October 17, 2014 by Leah | A Relaxed Gal

Best Ingredients To Look For In Hair Conditioners

in
Conditioners are an important part of a healthy hair care regimen. However, they are, in my opinion, one of the more confusing hair products. The reason is that they have different names, different benefits, and even different types. 

Making sure you're using the right conditioner on your hair can impact how your hair turns out after you shampoo it. Not only is choosing the right conditioner important, but also making sure that the conditioner has the ingredients your hair needs.
 
hair conditioner jars and bottles sitting on a counter with a hair brush
(This post includes affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission.)


Types of hair conditioners

As I previously mentioned, there are several different types of hair conditioners. For a long time, I didn't realize that. I just thought there were ones you rinsed out and ones you didn't. What I didn't know is that hair conditioners are a little more complicated. To help uncomplicate hair conditioners, let's quickly go over the types of conditioners that are out there and when in a hair regimen they are best used

Rinse out conditioners

These are the conditioners we all probably grew up using. Rinse-out conditioners, sometimes called instant conditioners, are meant to be left on the hair for just a few minutes. The reason is that the ingredients in it aren't meant to get absorbed into the hair but coat the hair to smooth the cuticle to detangle and help tame frizz.

These types of hair conditioners can be used daily or every wash day as a pre-poo or after shampooing. They are also sometimes used for co-washing, though many hair professionals don't recommend that.



Deep conditioners

These conditioners are to be left on the hair for several minutes before they are rinsed out. The main purpose of using a deep conditioner is to maintain the hair, focusing on adding moisture and improving hair manageability, luster, and shine. 

Deep conditioners can be used weekly or a couple of times a month. They don't need to be used daily, so if you wash your hair multiple times a week, using a deep conditioner for one of those washes and a rinse-out conditioner for the others would suffice.



Hair masques/masks

Hair masques are a type of deep conditioner, but they have a higher, richer concentration of ingredients, so they don't need to stay on as long as a deep conditioner. They can also cost more than a traditional deep conditioner because of the better ingredients.

Hair masks really focus on improving the hair, strengthening the hair, and repairing hair damage.

You can use a hair masque weekly, especially if you have damaged hair, or a couple of times a month. Like deep conditioners, they don't need to be used daily. 

Leave-in conditioners

Per their name, leave-in conditioners aren't meant to be rinsed out. Unlike rinse-out and deep conditioners, they have a lighter blend of penetrating ingredients to help keep strands soft and moisturized between shampoos. 

Typically, leave-in conditioners are used in two ways. The first is on freshly washed, damp hair. The second is daily or weekly between washes as part of a moisture and seal routine.

For some Leave-in Conditioner recommendations, check out my post Top 7 Leave-in Conditioners For Relaxed Hair.


Moisture vs. protein

Within all four of those conditioner types, you'll find some are moisture-based, and some are protein-based. I share more about that in my post Protein vs. Moisturizing Conditioners 101.


Ingredients of good conditioners

A good conditioner should do more than just make your hair feel soft. It should help moisturize or strengthen, reduce breakage, and make detangling easier. All important things for relaxed hair.

While the best type of conditioner for relaxed hair will vary from head to head, typically the best conditioner is one that moisturizes and strengthens without leaving any residue or weighing down the hair. It should also help with the detangling process.



The specific ingredients you find can vary depending on whether the conditioner is meant to be rinsed out, a deep conditioner, or a leave-in. When looking at ingredient lists, they tend to be listed from highest to lowest concentration, so the first 5 ingredients tend to have the highest concentrations.

Let's start looking at key types of ingredients to look for in a good hair conditioner.


Moisturizing ingredients

These ingredients add water to your hair by adding moisture. This helps to keep the hair hydrated. If your hair feels dry or brittle, these are ingredients to look for. 

Many of these ingredients are called humectants as they actually attract moisture or water from the environment into your hair. 

Ingredients typically seen in hair conditioners that fall into this category are glycerin, honey, aloe vera, and panthenol/pro-vitamin B5.


Softening and smoothing ingredients 

If you're looking to reduce dryness and frizz, these are ones to look for. They help smooth the hair cuticle, making your hair feel softer and easier to manage.

A lot of different ingredients fall into this category. There are butters like shea butter and cocoa butter; oils like coconut oil, olive oil, or argan oil, and fatty alcohols like cetyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and cetearyl alcohol.

Yes, some alcohol ingredients don't dry out the hair. Fatty alcohols provide softness and moisture to the hair. So if you see alcohol in the ingredients list of a conditioner you're considering, don't freak out cause it could be one of the good ones.


Strengthening ingredients 

To help reduce breakage, look for conditioners with these ingredients higher up in the ingredient list. They help reinforce the hair strand and improve elasticity.

There are a few different types of proteins you may see, but the ones to really look for are hydrolyzed proteins. They are created to be small in size so they are easily absorbed and reach the second layer/cortex of the hair strand. Once absorbed, they provide some protection to the hair, helping to increase body and shine. They also help reduce brittleness and breakage. 

Some common hydrolyzed proteins are hydrolyzed keratin, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and hydrolyzed silk protein. 



Conditioning and detangling ingredients

Most of these ingredients are a given in hair conditioners since they are supposed to, you know, condition. These are the ingredients that actually make your hair easier to detangle and manage after washing. 

Ingredients like behentrimonium chloride and cetrimonium chloride provide slip, making it easier to detangle your hair when the conditioner is applied. They can also help improve the manageability of the hair, making it easier to style.


Sealing and protective ingredients

Last but not least are the ingredients that help to seal or lock moisture into your hair strands. These ingredients, though, are a mixed bag. 

Some of these ingredients get a bad rap, like silicones, think dimethicone, amodimethicone. The reason is that they have been labeled in the hair community as bad because they can build up on hair strands, resulting in dry hair. I've learned that silicones aren't so bad if used in moderation and the hair is properly cleaned. Silicones can provide slip, shine, and help with detangling.

Other sealing ingredients are loved, such as heaiver oils and butters like shea butter or soybean oil (yep, these do a little double duty). The kicker is that if used too often and the hair isn't properly cleaned, they can also cause product buildup. I typically look for these in my deep conditioner and heavier leave-in conditioners I use in the winter.


Examples of good conditioners

Now that we're more knowledgeable about the ingredients to look for, here comes the hard part. Finding conditioners that have a lot or all of those ingredient types. What makes it even harder is that most conditioners contain a mix of these ingredients, which is why one product can moisturize, soften, and strengthen your hair at the same time. This can be helpful for relaxed hair, though, as it tends to need a balance of moisture and strength.

Here's a short list I put together of conditioners that I found online with really good reviews, or are ones that I have used myself, and that fit the bill. While I've grouped them based on the ingredient types above, some of them do fall in more than one of the categories. If you'd like to shop any of them, just click the links, and they will take you to my LTK, where you can find links to all of the retailers I've found that sell them.

Moisturizing conditioners

  • TGIN Deep Hydrating Hair Mask: Some would consider this a strengthening deep conditioner because it contains biotin, which helps with hair strength. I use this, and it's more of a moisturizing conditioner for me because of how well it hydrates my relaxed hair.
  • As I Am Leave-In Conditioner: I've never used this before, but I will sometimes see it as a go-to in some relaxed hair routines. This is considered a hydrating leave-in conditioner that provides strong slip, softness, and a good base for styling. 




Softening and smoothing conditioners

  • Suave Almond & Avocado Conditioner: A budget-friendly rinse-out conditioner with almond oil and shea butter for softness and hydration. I've used it a few times and like it. Since I prefer using deep conditioners over rinse-out conditioners, I used the Suave Almond & Avocado Conditioner as a pre-poo or travel conditioner on my relaxed hair.

  • Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Leave-In Conditioner: An affordable leave-in that smooths frizz and softens hair with lightweight oils.
  • Redken All Soft Heavy Cream Hair Mask: I just started using this on my hair, so I don't have any solid thoughts yet. It's a deep conditioner that helps smooth the hair by taming frizz and adding moisture. This conditioner also has several oils that provide shine to the hair.


Strengthening conditioners

  • OGX Bond Protein Repair Conditioner: I'm not a fan of bond repair products, but this rinse-out conditioner that's part of the OGX bond repair line has been getting more and more traction, so I'm including it on the list. It's a rinse-out conditioner that helps strengthen and hydrate damaged hair
  • It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In Plus Keratin: This is a leave-in option that has protein via Hydrolyzed Keratin, but the protein is further down the ingredient list, making it less potent. That's not a bad thing, as it helps the moisture and protein be more balanced. The conditioner says it's a "smoothing cream that infuses hair with silky softness while eliminating frizz or the appearance of damage."


More about hair care ingredients

Want to know more about hair care ingredients? Check out these other posts





Shop this post




References: http://www.blackhairinformation.com/growth/deep-conditioning/how-to-choose-a-conditioner-for-relaxed-and-natural-black-hair/, http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/04/find-your-perfect-deep-conditioner.html
spread the love

0 comments

Spam comments and comments with links promoting other sites will be deleted by the moderator.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)