Can you use a product, that's not meant to be leave in AS leave in?

[juliaxena]

Can you? And how do you know if something will work well as leave in? Thanks for replys.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Can you? And how do you know if something will work well as leave in? Thanks for replys.


I do all the time. I guess it depends on your hair texture, mine is curly and pretty forgiving so using a regular conditioner for a leave in really helps with hold. Now someone with fine hair might find that a regular conditioner is too heavy to be used as a leave in and ways their hair down or makes it look greasy.

[Furyah]

Depends. IMHO I would advise to check for greasy (natural oils, or industrial ones (silicones, like dimeth. and siloxane)) stuff. If you have porous hair you may have good benefits. But you may well end up looking greasy.

Remember: IMHO. the best way forever and ever is to try on a weekend.

[RoseRedDead]

It depends on what your hair likes...

The only way to know for sure is trial and error.

I use regular conditioner as a leave-in all the time, with no problems so long as I don't over-apply.

[Akiko]

I sometimes use VO5 conditioner as leave-in. But I have to dilute with water.

[Peter]

I used to use a coney conditioner as a leave-in. There are probably some products that won't work well as leave-ins but I don't think there's any substantial risk in trying them out.

[Carolyn]

And how do you know if something will work well as leave in? Well you don't know until you try. Just experiment and try using what ever products you are thinking might work as a leave in. What's the worst that can happen? You have to wash your hair the next day?

[Vanya]

I do it all the time! After my last rinse, I put a tiiiiny glob of my regular conditioner on the last 1/3 of my very wet hair and I'm done. It works wonders. But as with everything pertaining to hair, what works for one person might not work for another.

[Brownie]

I use a lot of normal conditioner on my dry hair, it drinks it up :D

[Arctic]

It's almost impossible to find an actual leave-ins here that are free of proteins, silicones, alcohol... I still haven't found a perfect rinse-out conditioner for a leave-in but I often use the one I have, I mix it with aloe and perhaps a bit of EVOO or shea.

[GlassEyes]

As long as it's like, conditioner and not highly caustic acid, or something. I mean, we use oils as leave-ins all the time, and they're not traditionally (by the media) marketed as such as stand-alone products.

That said, there are a few concerns. I use conditioners as leave-ins all the time, but it's worth looking into the ingredients. Certain preservatives and parabens are worth researching beforehand--and figuring out whether they concern you or not.

[Anje]

Definitely. Lots of folks here use conditioner as a leave-in. Some like a dollop of their standard stuff, some like to use something heavy like Biolage Conditioning Balm (can we abbreviate that BCB?).

Personally, I find that the results are often rather sticky, and would probably get better results if I really diluted it and sprayed it on. Then again, I'm experimenting with a somewhat coney leave-in that contains some standard conditioner ingredients right now, and I find that also gives me sticky results if I'm heavy-handed.

[GlassEyes]

Definitely. Lots of folks here use conditioner as a leave-in. Some like a dollop of their standard stuff, some like to use something heavy like Biolage Conditioning Balm (can we abbreviate that BCB?).

Personally, I find that the results are often rather sticky, and would probably get better results if I really diluted it and sprayed it on. Then again, I'm experimenting with a somewhat coney leave-in that contains some standard conditioner ingredients right now, and I find that also gives me sticky results if I'm heavy-handed.

Are you using it on dry hair? I find the wetter my hair is when I apply it, the better. But since your hair is straight-ish, you might be right with the spray-on.

And I think NC abbreviates it that way. XD;

[Heidi_234]

Trial an error. I think the posters before me pretty much said it all.
I use my thick heavy conditioner as a leave in, lots of it.

Some though say that conditioner on the scalp makes them shed more. I don't really work it into my scalp (it's the length that is thirsty for moisture anyway), I don't find it necessary at all.

[Speckla]

I use Suave and Shikai conditioners as leave-ins. I will added them to soaking wet hair or I will spray my hair with water and scrunch a little in. It works great. No problems. Sometimes I layer gel over it.

[Othala]

Can't do a damp bun without some kind of conditioner in my hair. I use PK Elasticizer as a leave in almost every day (it's supposed to be used as a pre-wash treatment).

Basically, you can use conditioners as leave ins. I would not advise that with any other type of product.

[*Rose Red*]

I sometimes use conditioner as a leave-in, or face lotion as leave-in. Some of my handcreme work, too!

[ktani]

The only caution is that some of the preservatives and other ingredients in rinse out products are in higher percentages specifically designed for rinse out products as opposed to those recommended for leave-ins. The result may be some skin irritation.

[Funsizedbaby]

I'm guessing that you probably can. I knew someone once who used her strawberry body lotion as a kind of leave in condtioner I guess?

[jivete]

I do. I use the Biolage Conditioning Balm.

[jesamyn]

I use Nature's Gate Daily Conditioner as a leave-in. I just use a very little bit and smooth it through while my hair is still very wet. I vote for experimenting to see what works for you. :)

[Elfe]

Sometimes I like to use conditioner as leave in.
I also found out, that a specific bodybutter with macadamia nut and carite butter works really well for my hair! :love:

[piratejenny23]

hi, this may sound really obvious, but i'm new to pampering my hair so what i do is try new stuff on HALF of my hair! sometimes i even divide it into thirds--do a half-up ponytail, then divide the remaining hair in half and pull it forward--the back part is my "control" and this way i can try 2 different products/recipes at once.

i usually do this in the evening--that could be after work for some people, no work for me lately!--and rinse it out before bed if i don't like it, or wash my hair in the morning.

it's fun!

[Islandgrrl]

You can use stuff that's not made for leaving in as a leave in as long as it agrees with your hair. I do it all the time. Depending on the product, results have been excellent all the way down to, "I'll never try THAT again!" :nono: