can any regular conditioner be used as a leave-in?

[ambychelle]

This is probably a really stupid question but I'm out of my giovanni spray leave-in. I do use coconut oil too, but it's just not the same. I'm eyeing my suave coconut conditioner and wondering if I watered it down a little or mixed it with a little coconut oil. Am I just barking up the wrong tree here?

[Merewen]

I've been using my regular conditioner as a leave-in, and it has seemed to work fine. I'm not sure about ANY conditioner though. I'll be watching this thread.

[Heidi_234]

Nope, barking the right tree. :D The only thing to watch out for is that for some conditioner on the scalp results with horrible shedding. Other than that, leave it in if it makes your hair happier. You might find conditioners heavier than leave ins, but other than that, no problem.

[Papillonnoir]

Could any of you recommend some favorites? I've tried a couple, and I thought they made my hair sticky. Then again, my hair probably is sticky anyways, and I was just imagining it was the conditioner's fault.

[mellie89]

I've used Aussie 3 Minute Miracle, Nature's Gate conditioner, and the Suave Coconut one as leave-ins with success. Just a warning, I always end up using too much. A tiny bit should do it. I only really use it on my ends, so I'm not sure if they'd give you shedding problems.

[Heidi_234]

I can never overdo with moisture on my hair, I use a big blob of my fav thick conditioner (I'm from europe, so you won't find it in the US). If you find a conditioner too heavy, you can try to apply it while your hair is soaking wet, and (gently) squeeze the water with the conditioner in it, it makes it a lighter leave in that way.

[honeybrown1976]

I use Mane N Tail's Original Conditioner as a leave-in. It keeps my hair soft!

[TheEndlessOcean]

Lately I've been using the Suave Naturals conditioner as a leave-in. I just use a tiny dab of it, and it seems to work nicely.

[Longlocks3]

I don't use just conditioner, I like to use Fox's Shea Butter(recipe here on LHC) and the part of the recipe that calls for conditioner I use my favorite(at the moment VO5 blackberry sage).

[ladylibra]

V05 is my regular conditioner "leave-in" of choice. Works well on its own, or watered down by as much as 50%, or with other additives like honey, olive oil, green tea... :D

[ambychelle]

oh fantastic! I'm going to give it a try in the morning. thanks!

[girlcat36]

I prefer leaving in a regular conditioner rather than one specified as a leave-in. Leave-ins are weird on my hair, some ingredient in them makes my hair yukky.
I use either Biolage Conditioning Balm or Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner.

[Anje]

As you can see, lots of people use normal conditioners as leave-ins with success. Me, not so much. They tend to make my hair feel sticky for some reason.

Best of luck. YMMV

[BeatlesFanGirl]

I use my organic cond. for leave-in, but only 1-2 drops, no more. Cone-y conditioners make hair sticky, at least it made mine in the past when I tried to use it as a leave-in.

[prittykitty]

I have used regular rinse out conditioners as a leave in and I ended up with hair that felt like something was stuck to it and others made my hair very dry and wiry feeling. I am leaning towards the fact that there is ingredients in the rinse out conditioners that are not meant to be left in the hair but to be rinsed out thoroughly. Also the leave in conditioners are made different so that you can leave them in and not have problems with them. I use both, a rinse out conditioner and a leave in conditioner. This works great for my hair type.

[jesamyn]

I also can't use conditioners designated as leave-ins in my hair, as they make it weird. I've been using Nature's Gate Daily Herbal Conditioner (used to be Original Herbal) as a leave-in for years. It takes only a very little, and I love the smell.

[CaityBear]

I made my own leave-in conditioner by just doing a 3:1 thing with water:conditioner and adding anything else I may want. I use a cheap, not well known brand from a dollar store to do this. It smells like bananas! :) But Suave would probably work really good.

[Papillonnoir]

I'll have to give this another couple tries. I'm glad to hear suave is popular, since I do have a little sitting around :)

[Vijikanth]

I recently started using "HIMALAYA PROTEAN HAIR CREAM" which the sales person claimed to be leave in conditioner. But it seems to do the magic. My hair is curly and wavy, so the cream helps a lot. Moreover its a herbal product. Hence no side effects as anything that remains in the hair or skin for longer time than it is required could be harmful. Take gud care of the hair and its health

[Pihu]

I recently started using "HIMALAYA PROTEAN HAIR CREAM" which the sales person claimed to be leave in conditioner. But it seems to do the magic. My hair is curly and wavy, so the cream helps a lot. Moreover its a herbal product. Hence no side effects as anything that remains in the hair or skin for longer time than it is required could be harmful. Take gud care of the hair and its health

Vijikanth, I've been using it too. But since it has methyl and propyl parabens, it weighs my hair down. It does work excellently as a pre-poo, but as a leave in, not so much for me. I do like to dilute the protein conditioner and the daily protein conditioner from the same line as a leave in though, since they have amodimethicone. I have fond memories of my mother using Himalaya's Dryness Defence detangling conditioner to deal with my knotty hair during my childhood.

[ZoeZ]

I always use my conditioner as a leave in after poo, and put a dab of mask on as well. Just on the ends.

[Dark40]

I at times use my regular conditioner as a leave-in as well, and also a mask.

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

I use my regular conditioner as a leave-in. On wet hair while still in the shower I then squish/ squeeze it.