A Detailed Guide On How To Use Conditioner For Your Hair
A Detailed Guide On How To Use Conditioner For Your Hair
By Shammi Mondal
If you have hair that feels excessively dry, damaged and lacking lustre, fear not because we have just the solution for you - hair conditioners! These magical potions work wonders in transforming your dull and lifeless locks into shiny, moisturised, and strong strands that are healthier. While you may be knowing that shampoo and conditioner often go hand in hand there is a high probability that you may not be using the right conditioner and might not know how to use a conditioner. Here are the things you must know before buying a conditioner.
What is a conditioner, anyway?
A conditioner is a cream-based treatment that is meant to infuse moisture into your hair, that it loses from shampooing. It often is the second step to your hair wash routine which calms and softens your hair cuticles while improving the quality of your hair. A conditioner tackles serval other concerns like it and ends up making detangling your hair easier. Think of them as your hair's personal superhero, fighting off dryness, frizz, and tangles with ease.
What are the benefits of a hair conditioner?
Think of hair conditioners as moisturisers for your hair. They give your hair the required nourishment externally and help improve its overall look, feel and health. Not to mention, they come in a variety of formulations and fragrances to suit your hair types and olfactory preferences. They come in delicious scents that will leave your hair smelling like a tropical paradise. So go ahead, treat yourself to a little conditioner love and watch your hair transform for the better!
Like the thumb rule is to look for shampoo based on your scalp condition, choosing a conditioner depends on your hair type and the condition you want to tackle Here are the benefits of using a conditioner that will help you enhance the condition of your hair.
- Provides smoothness and shine
Hair conditioners are deep conditioning formulations that greatly increase the shine and smoothness of your hair and improve its texture. Due to their potent ingredients like argan oil, and shea butter, the creamy treatments prevent dryness and give your hair a lustrous sheen.
- Prevents breakage
If you find that your hair tends to break off while combing it, you’ll want to look for a conditioner that helps in rebinding the shaft. Conditioners seal the hair follicles with nourishment and improve the moisture levels of your hair. It re-builds your hair cuticles with ingredients like keratin and peptides further improving your hair elasticity and strengthening it.
- Improves manageability
One of the major benefits of using a conditioner is that it makes your hair drastically manageable. You would notice that even while washing your hair, it gives your hair more movement and softness.
- Reduces dryness, damage and frizz
Your dry, damaged, and brittle hair will feel extra loved with the nourishing care of conditioners. Generally, hair conditioners are full of oils, emollients and humectants that retain moisture in your hair shafts and prevent any inter-fibre friction that causes frizz. Chemically treated hair or coloured hair can be more porous and often loses moisture sooner than untreated hair, a hair conditioner here penetrates through the cuticles and seal in nutrients repairing the damage.
What are the different types of conditioners?
When you’re browsing through the different conditioners for your hair, the most important thing you must consider is what type of conditioner your hair needs. You can determine that by the way your hair feels when you touch it. Whether your hair ends are dry and brittle? If you deal with a lot of static? Is it limp or extra oily? There is a conditioner type for each of these concerns and here are the words you need to look out for in the labels.
1. Hydrating/Moisturising.
These conditioners are an absolute fit for dry and brittle hair, as they have ingredients hyaluronic acid, vitamin E and panthenol that add shine, moisture and life to hair that looks dull. These conditioners are also great for coarse, curly, and thick hair.
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2. Strengthening/Fortifying
If your hair shaft is weak or undernourished due to excessive heat styling or chemical treatments, this type of conditioner will take good care of your strands. Look for ingredients like keratin and wheat protein that fill in the cracks of your hair cuticles with the necessary nutrients.
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3. Smoothing/Conditioning
A smoothing conditioner will intensely help in evening out your hair texture and help maintain a straight hairstyle for a longer period. This conditioner works well to calm down frizz as it generally has silicones that help with giving your flyaway hair a little weight and flatten it to give you that smooth-looking hair.
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4. Volumizing
A volumizing conditioner is something that helps your fine hair look fuller and gives it a boost and lift without weighing it down. They coat your hair in a moisturising layer and help it look thick with ingredients like collagen that are gentle on your strands sans the greasiness.
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5. Curl enhancing
Curly hair tends to lose out moisture faster and is drier than other hair types which is why an ultra-moisturising conditioner is something that works best for your hair type. These conditioners have a thicker formulation and are made with ingredients like shea butter and olive oil that infuse a lot of moisture into your hair shaft helping it form bouncy, frizz-free curls.
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6. Colour protecting
A conditioner is a champ at protecting the vibrancy of your hair colour. If you’ve coloured your hair and have gone through the process of bleaching it, a conditioner is highly recommended. Your hair colours penetrate deep in your hair cuticles, which naturally makes your hair dryer due to the ammonia blocks and when you regularly wash your hair with a shampoo, it begins to dim the hue. A conditioner will help seal the cuticle with moisture and protect the colour from fading.
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How to use a conditioner?
Conditioners are used right after washing your hair and believe it or not there is a right and wrong way to apply conditioner to your hair. Here is an easy stepwise game plan on how to use your conditioner right.
Step 1- Wash your hair and thoroughly rinse out all shampoo.
Step 2- Rinse out all the water from your hair, but do not towel dry it, keep it a little damp.
Step 3- Start with a dollop of conditioner and spread that onto your palms first.
Step 4- Gently apply the conditioner from mid-lengths to the tip of your hair and keep your conditioner away from the scalp.
Step 5- Use a wide tooth comb to evenly spread the treatment evenly through your hair.
Step 6- Let the conditioner stay on your hair for a little over a minute.
Step 7- Rinse the conditioner thoroughly with cold water.
Mistakes to avoid when using a conditioner
You may know how to use a conditioner on your hair, but there are chances that you may be making these mistakes as muscle memory. Read on to spot the ones you’re missing out on and get them right.
- Not using a conditioner at all.
- Applying the conditioner on your scalp. Conditioners are heavy and contain silicone that will make your scalp greasy and encourage extra sebum to pile up.
- Not applying the conditioner on hair-dripping water.
- Applying the conditioner on dry hair.
- Not giving enough time for the conditioner to work.
How to use conditioners 101?
Q. How to use conditioner properly?
A. After shampooing, apply your conditioner on damp hair so that it has hydration to hold onto and wait for a min before rinsing the treatment off with cold water.
Q. How to pick and use the right conditioner?
A. To make sure you’re choosing the right conditioner, first, know your hair type or texture and then look for the conditioner type that will help boost its health. For e.g., If you have fine hair, look for a volumizing shampoo that will not only moisturise your strands but also give them a fuller look.
Q. Can I apply a conditioner every day?
A. Like you don’t wash your hair every day to avoid over-drying your scalp, using a conditioner regularly will make your strands heavy and excessively oily. A conditioner can be safely used thrice a week.