Leave In vs. Rinse Out/Wash Out Conditioners??

[AveSantaMaria]

Maybe someone can help me out a tiny bit here. :) What is the difference between a leave in and a rinse out/wash out conditioner? Can I leave rinse out/wash out conditioners in my hair without long-term ill effects if they seem to be especially moisturizing and my hair love moisture? Hope to hear from you soon :cheese:

[kdm310911]

A leave in conditioner is usually a spray of some type that you spray in damp hair after washing it. A rinse out conditioner is one you apply after shampooing, still in the shower, and then rinse out after a few minutes of letting it soak in.

You can use both -- the rinse out will be rinsed out, obviously, so you can then spray on a leave in with no ill effect. Your hair will probably love it, especially if your hair is 4b like your profile says.

[tinabcurly]

Leave-ins are usually light weight while Rinse outs tend to be heavier/thicker so most people rinse them out to avoid getting weighed down hair. You could certainly leave in regular conditioner if you need the moisture.

I'm a 3a & use a Tbsp of rinse out as my leave in every time I wash. Sometimes I even use a deep treatment condish as my leave in... depends on what my hair needs.

[Anje]

Also, most of the leave-ins I've seen (on the supermarket shelves, at least) are little more than silicone compounds in water. The rinse-out variety tend to have emulsifying alcohols (which my hair apparently loves), so I suspect they're more moisturizing.

[spidermom]

I use about a kidney bean sized squirt of rinse-out conditioner as a leave-in conditioner. My hairs stays nicely moisturized and a little less tangly with that.