Hey everyone, hope you’re having a good week so far. So wash day rolled around this past weekend and I decided to put my steamer to the test…check this post about how this idea came about. In this post I will share how to steam natural hair using a clothes steamer.
I started my wash day late on Sunday, thanks to a power cut that lasted 16 hours! I decided to skip the prepoo step and go straight into deep conditioning on dry hair using the steamer.Wash day process
- Dry Deep Condition using Dabur Vatika Black Seed Hair Mask Treatment Cream
- Steamed the hair
- Shampoo: Aunt Jackie’s Oh so Clean Moisturising & Softening Shampoo
- Instant DC: Watsons Repairing Treatment Conditioner with Argan Oil
- Applied coconut oil to damp hair
- Leave-Ins: Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner and Motions CPR Triple Action Leave-In Conditioner
- Moisturising and Sealing: AfroBotanics Conditioning Moisturiser and Olive Oil
- Styling: Roll, tuck & pin the first day. Wigging it for the next 4 weeks
Steamer experience
I was too excited to wait for wash day before I steamed my hair – so I had steamed my hair twice prior to wash day
- I used steam as the L in the LCO method when I was doing my nightly moisturising and sealing. My hair felt sooo soft and held on to the softness and moisturisation for the longest time ever!
- I steamed my hair and while it was damp, I did some Bantu knots. No, no, no! This was a bad idea – the next day my hair felt so dry.
- I steamed my hair during my dry deep conditioning session
My thoughts and experiences
Steam is dangerous! Like even more than hot water because of the heat of condensation that is released – so please take care…so in saying that – the distance you place the steamer from the hair is important, you can have too much of a good thing.
My DC steaming session lasted for about 25 minutes, this is only because holding the steamer can get very heavy, especially when it is filled to capacity. I had to take several breaks because my arm was getting painful from holding it up.
From the few times I have used it, the moisturisation on my hair has held for longer than ever before.
After the DC steaming session, my hair felt like never before. Seriously my new growth had a life of its own – that’s the only way I can describe it: it felt full, fluffy and the coils were popping! My hand in hair syndrome was at an all time high. I think I got the most effectiveness out of it in the DC session.
Always follow up a steaming session with some sort of product…just steaming hair by itself and leaving it like that is a no no.
Verdict
I am in love <3 – I am going to add steaming to most of my deep conditioning sessions. I am so glad that I tried this out. I definitely saw more benefit to my new growth than the chemically processed hair.
Final words
I recorded a short video using the steamer – excuse the quality, I shot it using my cellphone. You will see exactly why steam is dangerous and taking extra care is a must!
July 2016 update I have finally filmed a much better video of this process (1 year later). Enjoy!
April 2019 update I’m still an advocate of this steaming method however I don’t do it regularly anymore because I’m a mom to a toddler and I have very little time for my hair now, lol!
yaaay! So glad it worked to your expectation!!! Thank you for the video demostration!
You’re welcome Lebo 🙂
Very creative Lungi, now you can use the steamer for your hair and your clothes! and yes too much steam can be bad, I use my steamer not more than twice a month to prevent moisture overload…
Yep – I’m quite excited Becca.
Thanks for the tip, I will definitely look out for moisture overload.
Great idea lungi, i will consider purchasing one currently the only time i get to use a steamer is if im at the salon (which i try to avoid cause i do a better job at home). Thanks for the update
You’re welcome Nosihle
hi again! so of the 3 methods listed that you use your steamer for was the dc steamer (option 3) the best?
love that you are on youtube now!!
Hey K, definitely option 3 is the best in my opinion, it made the deep conditioner sink into my hair.
Chick…I have been toying with the idea of buying a steamer but the price and shipping and handling costs are just too much. Am gonna be stealing your clothes steamer idea (you know how we do)…
🙂 steal away. it will definitely be benefecial for you and Miss T.
I know this is a late comment but I have browsing your blog and your recent wash day led me here. I want to know where do you buy your hair products? If you mention a hair product that is not easily found at the nearest Dischem\Clicks please put the place you bought from next to the product like “Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-In Conditioner and Motions CPR Triple Action Leave-In Conditioner” “Dabur Vatika Black Seed Hair Mask Treatment Cream” thanks
Hi Tshego, please check out this post for more information on the products I use: http://bylungi.com/2015/05/20/mzansi-where-to-buy-hair-products/
Unfortunately, I bought the Beautiful Textures Conditioner overseas. The Motions CPR, I bought 3 years ago, I’m not sure if it is still stocked. I bought the Black Seed Mask at my local Cash n Carry
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Hey, where did you buy your hair steamer? What brand is it?
It’s the Sunbeam 700W garment steamer. Here’s a similar one to the one I have: https://www.takealot.com/sunbeam-garment-steamer-white/PLID52688765
I am from India,n great fan of u,but I wanna buy those conditioner but I didn’t found them in Amazon , can u plz provide a buy link for tht……..