Can you retain healthy, natural 4b hair growth without DCing?

I finally wore my natural hair out on Feb 1, after BCing on the last week of Oct 2010. Every week I wash, slap conditioner on my hair only to detangle in the shower, rinse, and put in two-strand twists (the only style I know how to do right now). I never DC. Should I be concerned about long term hair health or can I get away with it. Sorry I'm so lazy! lol.

If I need to DC, I'll just suck it up and do it lol, but I'd rather keep it as simple as possible (extremely simple lol).

Any thoughts?

I would like to know as well. I've DCd mostly out of habit. And I went to the salon a lot so they also DCd. I've never gone any period of time without doing it so have no idea how my hair would respond.

I do know that I can tell the difference between DCing for 15 minutes, versus an hour, versus longer. An hour or longer, my hair is softer.

Would love to hear the other responses.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are some people who "buck" the system and get results. But I think for most of us, its necessary for a variety of reasons.

Are you happy with the way your hair turns out and feels without it?

IMO: Your hair health may not suffer if you're still taking care of your hair but it will be soooo much better if you DC.

I can tell you that when my hair finally broke through the lifetime length limit of 5-6 inches to get to 9-11 inches in just two years starting from just an inch, I wasn't DCing. But I will tell you that I never knew my hair could be as soft as it is until I started DCing.

DCing seems to be to my hair what a facial would be to my face. I could splash my face with water all day and be OK, but if I went for a facial, I'd leave there feeling pampered, special and as if my skin were glowing.

I wasn't using any leave-in in the two years my hair showed me it was capable of growing long, and continued to not use any after I started to DC. But I felt "safer" not using any products because DCing seemed to nourish my hair and make feel well-taken care of.

I think regular conditioners just coat your hair and make strands smooth, but they do not provide moisture to the strands internally the way a DC does. I imagine a dry twig that is thirsting for water and then you splash it with water to make it wet instead of watering the roots of the plant and letting it get quenched from the inside so it can turn green again.

So IMO, you would have healthIER hair if you DC'd. Just like you'd have a healthier body if you stopped eating all junk. It's just a question of whether you want to do the best you can do for your hair or just gamble and see what happens.

Short answer (in my experience): If I stay in protective styles, deep conditioning is not necessary for me. The key to my length retention is low manipulation.


I used to deep condition out of habit as well. I haven't been doing it, mostly because I've been in braids and whatnot and my hair hasn't suffered. My hair feels the same after a cowash as it does with a deep condition. It stays moisturized (if I am in twists) all week with no additional product. I've retained all of my growth.

Product quality varies widely. A deep conditioner of one brand might be the same as a regular conditioner in another brand. Some everyday conditioners may be better than a low quality deep conditioner. Everything that says "deep conditioner" on the jar doesn't deeply condition. Do what your hair needs.

A few years back, I grew my hair out for two years from less than an inch. I wasn't obsessed with styling or growing my hair to any particular length; all I did was co-wash daily and slap some leave in on my hair after I towel dried my hair and rocked a WnG. My hair grew at the same rate that it does now and I currently DC weekly.

I can't say that my hair wasn't as healthy as it is now. What I can say is that my hair feels softer and is more manageable in terms of being able to style my hair easily. It also looks better to the eye because it retains moisture a lot more than it did before (my regimen and products used have changed a lot since then). But, like I said, my growth rate is the same, I shed the same amount of hairs, and experience the same type/amount of breakage. My hair was very dry before I started DCing consistently, but dryness never was an impediment to my hair growing.

I can feel the difference in my hair when I DC vs when I don't. My hair is softer, holds moisture for much longer, and breaks less since it isn't as dry. I don't think I personally could go without DCing

Yes, I believe so. There are people who don't even use conditioner and have BSL hair. If your hair is not breaking off, splitting or damaged in any other way after a while of doing a routine then I think you should be okay...

im not a 4b but i think i can answer. im a 3c 4a and i rarely do a real deep condition(as in sit under heat). i normally shampoo once a week and use a conditioner to detangle and then im good. however i dont use cheapy conditioners, i use mostly natural and organic conditioners so i am confident that they are penetrating my hair in the 5 minutes that i have it on. i also use leave in and moisturizer so that helps.
if you are not deep conditioning, only using conditioners that coat the hair, and are not using leave in and moisturizers than i will say if you are not having problems with your hair now, you probably will in the long run.

I don't know for sure but I think it is possible. I DC with every wash because I don't moisturise daily (only when i remember); for those that moisturise regularly, Dcing might not be necessary. Plus it depends on your hair's needs.

Before I got my steamer, my DC was sitting around my house with a plastic cap on for an hour on the weekend while I caught up with my DVR'ed shows. My hair grew the same rate it does now steaming once a week, I retained length, and had no issues with dry hair. If your hair doesn't feel dry, by all means, be as lazy as you want! Listen to your hair and figure out what works for you.

Since I've only been fully natural for just under a year, I'm not expert but... I really haven't committed to DC'ing regularly (maybe monthly) since my BC and with regular moisturizing, super low manipulation and baggying practically day and night, my hair is growing well with minimal to no shedding/breakage when I wash, detangle, steam etc. Having said all that, when I start wearing my hair out more often this summer, I may have to adjust my DC'ing schedule.

Yes. My friend does. She uses salon quality products but no treatment. Just shampoo and conditioner. Even when i went to school for cosmetology, I had a black woman with gorgeous natural hair as my client and she never DC's. I feel as long as you have a nice leave-in your fine. Some people go overboard with DC'ing and wonder why their hair is always the same length or breaking. They're doing too much. Others benefit with DC'ing more. Ehhh Depends

My hair was never deep conditioned as a child and it grew to between BSL and MBL. As a matter of fact my mother only used 2in1 shampoo/conditioner, pink oil, and blue grease on my hair, thats all.

I wouldn't dream of going without DCing now since I use heat regularly. But for someone who uses no heat and wears low manipulation styles (and also keeps their hair moisturized between washes) I say it could work.

Also, what were people doing 1000's of years before deep conditioners were invented? They still had hair right? Conditioners are a relatively new invention in the span of human life......

IMO, the answer is yes, you can retain healthy, natural 4b hair w/o DCing. Sometimes I use conditioners that are considered "deep conditioners", but I never leave any conditioner on my hair for more than 10 minutes. I'm lazy when it comes to my hair, but my laziness is working. The only time I put conditioner in my hair is when I'm taking a shower. I don't like to condition my hair, get out the shower, sit under a dryer, get back in the shower, and then rinse. That's too many steps for me. I also don't like to sleep with conditioner on my hair because I don't like to go to bed with wet or damp hair or a plastic cap, because it's uncomfortable and it seems like it makes my hair mushy (if that's a word).

ms-gg said:

Also, what were people doing 1000's of years before deep conditioners were invented? They still had hair right? Conditioners are a relatively new invention in the span of human life......

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Good point. I didn't use conditioner as a kid and my hair was long (and healthy from what I remember). We used cheap shampoo like Flex, and that was about it.

Thanks guys, even though I'm lazy with my hair and my hair is ok, I would like my hair to be a bit more soft, so I'll try and get a concrete regimen together. Still experimenting.

happyjourney I don't think anyone is as lazy as I. And DCing doesn't have to feel like a chore. I DC on dry...and I just apply conditioner the way people apply moisturizer then go about my day doing whatever needs doing then return to the bathroom to wash my hair and take a shower. I think DCing feels like a chore when you have to interrupt your shower or wash to wait for 10-20 mins (some folks do more) for your hair to condition before returning to complete the wash.

Rachel Stewart does.
Every year she cuts her hair, and every year her hair grows from bald hair to SL/SL-APL(I don't know, I just know she gets reached a BAA everytime)
she only uses garnier fructis fortifying triple nutrition conditioner.
and doesn't rinse it out totally.

Nonie said:

happyjourney I don't think anyone is as lazy as I. And DCing doesn't have to feel like a chore. I DC on dry...and I just apply conditioner the way people apply moisturizer then go about my day doing whatever needs doing then return to the bathroom to wash my hair and take a shower. I think DCing feels like a chore when you have to interrupt your shower or wash to wait for 10-20 mins (some folks do more) for your hair to condition before returning to complete the wash.

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Thanks Nonie, the bolded is exactly what I was thinking of doing. When I had relaxed hair, I had to get out of the shower and go under the dryer for 20 mins, and go back in to rinse it out- such an inconvenience. I don't wanna have to do that now that I'm natural. This is much easier.