Conditioner in dry hair...

[ladycaladium]

My question probably has an obvious answer, but I figured I would ask it anyway.

Is it alright to put conditioner on dry hair for an hour or so before rinsing it out? Would it soak in better than if my hair was wet? I have some Body Shop banana conditioner that seems okay-ish on its ingredients, doesn't seem to have cones, and I just wanted to slather it on my hair while I do laundry and other chore around the house, then hop in the shower. What do you all think? TIA!

[chopandchange]

I always put conditioner on dry hair if I'm doing a deep treatment. It avoids the awful dripping and the cold head feeling.

If you're worried that not enough moisture will get in there, you can always add some water to your conditioner and mix it up before putting it on. It makes it easier to distribute if it's watered down a bit. That's what I do.

But I think most conditioner already contains water anyway.

[katha]

YES!
That works great for me, I do it every few weeks or so.
Sometimes, if I feel fancy, I add whatever kind of oils I have there, and a little bit of honey (honey can lighten hair so I'm careful with that). Leave it in for a while, pack it into something so it doesn't dry out so much. Just make sure you rinse well. I shampoo, usually, because of that oil.

[Nae]

Yep, do it! I bet your hair will love you for it. Actually, that is often how I CO, just put it on dry hair and wander around for a while. (Sometimes up to an hour.) Then I rinse it all out, and I have clean shiny hair!

[Fayjoi]

Yes, it also works great for me. I always put it on dry or damp hair, put on the heatcap for an hour and rinse it out in the shower. I use it as a CO, so I don't use shampoo to get it out.

[ladycaladium]

Thanks, I'm going to give it a shot, see how my hair likes it.

[trillcat]

This is how I CO if my hair is really greasy, cuts through the gunk better than if I wet it down first. I don't notice any difference in the softness of my hair, comes out about the same.

[triumphator!]

I do this all the time! You'll be good :)

[kwaniesiam]

I used to always do that with SMT but I find that my hair would need a lot more when putting it on dry hair. With wet or at least damp hair it spreads around easier. Give it a try and see if you like it.

[summergame]

You need a lot more conditioner when you put it on dry hair I think,but if it works better I should do it if I was you! Do you tell us the results?

[Igor]

Some people do it, other people find it becomes harder to rinse that way

[Othala]

I apply Matrix Biolage on dry hair, bag it and do my housework. Hair loves it and as the others have said - no drips!

[Heidi_234]

It's the only way I use conditioner! :D I remember starting a thread about it, and many people found it helpful, so go ahead and do it! :D I swear by it. :)

[Chiara]

Yes, I also find it works well and cleans better then on wet hair.

[may1em]

I've always kind of wondered if I could do SMTs on damp hair instead of having to get it sopping wet first so that sticky honey runs can ooze down my neck.

When I was in Spain a couple summers ago, I had this hair mask with an ingredients list that looked like a cheapie conditioner, and using that on dry hair was really quite good for a CO (it could even get disco smell out of my hair!)

[SilvraShadows]

I do this a lot as a prewash treatment and it's something I've been doing since I came here some six years ago. Sometimes I mix a little oil in with it, sometimes I apply the conditioner then top it off with a little oil. The oil helps it to stay soft because depending on the conditioner, it can get crunchy stiff. But Alaffia has a Hair Lotion leave-in with shea butter and coconut oil that works very well.

If I am using a conditioner that I know will get stiff, I like to wear a cap to keep that from happening. If it does happen, I just don't touch my hair and when the warm water hits it, it softens up right away.

[GoddesJourney]

I typically apply a CO wash to dry hair. Actually, when I do shampoo the roots, I apply it to dry hair as well. I find it's easier to keep everything under control that way. Less mess, less wasted product. I add a tiny bit of water after it's in to "activate" the product. By that I mean spread the conditioner or lather the shampoo. By the way, I love the banana stuff. I mixed it 50/50 with that Alaffia Hair Lotion lemmongrasss stuff and the effects are amazing. The combined scent and combined nutrient effect made an amazing DMT.

[ghost]

I feel like it takes forever and I have to use more of whatever product I'm using when I apply conditioner to dry hair, but it works really well. Sometimes I mist my hair just a little bit with a spray bottle of water, just to help the conditioner spread farther.

[Phexlyn]

I think that goes on my "try it out"-list! It sounds so convenient for CO because you don't have to have your hair wet for an extended time :) I'm a bit impatient when it comes to washing my hair and this sounds like a good solution. Thanks everyone for posting this.

Do others (apart from ElveaRose) also find that the condish becomes stiff? Does it bother you much?

To OP: I hope you're successful with your treatment! Nothing wrong with putting condish on dry hair obviously, and please post your results :)

[growingmyhair]

now that's creepy. I don't know if I want to try this because
1) I would need A LOT of conditioner
2) conditioner won't spread well this way and I will probably have half my hair (especially underneath) not covered
3) I don't think I trust my conditioner with my hair for longer than 5 mins
4) I gave up my cone conditioner two days ago and things don't look like I will get a cone free substitute any time soon

[katha]

Well you would need more conditioner than you normally would, growingmyhair.
Coverage isn't really an issue, you just need to be careful when you put it in. I like to seperate my hair as if I'd do a half up, lather that part, put it somewhere safe (like, for instance, half up ^^ ) and do the rest. Works fine.

To be honest I don't see why you find this creepy?

Oh and one thing, if you don't trust your conditioner with your hair for long periods of time, you should really think about using a different one in general.

[luxepiggy]

I just did this for the first time last night (with SMT) and my hair looks fantastic today! super shiny & soft, I keep wanting to touch it (^(oo)^)

[Garnetgem]

I always apply conditioner onto damp hair it absorbs much better,and sometimes i will apply then wrap it in cling film this helps it give a deep conditoner and many ask my secret as my hair is so shiny,my secret is the cling film works every time :)

[seaweed_maenad]

Once upon a time I was a manager at Lush and we were told in trainings that the deep conditioners are *always* put on dry hair. Lo and behold it worked wonders. Now I CWC (thanks to LHC ;) and I always put a conditioner (lately a cheapie but lots of good stuff in there still) on dry before washing out, shampooing then conditioning again. The difference in my hair has been remarkable. The breakage I was getting is all but gone and tons of shine !

[a.steeez]

Wouldnt hurt to try! Im not sure about it though because your conditioner is designed to be put with wet hair. Im not sure if putting it on dry if your hair will soak it or not though. Find a tx thats meant to be put on dry hair. Not be tooting the coconut oil bandwagon but that works amazing on dry hair i use it as an overnight and i get fantastic results! I would highly recommend doing a tx, its best for overnight too

[Wusel]

Once upon a time I was a manager at Lush and we were told in trainings that the deep conditioners are *always* put on dry hair. Lo and behold it worked wonders. Now I CWC (thanks to LHC ;) and I always put a conditioner (lately a cheapie but lots of good stuff in there still) on dry before washing out, shampooing then conditioning again. The difference in my hair has been remarkable. The breakage I was getting is all but gone and tons of shine !

I do exactly the same. :) Not always, as I'm BSL+ only, but from time to time. :)