For a deep conditioning hair treatment, I love STEAM TOWEL WRAPS. This technique is a must for dry and damaged hair. Steaming opens the hair follicles and allows whatever product you are using and moisture to deeply penetrate the cuticle of the hair. If you haven’t tried it, do it! It will change the way you think about deep conditioning and hair treatments. There are lots of steamers on the market and other products that you can buy, but this is a more economical way of getting the benefits of steam without the price tag.

Here’s how I do it…

• I apply a deep conditioner or hair treatment using 4 sections making sure each strand is saturated from root to tip.
• Cover my head with a plastic cap or saran wrap (I would never use a towel directly on my hair. I just don’t like the idea of using anything other than satin/silk/plastic shower bags).
• I then apply a hot towel and then another plastic cap.
• I leave it on for 15 minutes and then apply more conditioner then reheat towel and sit under dryer for a second time for 10-15 mins.
• I repeat this procedure one more time. That’s a total of 45 mins to one hour.

It’s a bad idea to use plastic caps with the elastic bands because they can break off your edges, but I do it anyway because I’m BAD. Actually I roll the edges of the plastic (as you can see from the photos) or you can see my “Baggy Method” post or my YouTube video for more details.

Repost, originally posted 2/27/08

When I was going through my transition, this style saved my hair. Because I wore this style basically 90% of my transition, I’ve since retired it and moved on to greener pastures. It worked while it worked and every now and then I do go back to it, but I experiment with other protective styles. “The Southern Tease Bun” is a very loose bun that’s super quick to do. You can use bobby pins, chop sticks… whatever. Practice makes perfect. All I would do was gather my hair like I was about to make a ponytail, fold up the ends and take the sides and roll them to meet the ends. Sounds complicated, but it’s super quick and easy.

A lot of people were asking me for a video and even though I HATE making videos, I decided to make this quick one.  Again, I hate making videos, so I did this one so people could get the just. Since this, I’ve seen a lot of variations and a lot of ways many Mane & Chic readers have made it their own. It was cool to see all the successful hair experiments that this video inspired. Enough talk… check it out.

Originally posted 2/21/08