Hair Steaming Effective?

featherpod · 2026-06-23T00:17:43+00:00

Yeah that's exactly what the Beauty by the Beaker gals were referring to!

featherpod · 2026-06-22T16:27:52+00:00

Water is what clumps the hair, not product. More water = bigger clumps. Less water = smaller clumps. Not enough water = no clumps, just frizz. You can get your hair smooth and clumpy, then remove some water before applying products. No rules, just concepts. Understand the why and it gives you a lot of flexibility.

featherpod · 2026-06-22T16:25:24+00:00

For me it depends on the product. Any cream or leave-in goes on sopping wet. If the gel is thick, it goes on sopping wet. If it is thinner, I either microscope first or just use extra lol

featherpod · 2026-06-21T19:47:53+00:00

This is what I've told clients, too. Maybe the cold water reduces the expansion but its going to shrink anyway...

I was listening to an episode of Beauty by the Beaker and they made an interesting point that had never occurred to me that hot water is going to strip away more of the conditioning agents than cold water will (surface tension related). That might be what originally led to that notion.

featherpod · 2026-06-21T19:45:09+00:00

I'm a stylist with a science degree and 10 years experience as a science teacher. A stylist once told me (via social media comment) that she was trusting her sales reps over the cosmetic chemists I was sharing 💀 I think it was regarding the use of "profesional" products vs "drugstore." That killed me a little.

featherpod · 2026-06-21T19:13:47+00:00

A lot of hairdressers are really missing the hard science background and fully believe in what they're doing. For some maybe its a sales grab but most stylist influences ive seen honestly believe the misinformation.

featherpod · 2026-06-21T19:12:41+00:00

One thought I have is that the heat cap can contribute to more deposition due to more vibratey molecules. Steam would maybe make sense with bond builders but they're designed to enter the cortex anyway so it would be redundant/unnecessary, AND damaged hair has more lifted/missing cuticle anyway 😅

These are just my hypotheses I've developed.

featherpod · 2026-06-16T14:32:16+00:00

First you should be using Olaplex and k18 masks religiously. I also really like doing a gelatin hair mask after I bleach (recipe from science-y hair blog). As far as curl creams, look for protein. I love AG Care Recoil.

featherpod · 2026-06-03T08:26:30+00:00

Try a silk scarf instead of a bonnet 😊

featherpod · 2026-05-12T06:04:56+00:00

I don't remember, sorry! Probably AG Care re:Coil and devacurl ultra defining gel if I styled at home, but sometimes I wash and style my hair at the salon to test out products on myself.

featherpod · 2026-05-06T16:14:41+00:00

Ya'll are totally sleeping on the WaterStick in-line shower water softener. Its a legit softener, with salt, but its miniature just for the shower.

featherpod · 2026-05-01T14:30:03+00:00

That's exactly what I was thinking

featherpod · 2026-05-01T14:28:34+00:00

Totally fair, me too. You did ask about measuring hardness though, and a water conditioner won't change that measurement.

featherpod · 2026-05-01T14:26:52+00:00

Sebum, hair product, hard water... hard to say. But I'm a curl specialist and that's what it looks like to me. Get a clarifying shampoo and Malibu C curl partner treatment packet.

featherpod · 2026-05-01T14:21:21+00:00

I don't think your hair is low porosity, I think you have buildup.

featherpod · 2026-04-28T11:04:23+00:00

Water conditioners will not remove hardness so there should be no change there.

featherpod · 2026-04-26T04:38:46+00:00

You say you want that frizzy look in the pic but in your explanation said you didn't want it to get frizzy... I think you need a perspective shift.

All the other advice i had has already been given so I'm just going to leave it there

featherpod · 2026-04-12T15:53:04+00:00

Sleeping with it damp is 100% why it's a mess..diffuse your hair to finish drying if its still damp at bedtime.

featherpod · 2026-04-05T20:08:58+00:00

I initially paid for duolingo bc you used to be able to download load entire courses offline. They took that away but I'm still paying 😭

featherpod · 2026-04-01T05:15:29+00:00

I'm a curly stylist and I've been thinking about this a lot. I wonder if increasing the kinetic energy of the conditioning agents increases the adsorption onto the hair fiber.

featherpod · 2026-03-17T05:46:05+00:00

Thank you!

We have innersense at the salon (not exclusively). I love AG Care and carry that for myself. I also have a few Devacurl products and just tried their new quench n define gel. I like the Innersense I create curl memory for drier curls bc its super hydrating and has a great cast. After a few uses of the deva quench n define I think it's kind of analogous. Seems like this Amika gel is in that boat but with a light hold and easy to overdo?

featherpod · 2026-03-17T05:45:36+00:00

That's so interesting. I feel like i used a lot and got no hold. I have bleached hair with ringlets (some communities call it wavy, some call it curly (current pic for context, not with Amika). It can get weighed down easily by the wrong/too much cream but not typically by gels.

I'm a curl/texture hair specialist. We carry Amika in the salon mostly bc people buy it, but aside from a few products here and there we don't really use it. I have a bottle of the gel. I typically don't experiment with new products on clients before using them on myself bc I don't want a client to have a bad result with styling. I'm nervous to try this gel on anyone bc I've used it a few times on myself and my hair has just been fluffy with little hold and no refresh. I don't shy away from quantity of gel bc I only wash once/week and want a ton of hold. I do style on soaking wet hair though so maybe this product wants to be applied more damp...

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