. I mean, just Thanksgiving alone proves that. Plus, winter doesn’t officially begin until December 21, which means that if you take time off leading into Christmas to visit family as well — that’s two times in less than a month that you’ve been able to get in some family and friends bonding time. If you love being around your family, fall always gives you time with them to look forward to.
It Means More Fall-Themed Sex
Wavebreakmedia/Getty Images
When you get a chance, check out “Here's How To Have Some Really Great Fall-Themed Sex.” A part of the reason why I wrote it is because, did you know that late fall/early winter are the best times of the year to get some nookie? If you don’t believe me, also read “Did You Know Fall & Winter Are The Best Times To Have Sex?”
Between it being darker for a longer period of time, science saying that rainy weather actually makes us hornier, and pumpkins being an aphrodisiac (among other things) — if fall wasn’t your favorite time of year before you read this, maybe it will convince you to change your mind. Enjoy your fall season, everybody! Oh, and read up on what the combination of pumpkin and lavender scents can do for your boudoir experience. Thank me later. #wink
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by FilippoBacci/Getty Images