new thread
Hello all,
I have a rather strange situation with my hair. I think that conditioner may actually be BAD for my hair, or at least not doing any good for it.
As many websites and professionals seem to attest, conditioner is a necessary thing to use- and most people, I reckon, wouldn't dream of using shampoo without following with the conditioner.
I know many people on this site would recommend it, as well.
However, in my last few years of having long hair, it seems to be the opposite scenario for me. Time and time again I have used conditioner. But my hair always seems to come out fuzzy, puffy, dryer, and more unmanageable. Even if I follow up with other products, which I usually do.
I've tried all sorts of different types for the different types of hair, ranging from the most moisturizing to weightless kinds. But none of them seem to make my hair ANY bit healthier or more manageable.
So in some instances, I've gone through periods were I ONLY use shampoo- and the results are so much better! It is smoother, easier to take care of, more manageable, and softer. Much less frizz and bulkiness.
However, I frequently have come back to giving conditioner another go around, and it may seem to work once, but after that it just becomes a disaster and my hair is an AWFUL mess. As in, almost too uncomfortable to even bother having long hair for.
So.... after all this backstory, my questions-
1. Is there a hair type that just doesn't need conditioner, and I've just never been made aware of it?
2. Obviously I should not keep trying conditioner if it doesn't work, but am I just being very silly and not picking up on something, or is there anything bad that could come about from me just getting rid of conditioner as part of my routine altogether?
Thanks everyone. I haven't posted in a long time but I still lurk around here some. If anyone has any insights or similar experiences/stories, please let me know!
Hi there Sid,
Speaking as a aspiring hairstylist, I can tell you than hair of any length that is over 6 inches really should be conditioned at least at the ends. Hair at this length and longer is more than a year old and is thus much more fragile and needs an outside source of moisturization, which shampoo alone just doesn't give you. You most likely haven't found the right type of conditioner for your hair, but I'm sure its out there somewhere. Let me ask you something, do you have serious allergies? If you have specific allergies then your skin and your scalp might have a irritating reaction to specific types of shampoos and conditioners. You might want to get an allergy test to see if you are allergic to any natural ingredients, say if your allergic to peanuts I'm sure anything that contains nut oils like in many of the fancy expensive brands of conditioner out there wouldn't be something that agrees with your skin. But seriously, using shampoo ALONE will indeed strip your hair of its natural oils, you do indeed need to find a conditioner that is suitable for your hair type. Its doesn't even have to be a man-made conditioner made by any brand company, it could be a natural conditioner like beaten egg yolks, mayonnaise, or my personal favorites olive oil and coconut oil. But definitely, don't just use shampoo ALONE on your hair keep looking and experimenting with the right kind of conditioner.
I'd like to add that from further reading your post, its clear to me that you don't stick to any particular product for a substantial period of time. You see, all of us have some sort of product residue on our hair right now, whether it be the sulfates in the shampoos or the silicones and fatty alcohols in the conditioners we use there will always be traces of every product we've used on our hair. What this means is that the first time you use any kind of product, it will not be able to achieve its full effects on your hair because your hair is already partially coated with the residues of the products that you've used previously. It take at least two whole weeks of using one particular product for one specific purpose alone in order to see its true effect on your hair. So I'd be more patient if I were you in picking a suitable conditioner. And again it doesn't have to be a man-made conditioner. You can apply mayonnaise or olive and coconut oils into your hair and sleep with it in your hair overnight.(Wrap your hair in a towel so you don't stain your pillow that much and also double bag your pillow). In the morning, try only using just one shampoo to wash out the oil or mayonnaise from your hair. You really don't want to use that much shampoo to wash it out, otherwise you will have completely washed out ALL OF THE OILS that were just applied to your hair which would make all of this just a waste of time.
It's probably unlikely that conditioner can be bad for you. But if you find out that strangely enough you shouldn't use conditioners, congrats. You'll probably save a lot of money from not buying conditioner over the years ;)
Most of the conditioners I use increase my dandruff (flaky scalp) problem, so from my experience they can be bad indeed. Took a while to figure out though.
Where exactly to you put the conditioner? It should only be applied to hair from about your ears and down. You might run into problems if you put it to close to the scalp.
I can't run a comb through my hair without condtioner.
Have you tried salon condtioners or only "drug store" condtioners. There is a world of difference between them (not much difference in shampoos).
And use less shampoo.
Hey everyone,
Thanks for your advice. I do indeed generally use drugstore products, and maybe more importantly, when I put the conditioner in, I put it in ALL my hair.
I didn't know this could be bad... but I will try only applying the conditioner from the ears down, and not too close to the scalp, which I certainbly do.
I didn't know that was bad for you though?
I will also try a non-drugstore conditioner.
Well for some they don't need conditioner. If you are, KUDOS!....I am not that lucky. However I did have a TON of bad luck with most drug store conditioners, except oddly enough, the cheap suave stuff. Some of that was wonderful.
Aaaaand then someone on this board had to mention a company called Lush. All natural good old hippie care products. And Antesse will dread it for the rest of his time he is by my side {'honey, pleeeeeeaaaaasssssseeeee can we go to mayfair and visit lush....pppplllleeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaassseeeeeeeeeeee???????)
Wonderful stuff though, a little pricy but the solid shampoos are AMAZING. I use squeaky green for regular use and Hybrid after I go swimming in a chlorine pool and it cleans my hair well, leave a nice natural scent plus isnt polluting the earth with more freaken bottles, PLUS it lasts a MUCH longer time then liquid. I also use thier Henna to dye my hair as I hate my natural hair color wich is a dark blonde that has been going VERY grey since I was about 16 years old, which is wonderful for thinner hair as it helps kinda thicken it up plus it doesnt hurt the hair like regualr dyes. Then on days where my hair kinda feeling dry I use thier Veganese conditioner, just a little is all that is needed on the actual length, not scalp, and my hair will be wonderful and soft for about a week. Their stuff can be a little pricy, but not much worse then expensive drug store shampoos or brand name hair dye....pantene is like what...5-6 bucks a bottle and lasts maybe a month, I spend less then 10 on a puck of shampoo and its lasts 3 months, name brand dye is up to 15 bucks a box and some longhairs need 2 boxes and it fades and damages your hair whereas the henna is like 23 bucks for a brick, last longer, helps your hair, and even having just past shoulder length hair I only need 2 little blocks of the 6 block brick. PLUS, it doesnt really 'fade' out, you just need to redo the roots about every 2 months and anything you put on the former just turns deeper and richer red.
Hopefully some of my little ramble here helps but for now...*steps off her soapbox and stumbles to bed*