The hair care glossary

Hello everyone, I hope you are well. We meet again for a new beauty article. There is a whole variety of hair products, especially masks to take care of, nourish or moisturize it, each mask may have a different name. Between prepoo, hot oil treatment, deep conditioner and others, we no longer know where to turn. Today, I’m coming to dissect these terms and help you gradually add them into your routine.

By doing a brief search on YouTube for hair care, you come straight to a bunch of videos that proclaim all the benefits of ingredients for hair. However, each mask made in a video can have a different name. Is this pure marketing, are these masks really effective? Do we really have to break the bank to buy them? Is there a difference between oil bath and hot oil treatment? So many questions can arise, in this article I provide you with the answers to these questions and perhaps help you better establish your hair routine (we are tired of digging into our financial reserves so as not to have the mane of your dreams 😭😤).

It is clear that hair must be nourished and hydrated so that it is healthy. For this, we make masks and oil baths to provide nutrients and adequate hydration to the hair through treatments. These treatments, whether they are made with ingredients from our kitchen or purchased in supermarkets, they have different names. Prepoo, mask, oil bath, hot oil treatment, deep conditioner, these are among other names that characterize them. So what are they actually and how should we use them?

Prepoo: this is a treatment that you do before shampooing. Pre-poo (pre-shampoo, pre-shampoo) is therefore the term we use when we treat dirty hair. These treatments can be either masks (moisturizing or protein) or an oil bath. Afterwards, you do your shampoo.

Mask: as for it, it is a treatment that we do to nourish, moisturize and coat the hair. In other words, it is a treatment to provide the nutrients and hydration necessary for the hair fiber. This treatment can be performed on dirty hair or clean hair. It will all depend on you and your mane preference.

Deep conditioner: it is a treatment (moisturizing or protein) that you apply after your conditioner. It will further penetrate the hair fiber to soften it, repair it, hydrate it and help it retain this hydration. The deep-conditioner is only applied last, to completely clean hair. You need to leave it on for about 15 minutes or overnight and give the hair a little heat (using a heating cap or a dryer). Then you rinse with clean water and it’s done! You can carry out this treatment every week or every two weeks (it’s your pace that counts 😌).

Oil bath: it is a mixture of oils that is applied to the hair before shampooing. This mixture will hydrate, nourish, strengthen the hair and promote growth. Afterwards, wash your hair as usual.

Hot oil treatment: this treatment is a hot oil treatment (lol 🤣, that’s the literal translation 😅). It is also an oil bath, the only difference is that the oils are hot. So you take a bath of classic oils that you heat for 30 seconds in the microwave and voila you have a new treatment. You apply this treatment (cooled if you microwaved it 🌝) on clean, damp hair. This is also the strong point of this oil bath, it is applied after shampooing. You let it sit under a heated cap (or the traditional plastic caps 😁😅and a dryer) for about fifteen (15) minutes, then you rinse and continue the washing process with a conditioner. As a result, you will have nourished and hydrated hair, don't worry if you see your hair "greasy", it's completely normal. They look this way because the hair retains moisture and nutrition from the oils. However, some will prefer to apply it like a classic oil bath and then wash the hair to remove the oil, it all depends on you 😮‍💨.

Co-wash: as long as we are on the definition of certain hair terms, co-wash is not a treatment but rather a product allowing you to wash the hair in one dose. Also called no-poo (no shampoo), it cleanses the scalp while hydrating the lengths and softening the hair. To all those who wish to shorten their shampoos, well you are served ☺️😁.

You now know what the different hair care products are and how to use them to get the result you want. You don't need to do them all in one wash but you can create your own routine for the health of your hair. For example, there are people who use the deep conditioner immediately after shampooing and ignore the conditioner, creating your routine according to the reactivity of your hair. As long as they are healthy (and grow again and again 🫢), it’s happiness 😌.

That's all for this article, I hope you liked it and that you will think of me when you see these different terms. I also hope to have your feedback and opinions on these products if you end up using them 🤗. Do not hesitate to follow me on the different blog networks to stay in touch. I will see you very soon for a new article, until then, take care of yourself ❤️.

See you soon 💋