Lets talk about leave-in conditioner

[Aliped]

I never use leave in conditioner. Not for any reason, I just never have. So last night I thought I would try sleeping with conditioner on. I chose my thickest conditioner (cone free) and lightly spread it through my hair. It seemed fine. When I got up this morning my hair was so thick and poufy, I could hardly get a wide tooth comb through it, and I could feel a residue, it was not pleasant! Should I have used a thinner conditioner?

I have slept with coconut oil on my hair before with good results and was hoping for something similar from a leave in conditioner...


What do you use for a leave in???

[angelfell]

I have never used the conditioner I use in the shower as a leave in conditioner.. I think it sets differently. I use a product actually branded as a leave in conditioner, I use Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-in Conditioner.. I put it in my hair when it is wet and it doesn't residue or anything, just softness :).

[Aliped]

Ohhh, there's a difference between a leave-in and a normal conditioner ... ha, that would explain it!

Are there any cone free leave-ins out there?

[FrannyG]

When I've taken my hair out of the towel after a CO wash, I apply a pea-sized amount of my usual conditioner to the length of my hair from the chin down. It makes a big difference for me with tangles and softness.

[HintOfMint]

I've used and liked Aveda Brilliant Universal Styling Creme as a leave-in. Nowadays I just use a tiny amount of coconut oil on my underlayer and do a damp bun, but that Aveda stuff was really good. I could also mix it with other styling products to dilute them and give a softer finish.

EEp! Never mind, you said cone free and it has a couple different kinds of cones in it, although there are certain kinds of cones that do not build up, if that is what you're worried about. I'm not sure if those kinds are here, but worth a look.

Ingredients:
water purified, chamomile flower extract, calendula officinalis flower extract, camellia oleifera leaf extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, dicaprylyl maleate, glycerin, phenyl trimethicone, cetyl dimethicone, polyglyceryl-4 isostearate, cetyl peg/ppg-10/1 dimethicone, hexyl laurate, hydrogenated castor oil, fragrance, citral, geraniol, linalool, famesol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate, citronellol, eugenol, limonene, meadowfoam (limanthes alba) seed oil, jojoba (simmondsia chinensis) oil, cetearyl methicone, quaternium-80, sodium chloride, sodium gluconate, propylparaben, diazolidinyl urea

[Unofficial_Rose]

I searched for ages for a coneless leave-in conditioner.

I love Curl Junkie Beauticurls Leave-in Hair Conditioner. It has Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Rosehip Seed Oil, Grape seed oil etc in it. You only need a small amount.

[virgo75]

2 cone free leave-ins that you can get from Whole Foods if there's one near you are Beauty Without Cruelty's Leave-in and Giovanni Direct Leave-In.

[manderly]

Giovanni Direct Leave In is a good, light leave in for your hair type :)

[LisaMonster]

My hair does not like leave-ins at all. I really hate putting anything in my hair that isn't going to be rinsed right out, though.

[Caldonia Sun]

Goth Rosary makes a very nice leave in. And the fragrances ... yum!

[jeanniet]

You can use regular conditioners for a leave-in, but use very small amounts. Leave-ins don't work for everyone, though. I can oil my hair daily and not have a problem, but leaving any kind of conditioner in gunks it up, even conditioners labeled as "leave-in."

[JenniferNoel]

I use pre-made oil blends that I bought at Sally's. I made sure they were free of any nasty coney stuff first, of course, and they're just fantastic for my hair. One of them has castor oil, coconut oil, canola oil, and a huge bunch of herbs and it works better than any conventional leave-in conditioner I've ever attempted to use. Washing it out it a little harder, just takes more water and patience, but it's well worth it.
I don't like the gummy feeling I get with "normal" cone-free leave in conditioners, plus they don't seem to do much for my hair. It needs oils and herbs.

[TrudieCat]

Hair type really seems to play a big part in what sort of leave-in will work for a person - or whether a leave-in will work. For me, leave-in conditioners that were labeled as such basically did nothing. My hair drank them right up but didn't appear to be in any better condition after I would use them. Now I use my regular, cone-licious conditioner as both an in-shower condish and a leave-in, and it works beautifully. I use maybe a walnut-sized blob as a leave in (I'm talking walnut with the shell on). I also add about 5 drops of jojoba oil to the leave in and I am so happy with the results. I'm imagine someone with naturally silky or otherwise fine hair would just end up with gunky, producty hair after using my regimen but my hair seems to love it.

[FrannyG]

Hair type really seems to play a big part in what sort of leave-in will work for a person - or whether a leave-in will work. For me, leave-in conditioners that were labeled as such basically did nothing. My hair drank them right up but didn't appear to be in any better condition after I would use them. Now I use my regular, cone-licious conditioner as both an in-shower condish and a leave-in, and it works beautifully. I use maybe a walnut-sized blob as a leave in (I'm talking walnut with the shell on). I also add about 5 drops of jojoba oil to the leave in and I am so happy with the results. I'm imagine someone with naturally silky or otherwise fine hair would just end up with gunky, producty hair after using my regimen but my hair seems to love it.

Like you, I find that products labelled as leave-ins aren't as effective on my hair as my favourite conditioner is. And you're right, as someone with very fine hair, a pea-sized amount is all my hair can handle. Although i also use about 5 drops of jojoba oil on my length as well.

[Niwa]

I find that Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose acts like a leave-in conditioner when I mix it with coconut oil and use the mixture to deep condition my hair. After rinsing, I still have some residue, which leaves my hair very soft and smooth until the next deep condition.

[Igor]

I know other people have successfully used regular conditioner as leave in-conditioners

For me, however, it has never worked. Even if I can’t figure out what the difference in ingredients between a regular conditioner and a leave in-conditioner in the same range is!

Letting regular conditioner dry out on my hair = Horrible, awful, lank, greasy and icky hair

Leave in-conditioner in my hair = Happy hair

[Anje]

I think that most folks who use regular conditioners as leave-ins tend to use lighter ones, and only a few drops for the straighter-haired folks.

Curlies are another story. You'll find them leaving in quite a bit of conditioner, because they're looking for that clumpy stuck-together quality that straight-haired folks generally run from.

[aenflex]

I swear by this, and just wish one other person would try it in order to tell me whether I am kooky or not. This is what I use and I LOVE it:
Coconut cream from GOW. Organic, virgin, etc. Cheap too. AND
Biolage Smoothing Shine Milk which does contain light cones.
What I do is grab a fingernail size bit of coconut cream in my palm, and then I add 2 sprays of the milk. Emulsify. Then run through my just washed/conditioned hair. I do this about 2-3 times to get it all. Then comb.
I swear it is amazing- not too heavy, not too light. For my course hair I daresay it's as close to the Holy Grail product that I'm ever gonna get. Of course it's possible to overdo it and get weighed-down hair, but I've been using these for so long that it rarely happens.

[curlsgalore]

I use pre-made oil blends that I bought at Sally's. I made sure they were free of any nasty coney stuff first, of course, and they're just fantastic for my hair. One of them has castor oil, coconut oil, canola oil, and a huge bunch of herbs and it works better than any conventional leave-in conditioner I've ever attempted to use. Washing it out it a little harder, just takes more water and patience, but it's well worth it.
I don't like the gummy feeling I get with "normal" cone-free leave in conditioners, plus they don't seem to do much for my hair. It needs oils and herbs.

What's the name of the product, if you don't mind sharing?

[Beatrix_Kiddo]

My hair loves leave ins. I use one from Natura , a brazilian eco friendly brand. It really worth it!

[Heartwillfollow]

I am still learning ingredients so anyone correct me if I am wrong that this is cone free :)

I've been using Garnier Fructis Leave-in conditioning cream (sleek & shine) line I just use a penny size and put it on the very end of my hair (about 1 inch of the ends) while it is damp..

my ends stay soft for 3 to 4 days until I do my hair again.

[Chestershire]

I used a body shop leave in conditioner, but I think it got discontinued. It was too expensive for what it did, anyway :3 So now I got hennaplus hairwonder cream, since everyone is so excited about it. Haven't used it though

[torrilin]

I think that most folks who use regular conditioners as leave-ins tend to use lighter ones, and only a few drops for the straighter-haired folks.

Curlies are another story. You'll find them leaving in quite a bit of conditioner, because they're looking for that clumpy stuck-together quality that straight-haired folks generally run from.

Totally not the case here. One of my standard tricks was to apply a generous palmful of conditioner and just not rinse it out. A lot of the time I would use a conditioner that would feel fairly thin... but those tended to be the ones that would actually coat every strand of hair and give enough slip that my detangling would not be hell on earth.

A lot of the thicker or heavier feeling conditioners ended up doing less to keep my hair moisturized and tangle free.

Most leave in sprays don't actually condition my hair. Sometimes they help with detangling, but equally often, they make my hair grimy to little effect.

[Nicoliee]

I use garnier leave in conditioner. I swear that stuff worked miracles on my hair. My hair was straw-like for awhile but had gotten better and I started using this stuff and it improved tremendously.