Conditioner restores natural oils back into your strands after shampoo has stripped them away, creating smoother hair that’s easier to detangle. Conditioner also helps protect from damage while strengthening strands and adding shine – something shampoo cannot do.
Finding a conditioner tailored specifically for your hair type is crucial, so we consulted four hairstylists on what the various conditioners do and which would best fit each type.
Moisture
Moisturising conditioners are designed to prevent water from evaporating from your scalp during humid environments by binding moisture to each hair strand, and are most suited for those with dry or thick locks as these types of hair need an extra helping hand in keeping hydrated.
Moisturizing conditioners with aloe vera, coconut oil and sunflower seed extract are great ways to transform dry and rough tresses into silky softness and shine.
Some shampoos also feature a color protection formula to shield your locks from premature discoloration. When following up with shampoo with conditioner to restore and hydrate strands left feeling dull after washing with shampoo, use moisturizing conditioner as an extra step and leave on for one minute after rinsing before rinsing out to prolong color preservation and shine restoration while simultaneously preventing tangles and split ends with an anti-dehydration technology blend that provides intensive hydration.
Shine
The right conditioner can add serious shine without weighing your locks down. Made with lightweight ingredients to protect hair from humidity and keep it looking silky smooth and gorgeous. Packed with coconut oil conditioning agents, flax protein, natural oils and vitamins to deeply nourish hair strands while controlling frizz; plus its powerful anti-ageing and thermal UV protectant properties give added oomph!
Framesi Smooth Shine Conditioner is an ideal option for all hair types, providing moisture and fortifying benefits without leaving behind any trace of weight on your locks. Made to be used every time you wash, its innovative formula keeps colors vibrant 95% longer than standard conditioners!
This leave-in conditioner was specially created to add beautiful shimmer and an impressive boost of shine to your locks. Packed with Cranberry extract and free from gluten, parabens, sulfates and sodium chloride – making this ideal for all hair textures as well as color treatments.
Strength
Hair conditioners can restore strength to brittle, damaged, or over-processed locks by increasing flexibility (ability to bend). As an added benefit, these conditioners may include silicones to increase resilience against trauma or breakage; alternatively natural oils like argan or jojoba oil may offer similar results.
Conditioners contain ingredients designed to combat static electricity by covering each individual hair strand with a protective barrier of ingredients that cover their surfaces and coat each one. Static electricity occurs when one strand has a negative charge while another one has a positive one; conditioners typically have lower pH levels (around 7.0).
Protein-containing conditioners can restore damage to the structure of hair by strengthening bonds that connect keratin to each other, with some popular proteins used including keratin, hydrolysed wheat protein and egg protein as components of hair conditioners. Glycerin also makes an appearance in many conditioners as a humectant to attract moisture towards the surface of your locks and provide an additional hydration boost that leaves hair feeling soft and smooth even after drying has taken place.
Detangling
Detangling conditioners make managing your hair much simpler. They allow a brush or comb to glide through it more effortlessly, as well as help prevent breakage from brushing through, while some detanglers even nourish strands deeply for healthier-looking and more shiny locks.
Detanglers have long been a cult favorite. This affordable detangler works like a leave-in conditioner to soften and strengthen hair for easy detangling, thanks to shea butter and aloe vera ingredients which also offer moisture retention and UV and thermal damage protection.
If you have fine or limp locks, this lightweight detangler packed with nourishing rahua oil and mango fruit extract could give them some volume and shine. Furthermore, its ingredients are all-natural; free from sulfates, parabens, silicones and synthetic fragrances so it’s gentle enough for children as well.
