I’ve just discovered I have curly hair after not using conditioner - advice needed!

[Lou86]

Over the years I have not helped my hair - it has been bleached, washed every day and dried on the hottest hairdryer setting with straightening irons then used. If I let my hair dry naturally it would look very limp with a slight wave to it. During the last few months I have swapped my shampoo and conditioner to natural based ones without chemicals and tried to wash it less frequently and apply less heat. Last week I washed my hair and decided not to use conditioner. When I got out the shower my hair looked REALLY wavy and after letting it dry naturally I discovered it was full of volume - corkscrew curls underneath and very wavy on top! (It is just below my shoulders in length) Since then I have not used any products on my hair sort from shampoo and it honestly looks the best it has ever looked (although there is a tiny bit of frizz at the front) My question is however, will it damage my hair in the long run not using conditioner? Also, I have read into the curly girl method which seems to be based on applying only conditioner (which I think would make my hair worse as it seems to be weighing it down!) Any advice would be appreciated! My hair is VERY fine but I have a lot of it. Thanks

[lapushka]

I would use conditioner. But since you aren't using conditioner, you could possibly do a hairtyping for us, take a picture (back of the head), and then we can see where you're at (wavy or curly).

[TwilightMermaid]

Have you tried using a silicone free conditioner? Using a small amount of a light but moisturizing conditioner could help define curls without weighing them down.

[*Wednesday*]

Is your hair still carrying bleach and hot tools damage? If so, conditioner is meant to hold in moisture and provide some slip. It will help hydrate the hair. Damaged hair can actually lose texture and won’t return until is grown out and cut away. Waves and curls can become less defined with bleach/heat damage. You mentioned it’s “wavy on top.” Is that your new growth?
I have very fine hair as well, however my waves aren’t weighed down by products that eliminate my waves. I wash twice weekly (Shampoo and Co) and oil my hair after every wash when it’s damp. Unless you have a very loose wave?

[Katia_k]

You'll want to work some moisturizing method into your routine, even if you don't use conditioner, but maybe there's a really light one you can use, or you could skip conditioning in the shower and just use a leave-in. Or maybe there's a natural way you could do it that's very light with no chemicals. Just spitballing here, since I literally can't get enough moisture to go into my hair so I have the opposite issue.

[lunalocks]

I don't use conditioner after I wash (I use it before, to get out the oil). What I do use is catnip tea as a soak and then use generic baby oil on the ends when they are still damp. Air drying with only finger combing gives me waves,sometimes spirals. I, too,never knew I had wavy hair. It just depends on what your hair wants.

[SwanFeathers]

try a super light conditioner, or watering it down. renpure tends to be very light

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

I don't use conditioner at all. But use coconut milk before wash. I find that my hair is much softer and stays moisturised. I don't need to oil between washes.
I am hoping not using conditioner is not damaging. However I like my hair better. It's not weighed down and neither is it dry between washes. I am 6 months no conditioner.