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I've seen them mentioned many times here and it seems to be the thing everyone knows about, except me. I'm confused :-(
I never used a conditioner nor held it in my hands. Am I missing something? Do I have to use it? "On being a longhair" guide says that lack of oils is what makes the hair dry and conditioner restores it. Are oils that thing that makes my hair look greasy if I don't wash it for a couple of days? It doesn't really tangle a lot, too. So how do I really determine if I need conditioning?
Thanks in advance.
Only advice I can give you is to just try it out. I did for a while, and it didn't work for me. My hair just felt greesy, like you said after after a few days without washing it. So I stopped. I am back to only washing it now, every 3 or so days. And it looks and feels good that way. So all you can really do is try it out and see how you like it.
Thanks. I guess my hair is quite fine anyway, but it kind of gets me thinking if conditioning could make the hair like on these advertisments. Here's the only pic I found that closest resembles this.
For my part, I no longer condition much. Usually I just wash only every 3 days or so and my hair turns out fine. If my hair is very dry and won't behave I will condition, this leaves it feeling a lot easier to manage, to a point.
In the past when I have conditioned each time I washed (ie every 3 days or so washing then conditioning on an ongoing basis) I have found it gets greasy and lifeless, I guess it's the residue the conditioner leaves.
My conclusion is that my hair is normally oily enough to not condition, but every now and then if it appears too dried out and frizzy, I will condition. But I am talking about my hair, not yours and everyone will be different so my advice is experiment a little.
Hope that helps!
MattT
Thanks. Interesting, I guess oily hair is not so rare as "On being a longhair" guide says. I think it would be the best way to condition only when needed, but there are so many types of conditioners (volumizing, moisturizing, etc) I don't know which one is really needed. I heard volumizing is the most popular, but I don't know for sure.
I love conditioner, but I only learned to love conditioner after I learned how to use it properly.
I grew out my hair for years and years without using conditioner because I thought it made my fine hair look flat and transmitted oil to my face. My hair certainly did grow, but it was always tangled and developed worlds of split ends.
Then I received some excellent advice. Only put shampoo from the neck up, and only put conditioner from the neck down. Imagine if you gather your hair into a ponytail at the top of your neck. Put the shampoo on the hair above your hand, wash it out, put conditioner on the hair below your hand. I let it stay in a minute or two and then rinse it out. This technique keeps the hair at my scalp and face bouncy (not flat and oily), while helping keep the more vulnerable, longer hair strong, protected and not stripped from over-washing. Note: if my hair gets especially dirty from sand, smoke, or, say a chocolate frosting fiasco, then I'll put shampoo on all of it, but that is rather rare.
As to what type of conditioner to use, I'll give the stereotypical lawyer's answer: "It depends." If your hair feels especially dry, use the moisturizing conditioner. If your hair is fine or thin, use the volumizing kind. Because my hair is particularly fine, I almost always have used the volumizing kind because the moisturizing kind makes my hair appear limp. My current conditioner of choice is L'Oreal Professional Volume Extreme.
The advertisement picture you referred to shows a person with very straight, dark hair. Be aware that dark hair reflects shine more than lighter-colored hair even when lighter-colored hair is perfectly healthy. Also, conditioner, by itself will not give you perfectly straight hair. What conditioner will do is prevent tangling, prevent sun damage, prevent split ends, and should keep your hair from drying out. I couldn't imagine living without conditioner, and I promise I don't work for the hair products industry.
peace and happiness,
Rainbow
Wow, cool. Thanks. I will certainly try that method. :)
