No conditioner?

[windinherhair]

A friend of mine was asking me how I get my hair so smooth because her hair is so dry. I explained to her about my method of washing my scalp, and conditioning my length, and some suggestions on products she could use. Then I come to find out that she doesn't even use conditioner!

I remember there was a time when I didnt use conditioner either because I thought it made my hair too greasy. Then I realized if I didnt use it around my scalp area then my hair really benefited from it, especially my ends! I have a naturally oily scalp.

Does anyone here shampoo only? Or was there a time when you remember being against conditioner for any reason? Now I couldnt imagine going without my conditioner!! :ponder:

[Kristen_Marie]

Oy! I hated using conditioner for two reasons when I was younger. First of all, it made showers take too long :P Second of all, it made my scalp oily, too. But like you I figured out that if I just used it on my length my hair absoultely LOVED it.

Now I can't go without conditioner either! :D

[spidermom]

I'm old enough to remember a world without conditioner, although you could get "cream rinse", which wasn't the same thing, although it helped.

[zenobia]

I remember a time when I didn't use conditioner. It lasted from infancy until I was about 14. Those were tangly times, and tears were involved whenever my hair needed to be brushed.

[Birdsong]

I have known several people who had really short hair (about a inch or two in length) who did not use conditioner because they said they did not need it. Since the shortest my hair has been is at the shoulder I have always used conditioner but I don't know about short hair.

[cardamom]

I hardly used conditioners before LHC.I never thought it could make such a huge difference in the texture.

[adiapalic]

I never went without conditioner my whole life, but I do remember it making showers seem to take forever. I, also, had to learn to stop conditioning my already naturally oily scalp.

[HairColoredHair]

I didn't condition as a pre-teen because it took too long. Also I wasn't in the habit, since my mother had cut my hair very short as a child and never used conditioner on it after the cut. I also ripped my brush through my hair, etc.

I figured it out eventually.

[Jenn of Pence]

Mom said I might "overcondition" (i.e. make greasy??) if I did it too often. Also, I hated trying to smear it around since it didn't lather like shampoo, so I used a 2-in-1 for a long time. Now I'm not sure I can get enough!

[Honestwitness]

I usually use conditioner. However, just as an experiment, I've done my last two washes with shampoo only and then a tiny bit of coconut oil on the length. I have very fine hair and it gets really dry and ugly with shampoo only. But the coconut oil makes it very nice. I like conditioner, but it does require more rinsing.

I have decided I like to use shampoo only, then coconut oil, then scrunch the length with water and a dab of conditiioner rubbed on my hands. Less rinsing and the conditioner gives my hair some weight, so it hangs prettier. If I want really nice waves, I scrunch with mousse or spray gel, too.

[pennylane]

when i was a child my mother never used to put conditioner on my hair.

nowadays i simply couldn't live without conditioner ... it's an integral part of my hair routine. :)

[emmabovary]

I've always used conditioner, even when I had a pixie cut. My hair would be a dry tangly mess without it. One of my close friends uses shampoo only though, but she has unfortunately given up completely on her own hair, convinced it would never look anywhere near good on its own, and wears extensions.

[Nera]

Oh... No...
I think, (and hope), my mother used conditioner on my hair when I was young. It dreads up if i don't.

[IcarusBride]

Somehow in my family it's the 'norm' that children do not use (do not need?) conditioner. I wasn't 'allowed' (not that I was forbidden, just that it was never even introduced to me!) to use conditioner until I was almost a teenager. That said, I always used "2-in-1" shampoos, so it wasn't as bad as 'shampoo only'.

Currently I water-only wash, and use coconut oil as a leave in on the last half frequently.

[Svenja]

My twin sister does not use conditioner at all. She hates it. And she's got gorgeous hair! It's all healthy and shiny, not dry or brittle. I don't understand how that works... being identical you should assume we have more or less the same hair structure, but nooooo...!

[XcaliburGirl]

I've used conditioner for as long as I remember. It does seem to work better for me on the length only.
I always have to bring conditioner to hotels since most only have shampoo and my hair would get really dry and crunchy after washing.

Now for the first time, I'm not using conditioner as I am trying shampoo bars.

[Calaelen]

I don't use conditioner as I find my hair not needing it with my almost all natural routine. I've recently started using monistat on my scalp, and I wash it out with VERY diluted organic herb shampoo, but I still don't find I need conditioner even with that.

I wash my hair once or twice a week with an egg/lemon wash, and as needed, I put cocnout oil on my ends. My hair has never felt better.

[Tap Dancer]

There's never been a time in my life when I didn't use conditioner and there never will be! My scalp tends to get oily within a couple of days, but the length is dry. I :heartbeat conditioner!

[Newniepg]

My mum always refused to buy it, she thought it was a waste of money. My hair needs conditioner or horrible things happen to it!

[breezefaerie]

Growing up, I never used conditioner because my mother never bought it. At the time, she had WL hair that I have no idea how she managed without conditioner! Brushing was always painful and there were lots of tears trying to get the tangles out of my own hair.

Now I can't live without it!

[Gulbahar]

Most of the times I don't use conditioner because it makes my hair too soft and straight. I use oils instead.

[Lamb]

I used conditioner very, very rarely before LHC. :) I survived. True, I never had long hair, I once let it grow to about APL, but that was it.
Honestly, I think it's perfectly OK not to use conditioner if you have a washing method that provides plenty of moisture without it. Right now, on my short bob, I use a 2-in-1 (Dove for dry hair), with a leave-in afterwards. My hair looks fine. I don't know what it will be like when my it gets longer, though.

And yes, there is such a thing as overconditioning. My hair has gotten mushy and blah more than once as a result of using too much conditioner, too often, of a too heavy kind.

[akevita2002]

My sister doesn't use conditioner and also uses a shampoo type which dries my hair as hell (I once tried it because I ran out of shampoo) and she has healthy moistured looking hair!

I didn't use conditioner when my hair was shorter, now I do but I'm trying to find a way to replace it because it doesn't really moisture my hair.

[Bast]

I was always scared to, because there were too many times I'd come out of the shower and my mother would say "Bast, you still have conditioner in your hair!" I'd then end up bent over the kitchen sink getting my hair rinsed, again.

Now I CWC, and use some VO5 as a leave-in on the ends when they start feeling crunchy. My hair loves it, as long as I keep it away from the scalp. (Too close to the skin, and I get greasy within a couple hours. :rolleyes:)

[Deborah]

I don't use conditioner as conditioner at all.

I use it sometimes to CO, but never follow up with a second conditioner. My hair doesn't seem to need it. But then again, I never use shampoo either, so that may be why I don't need conditioner.

I wash with either Indian herbs, CO or Borax, followed by an acidic rinse, either citric acid or white vinegar. My theory is that if you don't strip your hair while washing, then you don't need to add moisture back. Works for me. :flower:

[Capybara]

I remember the first time I used conditioner on myself, when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My mother had always washed and conditioned my hair before, and I decided it was time to wash my one hair. Well, it took about an hour, because I couldn't figure out why the conditioner wasn't lathering! :p

Now I understand ... :rolleyes:

I've never washed with shampoo only, though, except the days when I run out of conditioner.

[Amelia]

I've recently dropped the conditioner because I oil the night before, and came to understand that the conditioner takes away the oil from my hair, making it pointless to have oiled in the first place. So, i'm experimenting, and so far so good. I oil up my length and wash with shampoo only.

[x0h_bother]

I shampood only for the same reasons you stated, and I just didn't "need" conditioner. Then I flat ironed my hair to death and began to get dry ends and started using conditioner.

[x0h_bother]

I've recently dropped the conditioner because I oil the night before, and came to understand that the conditioner takes away the oil from my hair, making it pointless to have oiled in the first place. So, i'm experimenting, and so far so good. I oil up my length and wash with shampoo only.
While I find I don't need as much conditioner after oiling, I also find the oil effects to be lasting after I CWC post-oiling. So my hair doesn't get stripped by the conditioner taking the oil out. The oil persists.

[Amelia]

While I find I don't need as much conditioner after oiling, I also find the oil effects to be lasting after I CWC post-oiling. So my hair doesn't get stripped by the conditioner taking the oil out. The oil persists.

I'll give it a try one of these days. Thanks for the advice!

[*Aoife*]

My mam never put conditioner on my hair when I was younger. I'm semi curly... We had daily battles! Plus I have a sensitive scalp so it hurt even more.

Now I CO mostly. Big difference :)

[windinherhair]

It is interesting how many of you mention about never having conditioner when you were a child. I always remember having it, but sometimes I never used it. I remember the bottles very clearly, my step mom usually bought Suave and my mom had the Herbal Essences.

[nowxisxforever]

I kind of go back and forth. I don't need to use conditioner because I only shampoo my scalp, and stretch washings pretty long. My hair feels better when I use it, but only slightly - it doesn't do nearly as much for me as it does for some of you ;)

I've been using a 2 in 1 shampoo (only on scalp, mind!) which is nice because it doesn't strip my scalp as badly as regular shampoo does. I can't do CO, it doesn't work out for me.

Edit: I've recently switched to Aussie Moist S&C (and the 2 in 1...) which is really nice.

[ratgirldjh]

My hair pretty much hates conditioners. But then I wash with either borax and citric acid or soapnuts and only the scalp.

The few times that I try and do CO my hair sometimes looks good for one or 2 washes but then rapidly gets dry and tangly.

It seems my hair gets MORE tangles from conditioners. However I love Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose and if I could figure out how to keep it from building up so fast I would CO wash with it faithfully.

Years ago I found that if I just washed my scalp with diluted shampoo and then used a tiny bit of rosemary oil on the ends that my hair was happier than if I used conditioner. I've pretty much never looked back except for trying CO several times and being dissappointed.

Mostly I only put clear liquids - ones I can see through anyway - on my hair - because it seems that I can feel the residue of anything else... go figure :D

[OperaTeacherMom]

I do always remember using conditioner, or a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. However, I always battled my straight haired mom who said you only need a dime sized amount of conditioner. On curly hair, that just doesn't work! I did it for a long time though. Pretty sure we always had the really cheap, thin conditioners too. They did NOTHING for my hair lol

[Mystical9]

I couldn't live without my conditioners! I switch off between five of my faves. The only thing I don't like about using them is the time it takes to rinse them out. I am really OCD about rinsing my hair so it takes forever. I even use conditioner on my 3 yr. old daughter's hair...I'm most likely going to turn her into a hair care freak too, lol!


http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab121/MysticalSkye/backofhair.jpg

[aksown]

We always had conditioner, usually Suave, VO5 or White Rain. I don't specifically recall using it myself though. The earliest conditioner memories I have are from 8th grade. The teasing about my freshly washed greasy hair made me quit using it. I don't recall if I just cut back, or quit using it altogether. It's funny though since I CO wash now with Suave Naturals and my hair LOVES it.

[jaine]

Shampoo dries my hair out so badly that it needs conditioner, and styling products gunk up my hair so that it needs shampoo ... I'm not using any of them at the moment and my hair looks better than ever :D

[Quixii]

I'm pretty sure I've always used conditioner. I can't imagine my hair without conditioner. It would be awful. (There was one time where I didn't use conditioner to see, and it was super frizzy tangles! D: )

[rapunzhell13]

My sister never let her kids use her conditioner and they constantly had extremely knotty hair. I don't get it. Why do parents not think children's hair needs conditioner too?