I don't like conditioners

[ghanima]

am I crazy? :bigeyes:
am I the only one?:joy:



I CO-washed this morning after years I didn't use conditioners: the scalp feels fine, so in that regard I would be ok with it, but the hair are horribly caked. And the curls look absolutely horrible! And the little area of dried points, which was the reason for the whole experiment, is as dry as before... caked and dry, if that is even possible. I admit I also added some mineral oil after the acid rinse, but last week I experimented with it (without conditioner) and it went great. Maybe it's either/or? in that case I'd vote for mineral oil hands down...

[lapushka]

Maybe CO-washing isn't for you? You can keep on trying for a while, but then you have to draw your conclusion. Not every method works for everybody, and there's tons of other methods around. You can go low-sulfate or no-sulfate.

[dogzdinner]

Everybody's hair is different so maybe conditioner just doesnt suit you. Doesnt give me any issues but TBH I prefer oils. Normally I just use a coconut and argan oil shampoo bar followed by argan oil on the length.
TBH the whole chemical composition thing confuses me!

[ghanima]

Yes, I am already no-sulfate. Or maybe it's only no SLS? have to check

dogzdinner, I tend to think in the same way, then again here in LHC you find people with fantastic hair to their feet and they condition with commercial conditioners. So that was an eye-opener. And last week I pushed my taboos by trying baby oil and I loved it!
One reason why I tried the conditioner is also that deep-conditioning with oils makes me shed a little more than I am comfortable with. So I was looking for some new perspective. Also, I am curly and conditioning is said to be such a must for curlies, well I guess every rule has its exceptions. For me, the thing that banned frizz from my hair permanently and made the most lovely and soft curls is cold acv+water rinses. I did them this time too but the cakey thing prevails... oh well. Maybe I just went too far by using both conditioner and mineral oil.

[spidermom]

It sounds like you have buildup and need to clarify. You need a clarifying shampoo for that. Sulfate free shampoo cannot remove buildup. All kinds of things build up on hair - conditioners, oils, silicones, etc. I use a clarifying shampoo every few months, whenever I notice that my hair is either limp and dull or crazy fly-away and tangly.

[flickm]

I dont like conditioners either. They leave my hair waxy and dull, even the natural, non chemical ones. My hair does way better with vinegar rinses.

[meteor]

If your hair doesn't like conditioners, of course you don't need to use them. It's as simple as that. :D Especially since you already use oils and other products... Also, CO-washing doesn't necessarily work for many people (especially if the scalp is unhappy or the hair always feels coated) or for some - it only works with periodic clarifying...


dogzdinner, I tend to think in the same way, then again here in LHC you find people with fantastic hair to their feet and they condition with commercial conditioners. So that was an eye-opener. And last week I pushed my taboos by trying baby oil and I loved it!

I'm curious: are there any people on the LHC with hair down to their feet who don't use commercial conditioners? :hmm:
I've read some articles about people around the world with extra-long hair who don't use commercial products (e.g. the Red Yao women (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y45KMpCcBYU) who use rice water), but it's only because it's not customary there or simply due to lack of availability - not because conditioners are considered "bad".
I think conditioners can help a lot with detangling, protective coating and they can temporarily impart some aesthetic qualities (e.g. shine, smoothness, softness)... but they aren't that critical. :shrug:

[ghanima]

I'm curious: are there any people on the LHC with hair down to their feet who don't use commercial conditioners? :hmm:
I've read some articles about people around the world with extra-long hair who don't use commercial products (e.g. the Red Yao women (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y45KMpCcBYU) who use rice water), but it's only because it's not customary there or simply due to lack of availability - not because conditioners are considered "bad".
I think conditioners can help a lot with detangling, protective coating and they can temporarily impart some aesthetic qualities (e.g. shine, smoothness, softness)... but they aren't that critical. :shrug:
Good question! to my knowledge, no-one, and that's why my result left me so puzzled!
But I am using the mineral oil, which I have loved right away so it's a keeper unless future events make me change idea, and Ktani wrote in her posts about MO that using conditioner isn't necessary if you use mineral oil. So it may be a case of both together being too much.

btw I am willing to give the rice water a try soon too, there was a thread about it these days. Not fermented though...

[lapushka]

I'm curious: are there any people on the LHC with hair down to their feet who don't use commercial conditioners? :hmm:

I'm not sure, but I quite doubt it, TBH.

[KittyBird]

I believe Madora uses mineral oil instead of conditioner, and she's past knee length now, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she wrote somewhere that she doesn't use conditioner. :)

[meteor]

I believe Madora uses mineral oil instead of conditioner, and she's past knee length now, I think. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she wrote somewhere that she doesn't use conditioner. :)

Yes, I think I remember those posts, too. :agree:
I hope Madora will jump in on this thread. :)

[allycat]

I'm pretty sure she does. I think she has talked about her favorite conditioner being one from the George Michael salon.

[ghanima]

I dont like conditioners either. They leave my hair waxy and dull, even the natural, non chemical ones. My hair does way better with vinegar rinses.
Oh I love the vinegar rinses too, so much! diluted with cold water
Still I feel the need to moisturize. I do braid the hair at night with some acid water sprayed, so it stays humid for some hours

[lapushka]

I'm pretty sure she does. I think she has talked about her favorite conditioner being one from the George Michael salon.

Yep, the cream rinse. So yes, I do think she does use conditioner. :)

[meteor]

^ Hmm, I thought it was a creme shampoo that she used? :hmm: For example, here:

They are rich. A few members have complained about the strong "baby shampoo" smell.

I use the pink creme shampoo and love it. It's been my sole shampoo of choice since 1982.
Oh well, I guess we'll need to wait for Madora. :D

[lunalocks]

I am 2 inches past classic and I don't use conditioner. At least not after shampooing. I start with getting hair wet and then applying conditioner to length and ends. This is to get out the mineral oil I have applied nearly every day. Then I shampoo and rinse. Then I soak ends and length (about 2 feet of hair) in catnip tea. Then let dry. When ends are still damp one to two drops mineral oil on ends. Let air dry the rest of the way. Haven't used conditioner for over 2 years.

[KittyBird]

^ Hmm, I thought it was a creme shampoo that she used? :hmm: For example, here:

Oh well, I guess we'll need to wait for Madora. :D
Yeah, I think it's just the shampoo she uses. Let's hope she sees this thread and tells us about her routine :D

[stachelbeere]

from what I remember Madora washes her hair with a George Michael creme pink shampoo...? I somehow memorized the name. But I don't remember whether she uses conditioner. She does use mineral oil and a BBB though ...

[HairPlease]

I use conditioner but I'm not getting results. Funny I found this thread because yesterday I bought some argon oil spray blend and I used only it today, no conditioner. Hair is very happy. I may continue with this and I'll post my results.

[pailin]

I can't imagine not using conditioner myself (I have horribly tangly fine hair, and have left a trail of broken combs and brushes in the past) but I know many girls here where I live never use it. Even on long hair. So, it all depends on your hair. If not using conditioner works for you, then you can save some money.

[ghanima]

ah! you just gave me the idea of adding some MO to my water+vinegar spray, just to improve the moisturing effect of the water I spray every evening. Like a few drops, no big thing.

[ghanima]

pailing, yeah the detangling factor is a thing... MO improves it for me. Before MO I was in trouble

[pailin]

I've stayed away from mineral oil as much as possible, but I keep hearing good things about it lately. Glad to hear it works for you!

[catasa]

I don´t have much luck with conditioners either, I use mineral oil leave in instead also. Mineral oil over conditioner (rinse out or leave in) is a total disaster for me... Mineral oil on it´s own, success for a long time but sometimes nowadays I need something more moisturizing. Then I have used conditioner but only about every third wash, sometimes it works OK result-wise, sometimes not, and that is also prone to give me that yucky build-uppy feeling. I tend to use conditioner before shampooing, for this reason, it makes it a little better.

Anyway, lately I´ve been experimenting with using honey as conditioner - I mean straight up, pure honey and nothing else. And it has worked very well! I apply it as I would a conditioner (but most often after shampooing), leave it in a couple of minutes, rinse, and use my regular mineral oil leave in = nice, soft hair and for me very frizz-free waves and spirals! :)

After using it for a number of weeks I do notice that it also gives me some buildup, but not nearly as much as regular conditioner. And I also still seem to sometimes need to take a wash or two without anything other than shampoo and mineral oil, otherwise it gets straightish, frizzy and unruly, so a guess is that I simply don´t need that amount of moisture. Still experimenting, I will try to use the honey every other wash for a while now (I wash every second day).

So, straight honey can be something to try for those who want or need something moisturizing but can´t handle regular condish!

[lapushka]

Gosh, I'd rather use conditioner. I generally shy away from DIY stuff and natural products because I don't want to clog my drain. Can't be good that you're pouring honey down the drain, or too much oil (one or two drops probably won't kill you, but saturated hair with oil).

[yahirwaO.o]

A nice advice is to condition first, rinse and then wash as usual. Really few conditioners work for me in the classic Shampoo-Condition method or other variations, but this way is so neat and my hair feels silky while bouncyness remains. Im givin MO a try with both my method and without conditoner and well see how it works.

[catasa]

Gosh, I'd rather use conditioner. I generally shy away from DIY stuff and natural products because I don't want to clog my drain. Can't be good that you're pouring honey down the drain, or too much oil (one or two drops probably won't kill you, but saturated hair with oil).

I can´t really see why honey would be worse on drains than regular conditioner, it seems quite as water-soluble, or more so, to me. If you or anyone else know for a fact that honey would be a problem please tell me! Oils I certainly agree are not good for drains.