Should I Condition My Hair After Using A Hair Mask?
If your hair is excessively dry, you may be tempted to double up on moisturizers by using a conditioner after your hair mask. Though in this case, more is not always better.
Hair masks are high-power conditioning solutions that can deeply nourish and strengthen your hair. They infuse your strands with desperately-needed hydration; however, too much conditioning can saturate your locks, leading to dull, limp hair.
To achieve maximum benefit, apply your hair mask once or twice a week in place of your regular conditioner.
What Are the Benefits of a Hair Mask?
Masks can enhance virtually any type of hair, but dry, frizzy hair will see the most significant improvement. This is because these intensive moisturizers contain lipids and oils in a heavier concentration than you would find in a typical conditioner.
As we go through menopause, our follicles’ sebaceous glands produce less sebum oil due to hormone fluctuations and other physiological changes.
That’s why dry hair is a real challenge for many of us in our 50s and beyond. If you are experiencing increasingly dry, brittle strands, a hair mask could be precisely what you need to restore your luster.
As the hydration-rich ingredients penetrate and smooth your hair shaft, you can expect:
- Softer and shinier hair
- Increased elasticity and tensile strength
- A reduction in frizz and breakage
- Greater resistance to environmental damage
What Happens if You Over-Condition?
Along with age-related scalp and hair dryness, you’ve probably noticed hair-thinning. Decreased estrogen production decreases the time your follicles spend in the anagen (growth) phase. Increased dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels cause your follicles to shrink, producing narrow (fine) hair fibers.
Unfortunately, fine, fragile hair is more at risk for the adverse effects of over-conditioning. These effects include:
- Flatness — Intensive hair conditioners can add excessive weight to your fine locks, especially if they are left on too long or are not thoroughly rinsed out. The result is flat hair that lacks bounce and volume.
- Stopping other products from working — When you condition after using a hair mask, your cuticle layer becomes blocked. This prevents other products, including serums, from penetrating your hair shaft and working effectively.
- Decreased manageability — You want your hair to be soft, but if it’s too soft, it will become limp, unmanageable and difficult to style.
- Increased breakage — Although the right amount of conditioning will make your hair stronger, too much will make it weaker and more vulnerable to breakage.
- Greasy roots — Even if your tips are dry, your scalp and roots may still be prone to oiliness. If you struggle with excess oil, it is crucial to focus your hair mask application on your ends and not massage it into your scalp and roots.
To avoid these challenges, use your hair mask in place of your conditioner.
Condition Your Hair Using a Mask from Better Not Younger
The hair-care experts at Better Not Younger have developed two nutrient-rich, ultra-hydrating masks to treat your tired tresses: Silver Lining Purple Butter Masque and Hair Redemption Restorative Butter Masque.
Both formulas address hair-care issues faced by women in perimenopause and beyond using caffeine, vitamin E and five silky plant-based butters, including:
- Mangifera indica (mango) seed butter — The fatty acids in mango butter work to soften and protect your hair shafts, increasing their ability to retain moisture.
- Macadamia ternifolia seed butter — Macadamia butter’s mineral-rich composition of copper, iron, magnesium and calcium strengthens your hair while it hydrates.
- Cupuaçu butter — With monounsaturated and saturated fats, cupuaçu butter hydrates and smoothes your hair’s outer cuticle layer to reduce frizz.
- Astrocaryum murumuru seed butter — The light emollient properties of murumuru butter nourish and moisturize your hair without weighing it down.
For optimal results, use these masks on wet hair immediately after shampooing. By washing first, you cleanse away impurities and product residue that could interfere with the moisturizers' full effect.
Apply Silver Lining Purple Butter Masque or Hair Redemption Restorative Butter Masque from mid-shaft to the ends of your hair. Leave it on for about one to three minutes, and rinse thoroughly with cool water.
Sometimes you may experience excessive dryness and an itchy head. Rather than conditioning after using your hair mask, you can deep condition once a week and include your scalp.
Take Care of Your Hair from Root to Tip with Better Not Younger
Improve the condition of your aging tresses with superior styling products, shampoos and moisturizers that complement every part of your hair-care routine.
They were created to be used holistically to enrich your hair's health and improve your sense of well-being from the inside out.
Visit Better Not Younger’s Shop page today to learn more about our latest products.