Conditioners provide essential hydration to your strands, which can prevent dryness and increase manageability of the locks. In addition, conditioners can detangle tangles while protecting them against color fading.
But selecting an effective formula for maintaining healthy locks can be daunting. We consulted experts such as Calev Backe and Quia Querisma for guidance in making our selection.
Moisturizes
Moisturizers in hair conditioners create a protective barrier of moisture to stop water loss from the strands, protecting from heat styling or UV damage and strengthening hair strands against breakage. Conditioners usually include moisturizing agents like glycerin, panthenol and natural oils containing proteins to strengthen them further as well.
Hair conditioning products should also include surfactants that are free from sulfates to keep both scalp and hair clean without stripping away natural oils. Such surfactants typically derive from fatty alcohols such as disodium oleaminesulfosuccinate or sodium dioctylsulfosuccinate.
Cleaning conditioners may suffice in moisturizing oily or fine hair types; for those with dry or coarse locks that need additional hydration, look for products containing oils such as shea butter or jojoba oil. Many hair-conditioning products contain silicones which create a protective coat over the strands to lock in moisture from heat styling tools or chemical treatments while reducing damage. But extended exposure could cause buildup – to avoid this situation altogether consider opting for silicone-free conditioners or those containing more natural alternatives like argan or jojoba oil conditioners instead.
Strengthens
Conditioners contain ingredients such as protein and amino acids that strengthen hair strands to make them less vulnerable to damage and breakage, making conditioners particularly helpful for people with damaged or chemically-treated locks as they can repair damage caused by heat styling tools or environmental stresses. This makes conditioners especially helpful for individuals experiencing split ends caused by heat styling tools or environmental stressors such as pollution.
Conditioners also help minimize static charge on hair strands due to negative electrical charges from individual hair strands. Static-reducing agents, such as Polyquaternium-7 and Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, work by covering negatively charged strands with molecules that fill any fissures in cuticle scales, making the cuticle smoother while decreasing attraction to positively-charged objects.
Natural oils like jojoba oil and coconut oil are popularly used in conditioners to soften and pliableen hair, while essential fatty acids that mimic sebum may help reduce dryness and frizz by penetrating deeper into the shaft of each individual strand.
Smoothes
Hair conditioners work to soften and smooth the cuticle of individual strands of hair, making it less likely that individual strands rub together and cause damage. Conditioners also can strengthen flexible fibers which makes hair more resilient against trauma as it stretches without breaking.
Conditioners contain ingredients like emollients, natural oils and lipids that lock in moisture to the hair shaft, keeping it from escaping while leaving it soft, supple and free from frizz. Furthermore, these ingredients may act as an environmental and heat stressor protection barrier.
Some conditioners are intended to be rinsed away after use while others should remain in. Rinse out conditioners may come in either clear or hazy forms with low levels of cationic materials and fatty alcohols that provide nourishment to hair that has few to no damage, while leave-in versions (sometimes known as co-washes) often feature oil-in-water emulsions with higher concentrations of cationic materials and fatty acids that work more effectively on damaged locks.
Shines
Conditioners typically contain shining agents to enhance the appearance of hair post-wash. These ingredients work by smoothing cuticle edges, filling in gaps, and increasing light reflection off individual shafts in order to make hair healthier and shinier. Silicones have historically been popular as shining agents; however long-term use could cause build up that makes hair appear greasy [31]. Natural oils such as argan or jojoba oil could provide viable alternatives [33,34].
Cationic polymers are another common ingredient used to provide shine to hair, coating it in a thin layer of polymer to fill in defects and decrease static electricity. They’re often combined with silicones in leave-in conditioners.
