I stand corrected: Drugstore conditioners can work on ANY texture
So, on a recent post I made the following very unscientific observation:
“I find that the looser the texture, the easier it is to use products that were originally made for white/hispanic/asian/loose or straight textured women. While those of us with coarser textures (including myself) have to be more careful.”
JC, a chemist who blogs over at The Natural Haven had a different take. Peep it:
What is the purpose of hair conditioner?
Contrary to popular opinion, hair conditioner is designed not for a particular hair type but rather to give you an effect. This is because structurally hair is hair is hair. Yes I am saying my African hair is the same as my Asian friends’s hair or my Caucasian husband’s hair.
What exactly is in hair conditioner?
Hair conditioner is mostly water with some conditioning agents.
What do conditioning agents do?
It depends on the amount and type of agent but they have a huge range of roles from smoothing the cuticle, filling gaps, temporarily sealing split ends, creating ‘slip’, reducing frizz, giving a feeling of softness……..the list is endless.
My best advice for picking a hair conditioner
You need to read the claim on the conditioner. This is just as important as knowing the top 5 ingredients.
For example, if your hair feels dry, I would say, PASS on a conditioner which promises glossy shiny curls and go for one which says it is designed for dry hair even if the ingredients include parts that you may not like. Why? You may actually like the result better because the conditioner is formulated (meaning a person (often a scientist for big brands) is paid to mix up the correct amount and type of ingredients) intended for your problem.
I hear you ask…….Are hair conditioners not tested on certain ethnicities?
Yes the vast majority are tested on brown Caucasian hair because this can be distinguished from bleached blonde hair and there is more of it (tests are usually done in a lab setting on cut pieces of hair). This does not mean a conditioner will not work for your hair because the cuticle which is the part that hair conditioner affects the most is nearly identical across the races.
But I do have one last question/observation; If it is true that kinkier textures are more fragile than straighter/looser curled texture. And if it is true that many drugstore conditioners contain harsh products (sulfates, silicones, etc), then could it be true that looser textures stand up better to drugstore conditioners than kinkier textures? What do you think? Weigh in!
And check out JC’s blog!
Actually you will be hard pressed to find a conditioner with sulphates or more directly SLS. The only one I know is ORS hair mayo (which I used years ago, so hopefully they have now changed the formula). SLS has no place in conditioner.
Silicones have a reputation as a horrible ingredient but this is not the case. In fact right now there are many women who are currently using silicones with no problems. For example if you are using herbal essences conditioners, majority of these have silicones.
To be specific they have a very sophisticated silicone – bis amino propyl dimethicone. This silicone actually deposits on hair and forms a film. As a conditioning agent it helps smooth the cuticle and aids in sealing in moisture. Finally it resists build up because it does not let more silicone deposit on top of it (because of the amine group of the silicone).
Now some people will not fair well with silicones but others will. They are not automatically 'bad ingredients'.
Hmm, good questions L! With the exception of Hydrating Curls by pantene, I had never really ventured into using drugstore products (save for Suave and VO5)since my natural hair rejected BSS products a long time ago (goodbye Motions and Pink Oil, lol)..
With the advent of this blog and Rachels Fri musings on drugstore conditioners, I found a few that I would have never tried – and in fact had success with. I dont know if they can work on ANY texture, but yes I agree with Jc that depending on the formulation and the claim, that they may be helpful to our textures, although I do think MY hair (not sure about OUR hair as a collective) is fragile.
I mean, some conditioner directions state to comb it through, and leave on for like, 1-3 minutes then rinse… ehhhh Nope. Thats not working for me. I tried to comb thru and Ive also tried to use it as instructed and sometimes you have to do your own tweaks here and there. I have too much hair and it doesnt like being manipulated esp. post-shampoo and sans deep conditioning..
so to recap.
yes I think conditioners can work for more than one texture type, but I think my African hair is too fragile to treat as instructed on the bottle.. and depending on if you are transitioning, newly natural, getting rid of scab hair, using a lot of heat, clarifying regularly, have color-treated hair, or even locked… ALONG with hair texture, these are other factors that can affect how well a product may or may not work, even if it is marketed to us or our hair texture/type.
im done — off to cowash with Rachels #12 conditioner on her list — this was a surprise success for me cause my hair is thick and picky!
I've never understood the "that's for white people" idea when it comes to anything life. My mindset has always been that hair is hair and that it'll thrive as long as I take care of it.
I think it depends on what you're using a conditioner for. Anyone can use drugstore conditioners as rinse-outs, co-wash or even deep conditioners. The application that is most variable is using a rinse-out conditioner as a leave-in moisturizer without using any other moisturizing products, which I see a lot of women with looser hair doing.
This would only work for my kinky/curly hair if I'm co-washing regularly (ie every other day). I need a heavier moisturizer to keep my hair moisturized over the course of a week, especially now that winter is coming. I have used deep conditioners (such as cholesterol) as a moisturizing styler with great results, but simply throwing in some herbal essence and oil is not going to work.
I think this is because those conditioners aren't formulated to moisturize for a week at a time (JC correct me if I'm wrong). The hair types that conditioners are tested on get washed every day or every few days at most. Therefore, they're getting a regular dose of moisture and the moisture from the conditioner doesn't have to last very long.
I totally agree with JC's post (LURVE ur blog btw) I read your comment L and was just too lazy to respond, but I'm a college student on full scholarship going to school in California ( i live in new york) Trust me, I make a new definition of brake, and the only product I use that isn't drugstore brand is pure SHea Butter which I get from Nigeria when family goes to visit. So I have the kinkiest texture possible from being completely african, and i sue cones and sulfates once in a while.
The reason I agree with JC's post so much is because I am a SLAVE to hello hydration, because my hair is dry and i need moisture. I've never had a bad experience with HH at all. However, I tried totally twisted, which is all about beautiful curls, and I hated it. Ever since, I focus on products that advertise intense moisture.
In summation, my head is my own proof of JC's theory. Which is why I love her rational, scientific explanations for everything!
did you ever get an answer to that last paragraph of your post? i too wonder can looser textures hold up better to harsher products/more manipulation because it may be stronger than kinky/coiled hair? i even notice that the sections of my hair that i have discovered have the looser curl pattern, used to grow like wildflowers when relaxed, while the sections of my hair that have the kinkiest, tightest curl pattern tended to be the sections that broke off the most while relaxed. i thought that afro textured hair lacked a 3rd layer in their hair strand that caucasian hair had. do looser curl patterns in fact, have this 3rd layer, thus helping it stand up to more products?
did you ever get an answer to that last paragraph of your post? i too wonder can looser textures hold up better to harsher products/more manipulation because it may be stronger than kinky/coiled hair? i even notice that the sections of my hair that i have discovered have the looser curl pattern, used to grow like wildflowers when relaxed, while the sections of my hair that have the kinkiest, tightest curl pattern tended to be the sections that broke off the most while relaxed. i thought that afro textured hair lacked a 3rd layer in their hair strand that caucasian hair had. do looser curl patterns in fact, have this 3rd layer, thus helping it stand up to more products?
@Moni – There is no conditioner that I know of that is supposed to moisturize continually for a week. Usually the effect is designed to last one wash (manufacturers work with the average wash of between 1 and 3 times a week).
From my experience, most people will find a freshly conditioned head will last 1-2 days at most. Using additional products like leave in conditioners, oils and moisturisers then extends the life of the conditioner.
I'm really amazed that cholesterol can work so well for you. I definitely think you should keep products that work well.
@Lovin the blessin – Thanks for the compliments
@Sweet Bonita – All hair across the races are the same in structure. Meaning outside we have the cuticle which are like tiles on the roof and internally there is a cortex and sometimes a medulla(not all hair has a medulla – in all races). (References for this just type in Khumalo in pubmed)
Conditioner is made to act on the most external part of hair – the cuticle. Largely conditioner is designed to smooth down the cuticle and to deposit agents that create a feeling of softness.
Yes curlier hair is thought to be weaker and this is about the cortex, not the cuticle. Therefore conditioner cannot make your hair less or more fragile. It can ease the process of combing but whether or not your hair breaks is really determined by how gently you handle it. Simply put hair breaks due to force and curlier hair needs less force to break. Therefore be gentle to curly hair.
Regarding the silicones and SLS – please see my first comment on this post.
I think it's interesting that JC admits that most drugstore products are designed by testing on looser textured if not straight hair. So most of these companies have no idea how their products work on more coarsely textured hair. Cuticles may be the same across hair types but they lay differently which is what makes for the great variations in hair texture. I'm not saying that drugstore products can't be beneficial to a wide variety of hairtypes but a company that is making a skincream and only testing on people with oily skin is limiting their efficacy for all skin types.
@JC So far, I can only say that for the Lustrasilk Shea Butter and Mango Cholesterol. I use it the same as my regular moisturizers, such as Qhemet Biologics products, applying on wet hair, sealing with oil, then twisting or braing my hair, and it lasts just as long as my QB products. I haven't tried any other cholesterol conditioner, so I can't claim that all of them work that way
Most of my opinions are represented here, so I'm not going to reiterate, but I just wanted to say I really love the discussions that go on here. Keep in mind also that you can use drugstore conditioners as a base. Your hair loves coconut oil? Olive oil? Shea butter? Add some in and see how it goes. Make it work as Tim Gunn would say.
I think it's really important that if we can help each other have fly hair on a budget by sharing knowledge: Marvelous!! I used to use salon products exclusively when I started to get the hang of the being au natural. I still use them, but not exclusively, and I wish I had all the money I would have saved.
I haven't used many drugstore conditioners, because I'm trying to stay away from silicones as much as I can. Or at least if I use a conditioner with silicone in it, I can't use another product (moisturizer, a leave-in) with silicones as well. It takes no time at all for silicones to build up in my hair. But what's normal for me now is to do it the other way around; conditioner and leave-in w/o silicones, and then maybe when styling I'll use a product with silicones.
But it sounds like I'll be buying Hello Hydration this weekend! So many people rave about it. And what was Rachel's #12 condish? Hmm.. I must go search…
@Wizzarding – I would say that using a styling serum with silicone if you are not heat treating your hair probably contributes more to build up of silicones than using a conditioner with silicones.
Conditioners are rinse off products so a large part of the conditioner is rinsed off.
If you use a styling serum with silicone, this means you are reapplying silicone on top of silicone without washing in between. This is likely to cause build up.
@JC- Thanks for the info! I've definitely learned the hard way not to keep reapplying the styling products; probably around the same time I started using Giovanni conditioners. I'll switch it around and see what I get.
I have fragile thin to medium strands and very thirsty hair.
If a conditioner is cheap (under $8.00, over 12oz per bottle), includes Coconut Oil as an ingredient and claims to moisturize hair, I can use it.
If I don't like a product, like Tresemme, I add Olive Oil or Castor Oil, mix it up, and it's all good.
I enjoy Dove, L'Oreal / Garnier, Herbal Essence, Suave, and even White Rain, so far I have no complaints. Hello Hydration makes my hair curly though. Fascinating.