Have you ever wondered how effective your conditioning routine is? Conditioning your hair regularly can deliver great long term benefits to your mane and aide in a stress free wash day, but there are some things to note when considering how conditioner is used and how to add it into your hair care routine!
Continue reading to learn about the proper ways to use conditioner and how to make it a powerful part of your wash day routine for hair that is healthy, strong and less prone to breakage.
This post is all about how conditioner is used for healthy hair.
How Conditioner Is Used For Natural Hair- Step By Step Guide
- After applying your favorite shampoo, rinse thoroughly to ensure that your hair is properly cleansed and that your are working on product buildup free hair.
- Section your hair into four parts.
- Apply your conditioner from root to ends on your hair while making a conscious effort in trying to avoid applying it directly to your scalp.
- Allow the conditioner to sit on the hair for at least 5 minutes to help it release its moisturizing and slip properties onto the strands.
- Working section by section, allow the water to run through the hair while you gently detangle with a wide tooth comb or detangling brush.
- Rinse hair thoroughly once each section is fully coated and gently detangled through.
- Follow up with your favorite leave-in conditioner before setting or styling your hair.
Now that you know how to properly use and apply your conditioner, let’s break down what conditioner actually is and clarify other things to consider when using it the correct way.
What Is Conditioner?
Conditioner is a moisturizing hair product that is used to improve the manageability, feel, appearance and moisture levels of the hair. Once applied, they often leave the hair feeling very soft and detangled, while reducing the friction between the hair strands. This is because conditioner is applied to smooth the cuticle layer of the hair (the layer that is raised when shampooing). Smooth hair at the cuticle layer results in less frizz and tangles because the hair is able to slip out of any potential knots easier.
The consistency of a conditioner is often creamy and can significantly help to improve the texture of your hair over time with its moisturizing and/or strengthening properties. Conditioner is typically an emollient, water based blend of oils, butters and botanical herbs, formulated to help keep the hair smooth, soft, strong and moisturized. It has the ability to deposit nutrients to the gaps of the hair to help strengthen and reduce breakage or damage.
Is Conditioner Necessary For The Hair?
Conditioner is a great step to complete during wash day because shampoo can often leave your hair looking dull, dry and tangled. So what happens if you don’t use conditioner during your wash day routine? Your hair can eventually become more prone to breakage due to more friction between the hair strands once the shampoo is rinsed off, making your detangling comb harder to glide through. You will also notice that your hair looks frizzier than usual and you might also notice an increase in knots and tangles that will eventually result in a surplus of split ends over time.
A good rule of thumb to follow is that if your hair is typically on the dry side, be sure to use a thicker more moisturizing conditioner routinely after shampooing. However if your hair is more on the oily side, you might want to use something lighter and that doesn’t need to be left on the hair for more than a minute or two. Again, always try to avoid placing the conditioner directly onto your scalp.
What Happens If Conditioner Is Applied To The Scalp?
Although you might be tempted to apply conditioner to your scalp, please be mindful that it is not the best practice at all. Conditioner is great at providing moisture and slip to the hair strands but when applied to the scalp, it can cause irritation that may lead to flakes and dandruff.
Try your best to apply conditioner from root to ends and rinse the product out as thoroughly as possible. Leaving traces of conditioner behind is bad practice and can even result in product buildup. When product build up happens it can become harder for the ingredients in other products to work for your hair, so be sure to invest in quality conditioners that leave your hair soft and manageable even after it has been rinsed out.
How Often Should You Use Conditioner?
In order to see the best results, it is highly recommended to shampoo your hair once per week or every other week and to use conditioner directly after each wash. Please keep in mind that if you plan on deep conditioning after shampooing, you can opt out of using a rinse out conditioner and instead, go straight into your deep conditioning session.
This is a great tip that many fail to realize, but remember that if you want the most uptake from your deep conditioning treatment or hair mask, apply it to hair that has been freshly shampooed and free of any additional coating. Sometimes the rinse out conditioners can act as a light coating on the hair, making it harder for your deep conditioner to actually absorb into your hair strands.
Can I Use Conditioner Daily?
Although it is not recommended to wash your hair everyday, if you decide to do so, using a conditioner can be highly effective in making sure that your hair remains soft and easy to manage. Shampooing too often can result in dry, brittle hair that thins out and breaks off easily over time. However by following it up with a moisturizing conditioner, you can help to slow that process down.
On the other hand, using a conditioner on its own every single day (like a co-wash for example), can become detrimental to the hair and scalp over time because conditioner lacks a strong enough cleansing agent if any at all, so this will cause build-up on your hair over time. Too much build up can lead to limp, dry, mushy hair that can and will eventually break off.
Final Thoughts On Conditioner For Natural Hair
Using conditioner as part of you hair regimen can significantly help in moisturizing and strengthening your hair overtime. When used correctly, you will start to see that your hair retains more length, breaks less easily and doesn’t dry out as fast!
Comment Below Your Favorite Conditioners To Use For The Season!
This post was all about how conditioner is used for healthy hair.
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Keep on working, great job!