Conditioner is a curl’s best friend. Having naturally more dry hair than our straight hair buddies, it is important to stay properly hydrated and moisturized so our hair does not become dry, brittle or experience breakage.
There are various forms of conditioners and of course I have my favorites so I will cover all of it in this article.
My favorite way to apply any conditioner is raking it through section by section- 2 sections in the lower back, left side, right side, back of the top of the head, left front side and left back side. This makes sure all my hair gets coated evenly and also helps to detangle at the same time.
Leave In Conditioners
Leave In Conditioners have a multitude of benefits. They can help with frizz, help soften the “crunch” of a hard-hold gel and help provide better definition to puffy, frizzy, curls and waves. Leave Ins are great for those with fine hair that gets weighed down easily to use after shampoo. For those with ulta dry hair (like myself”>, I prefer to use “regular” conditioners after shower to leave in (more on that in a minute”> and I like using leave ins to give my hair the moisture it craves and days 2 and 3 dry hair.
My favorite leave ins are:
Rinse Out Conditioners
Rinse Out conditioner has many benefits including helping to make the look and feel of your hair improve. They help detangling hair become easier and also help with breakage and frizz. The same as leave ins also goes with rinse out conditioners based on my exerience. For fine hair that gets weighted down easily, these are great to use right after shampoo for lightweight moisture. If your hair is super dry, they might not be enough on wet hair and you may prefer using deep conditioner (more next on that”> and using rinse outs actually as leave ins. That’s what I prefer to do.
My favorite “rinse out” Conditioners (that I actually do not rinse out”> are:
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Deep Conditioners/Masques
This may be the most complex of all conditioner categories from how often you use them to what you like in them. For the uber dry, you may use a deep conditioner every single time you wash, if your hair is only moderately damaged or almost normal feeling (lucky”> you may get by with using them one or two times a month. Also with deep conditioners, the longer you leave them in your hair the better. Though finer hair can get weighted down if you leave them in too long, it is all about experimenting to see what works best for you. Also with deep conditioners, based on your hairs needs to can get some that are solely moisturizing or some with repairative protein with the moisture. You never want to use just protein with no moisture because though it will repair the hair, it will leave it stiff and brittle. Finally, you may choose to just hang out with deep conditioner on your hair for results, or add additional heat or steam to intensify the treatment
My favorite deep conditioners with no protein:
- Jessicurl Deep Treatment
- Curl Junkie Curl Rehab
- SheaMoisture Intense Hydration Deep Conditioner
- Devacurl Heaven in Hair
- Kerastase Discipline Masque
My favorite deep conditioners with protein:
Cleansing Conditioners
Cleansing Conditioners or “co-washes” are conditioners with cleansing properties so if your hair is very dry, you can skip shampoo. Some people will only use cleansing conditioners, some will use them once a week and then shampoo on another wash. There is no right or wrong- it is whatever works for your hair. I like using cleansing conditioners for one wash and then regular shampoo for the other, especially in the winter
My favorite cleansing conditioners:
As a friendly reminder, every single head of hair is different. MANY factors go into products becoming Holy Grails for people including pososity, texture, chemical alterations (color-treated for example”> and more so what I may love, you may not and vice versa.
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