Don’t...

1. Cover your head. Covering your hair with a plastic cap is one of the worse things you can do. You want your hair to be exposed directly to the moist heat. Allow your hair to feel the steam so that the conditioner can penetrate and work effectively. The direct steam melts the deep conditioner into your hair immediately.

2. Leave your hair down. Wearing your hair down, with conditioner, while under the steamer is not effective. Your ends, the oldest part of your hair, will be neglected and won’t receive the benefits of the deep conditioner under the direct moist heat.

3. Go under the steamer right away. I usually like to wait at least 5-7 minutes before sitting under my steamer. During this time I’ll finish applying conditioner to my hair, clip it all up and then go under the steamer. Five to seven minutes is enough time for the water to bubble up and the vapors to get hot.

4. Neglect your nape! Some steamers have a small hood making it hard to cover every inch of your head effectively. Try to position yourself, or your head, to get the steam on the nape area. This area tends to be a trouble spot for most, therefore it’s important not to forget it.

5. Over do it! Steaming is addictive; however, it should be done, at the very most, once a week. Increasing the frequency, on a weekly basis, can cause over-moisturizing. Over moist hair can lead to weak limp hair and possibly breakage.

Credit: Valerie Bremang

Valerie Bremang founded Hairlista Inc. Social Network in 2008 as a platform to educate, inform and encourage women that they can achieve healthy hair.