Most of the time when there's a beauty trick to sort out your hair, it requires going to the salon or spending a lot of money. But once in a while a brilliant idea comes along which includes neither of those things, and hair steaming is just that.
It's not exactly a new concept (women with tightly coiled hair have been applying oil and then heat for decades) but shockingly a lot of women don't realise just how much of a difference steaming their hair can make.
All you need to do is wash your hair, apply whatever conditioner (bonus points if it's a hair masque or oil treatment), then put it in a shower cap.
In the hairdresser you'd do this with a specialist bit of kit, but at home you can do it in your bathroom. If your bathroom is teeny (thanks rental prices) then it's easy enough to get some steam going with a hot bath. On top of the shower cap wrap your hair up in the hottest towel that feels comfortable and kick back while the heat opens the cuticle of the hair and absorbs all the lovely nourishment.
It's the kind of TLC which only takes half an hour, and allows you to relax with a book or an episode of Gossip Girl that you've seen fifteen times. Plus, once you rinse and style your hair you'll be able to feel the difference. The heat superchargers your product without requiring you to spend any more money.
We asked the experts at Windle Londonwhy steaming works, and they told us:
'Just like a facial it gently opens pores of the scalp to remove impurities and product build up. It also helps open the cuticle of the hair to allow maximum absorption of an oil treatment. All with the aim of leading to a healthier scalp and stronger, lusher looking hair.
'The warmth of the steam will calm the scalp from any skin conditions or dryness. Also it will help with easier styling as the hair will move better without old product and pollution build up'.
In an ideal world you'd do this every 10 days to two weeks, but we're all busy, so if you manage to do it once a month then you get a gold star. Bonus points if you use the time to do a mindfulness app or to meditate.
