Our hair is constantly subjected to the sun, wind, and even hair products that it often ends up looking dull and dry. Most of us do deep conditioning at least once a week to help revive our struggling hair strands, with some going as far as keeping it overnight. But the question that some are wondering is whether leaving the deep conditioning solution overnight is necessary.
Is it Helpful or Harmful?
If you heard of the saying that too much of a good thing can be harmful to you, well, it applies in this situation. Leaving your deep conditioner overnight is not really necessary and may even have a negative effect to your hair. It’s basically the same where you don’t take too much of any medicine because there is a huge chance that you will overdose on it. Just like with any hair product that you are using, such as hair dyes, dry shampoo, and such, deep conditioning products always include instructions on how you can achieve this easily.
Deep conditioners are designed to penetrate deep into your hair’s shafts in order to heal the damaged hair strands. And the instructions are there for a reason because tests have been conducted to determine how long it will take for the conditioner to be able to reach your hair shaft to release its nutrients without harming your hair. Most of the time, deep conditioners can stay on your hair for 15 to 30 minutes as this is the time it takes for your hair to become moisturized.
What is Hygral Fatigue?
Deep conditioner is designed to deliver moisture into your hair shaft where the cortex, or the inner structure, swells up because of the moisture. This can lead to tension in your hair shaft because it is expanding. Once the hair has dried, it will go back to its normal size. Unfortunately, the constant swelling and drying can wreak havoc on your hair strands, and by leaving your deep conditioning overnight, you are triggering hygral fatigue already.
Simply put, hygral fatigue is where the hair shaft is subjected to constant wetting and drying where the inner structure gets damaged in the process, leaving your hair feeling like gummy when you wash your hair because it is no longer going back to its natural state.
Why You Shouldn’t Leave Your Deep Conditioning Overnight
For those who are still wondering why they shouldn’t leave their deep conditioning overnight, here are a few reasons that you should keep in mind.
Damage to protein or cortex
Like it was mentioned before, since moisture is being instilled in your hair shaft, the cortex expands. When this happens continuously, the cortex or protein can get damaged leaving your hair brittle and dry.
Reduced elasticity
Another reason why you shouldn’t leave your deep conditioning overnight is because it can affect the elasticity of your hair. When there is prolonged moisture, your hair remains in stretched position where it can affect its elasticity as well as natural bounce, leaving your hair lifeless around you.
Raised cuticle layers
Leaving your deep conditioning overnight can cause your hair cuticles to become raised, which exposes your hair strands to the elements making them more prone to breakage. This is the opposite effect from what you are trying to achieve with your conditioner.
Curl pattern disappears
For those who have curly hair and are leaving their deep conditioning all night long, there is a risk that the natural curl pattern can be affected because elasticity has already been affected. This may damage the look of your curls in the long run.
