Should I give up conditioner?

[louisemg82]

I've realised that virtually all my shedding happens when I use conditioner. With cones it's worse but even no cone conditioner causes mass loss. I've been cone free for months now. When I brush and tie my hair back in the morning, I lose about 7 - 10 hairs a day. When I shampoo my hair, I lose about 10.

This morning I washed and conditioned out a heavy olive oiling and lost 48 hairs!!! (Yes I count my daily shed - I'm obsessed)
48 hairs lost through conditioner!!! Surely that isn't healthy? Not compared to non-wash day totals like 10?
I know it's good for hair but I'm seriously considering giving up conditioner. What are the alternatives? What are your thoughts? :confused:

Additional info: I've spent months working this out: Oiling has never made me shed, I've used olive oil on my hair for years. I only ever condition from the ears down because I get a greasy scalp. I can 100% say it is conditioner causing my shedding.

[Sundial]

It seems that you may be trying too many things at once and it is possible that there are other factors that may be causing the shedding.

For instance, it is possible that your scalp does not like the oil that you are using. There is a thread somewhere about coconut oil and some members have noticed increased shedding when they used it on their scalp.

If it came down to the conditioner being the culprit of the shedding, you can probably just condition from the ears down but I am not sure of an alternative way to wash out a heavy pre-wash oiling because I have found CO (conditioner only) to be the most effective for me.

Hope you figure out what was causing the increased shedding

[Alvrodul]

I tend to shed more when I put conditioner on my scalp, so I now use it on my hair only from the ears on down. It could also be that the conditioner you are using is not right for you - there are some conditioners out there that I don't use because of the effect on my hair.

[louisemg82]

It's definitely the conditioner. Oiling does not cause shedding on me at all.
Just to add, I only ever condition from the ears down because I get a greasy scalp.
It is conditioner that's making me shed I'm afraid.

[MonaLisa]

It can't make you shed unless it touches your roots :)

But i have the same problem.
What I do is imagine Im making a ponytail and only apply conditioner to hair below place my hands holding it into a ' ponytail'.
That way it never reaches my scalp.
If it does, I shed. But still, really need the conditioner on lengths.

[spidermom]

I don't think the conditioner is causing the shedding. It just makes it easier for the shed hairs to slip out. Otherwise, shed hairs can stay caught up in your other hairs for awhile.

It is normal to shed up to 100 hairs per day.

[xxaimsxx]

I see what you mean because i had the same problem a few weeks back. When i knew what was the cause i threw out the conditioner straight away. Dont get me wrong the conditioner made my hair so soft it was my favorite but i wasnt prepared to lose about 40 odd hairs everytime i used the stuff. Im using a non cone conditioner now and only about 5 hairs came out which is good enough for me :)
When i oil my hair also like louisemg82 said i dont shed one bit! Ive just started using jojoba oil and im amazed how my hair doesnt shed with it.

I find its the cheap conditioners that dont make me shed and the expensive ones that do! I dont know why that is or if it helps you.
Maybe you dont need the conditioner and the oiling is just enough. If you feel your hair is moisturized then i dont see why not. How about using a conditioner every so often so less shedding?

[NotInPortland]

If you're not putting conditioner on your scalp then it can't be making you shed because you shed hairs from the scalp. And I don't know if you mean you're worried about the hair you're losing through combing but each time I comb my hair I lose around 10 hairs sometimes more, I think that's pretty normal so I wouldn't worry :)

[Mesmerise]

It's definitely the conditioner. Oiling does not cause shedding on me at all.
Just to add, I only ever condition from the ears down because I get a greasy scalp.
It is conditioner that's making me shed I'm afraid.

Honestly, I don't see how conditioner can make you shed IF it doesn't come in contact with your scalp! I could certainly understand if it had some sort of scalp reaction, but if it doesn't touch it - then it can't cause shedding.

Are you sure the only difference is the conditioner? It just doesn't seem logically possible that something that doesn't interact with your scalp can cause hair to shed!

Maybe you need to do a few experiments just changing one factor at a time, and then see what happens with respect to shedding.

Hmm one other thing I picked up is you said you washed and conditioned after a heavy oiling and you lost a lot of hair, but you don't attribute it to the oiling. Perhaps the oiling just loosened any hairs on your scalp that were ready to come out, but because the oil was in there the hairs "stuck" until you washed them, and that's when they came out.

What happens if you wash and then condition without oiling first? Or if you perform an oiling but don't use conditioner after washing it out?

Now, if you're really set on not conditioning, then I would try doing the oil shampoo method, followed by an ACV rinse. I find that if I oil shampoo and rinse with something acidic, it's still easy enough to comb out my hair afterwards. If I was to shampoo only, my hair would be too knotty to easily comb!

[Anje]

Conditioner definitely makes it easier for shed hairs to slip out for me, but if I account for what ends up in my brush or comb, I definitely shed less with CO washing than I do with shampoo. I'm not saying that conditioner on your follicles might not cause you to shed, but do consider that shed hairs wash out much better when one uses conditioner, and end up on your shower wall or the drain-strainer.

Try keeping the conditioner completely off your scalp. As in, apply it neck-down rather than ears-down.

It's possible you'll be able to give up conditioner completely. However, from what I've seen, the vast majority of longhairs like conditioner in their lengths. Furthermore, I suspect that the additional slip and moisture that conditioner adds helps hair to grow to longer lengths without breaking.


I find its the cheap conditioners that dont make me shed and the expensive ones that do! I dont know why that is or if it helps you.
If I had to guess, I'd say the difference is that the cheapest conditioners are often silicone-free, and the more expensive ones rarely are. A decent proportion of people have problems with silicone conditioners on their scalps. And again, you have the added slip --> shed hairs slide out issue. More slip from silicone might explain all the difference you've seen.

[louisemg82]

I think I'm going to give up conditioner for a month in favour of oil and report back. It's definitely conditioner that does it. I've never lost so many hairs as when I condition.

[Messyhair]

I don't think the conditioner is causing the shedding. It just makes it easier for the shed hairs to slip out. Otherwise, shed hairs can stay caught up in your other hairs for awhile.

Yes, yes! This is what I was going to say. On non-wash days, I notice MUCH less shed, but it's only because the shed hairs are staying put in the mass of my hair. I've noticed that if I go longer between washings, my hair becomes more tangle-prone, presumably because of all these extra hairs getting caught up in the rest. And the longer I go between washings, the more shed hairs will come out in the wash. For me, at least, it's not the condition or the shampoo causing the shedding, but the conditioner is helping those that were shed slip out of there so they're not causing me any troubles. :o

[JadeTigress]

I rarely use conditioner. I'm going to try it out again and do CWC, and specifically look for a cone free conditioner, but we'll see how long that lasts. I havn't used a conditioner yet that doesn't just make my hair dull, limp, greasy looking, etc. The only good thing about conditioner for my hair is that it adds slip so I can detangle it easier, and even that perk doesn't last for very long. But my Wild Growth oil does that, and makes my hair look and feel way better than any conditioner ever has.

So if you want to give up conditioner in favor of just oiling, I say go for it. I fully support this decision. :p

[jojo]

first stop worrying, 48 hairs is 52 less than normal. All the conditioner is doing is helping those hairs meant to shed anyway and oil is doing the same; I get the same when I oil and I am not bald.....yet!

I have started using a lot less conditioner cone or coneless I don't mind! and I only put it on the very tips now. I was CO washing which worked well and then I introduced the BBB and it made my hair greasy quicker, as I am distributing my natural sebum down the hair shaft. So I now CSC (again!) putting the 1st conditioner on my dry hair. I am loosing hardly anything, I dont count though!

[young&reckless]

Thread hijack -

Ooooo, I love Spidermoms new color!

[Amraann]

I think I'm going to give up conditioner for a month in favour of oil and report back. It's definitely conditioner that does it. I've never lost so many hairs as when I condition.

I think it is what spidermom said. your hair simply has more slip so the shed hairs come out rather then staying stuck in your hair.
Shedding is a normal process for hair.
It is part of the growing process.
48 hairs is not that much.
So I am not understanding what the problem is?

[jojo]

I think too those shed hairs look far worse when your hair is longer, like you wouldnt notice them with short hair!

[rena]

I think I can understand how the conditioner makes shedding worse. Even without putting it on the scalp, its still slippery stuff and any loose hairs can just slide on out of the majority well before they end up in your brush or something.

Maybe you can try the oil-shampoo method if you want to stop using conditioner? I have heard that this method lets you shampoo without needing to follow up with conditioner. Or a good leave-in while your hair is damp to help moisturize it in place of a wash-out conditioner.