Monday, June 11, 2012

Finding the right conditioner



How to find the right conditioner for detangling:

I've researched several sites & pulled together these tips.
  1. Read what the conditioner advertises. I know this sounds like common sense, but sometimes naturals are too quick to buy the first product that they read about on a blog. If the conditioner is made for color treated hair & you have virgin, colorless (not literally) hair, this conditioner may not work for you. Or if the conditioner is made for wavy hair & your hair is tightly coiled, this also may not work. You get my point...
  2. Separate the ingredients in your conditioner by this order: Weight (1st ingredients), Slip (2nd & 3rd ingredients) & Moisturizer (Ingredients other than the first 3)
Weight- which allows your hair to hang & defines your curls. Note that if water is listed as the first ingredient, it will not help to define your curls as much as if one of the following ingredients is listed first (But it's no reason to run & hide!)

  1.  cetyl alcohol- an emollient derived from coconut oils & palm oils which will soften your hair & provide slip.
  2. steryl alcohol- also acts as an emollient to soften hair
  3.   Also look for Benhentrimonium chloride, Quaternarium 18, Stearalkonium chloride, Certimonium Chloride

Slip- allows for easy detangling by helping the comb to glide through.
1. Behentrimonium Chloride
2. Stearamidoproply Dimethylamine


Mosisturizer- Water is the only true moisturizer (hence the reason why water is listed as a main ingredient in conditioners). However our hair is porous so water quickly escapes. In addition, we lack keratin (a water proof protein that helps skin/hair to maintain moisture). Thus, the only way to truly maintain moisture is by locking it in with an oil. Look for the following when moisturizing your hair:
  1. A fatty acid base such as avocado oil, olive oil, castor oil or coconut oil. Note: These items usually aren't listed as the first three items in a conditioner. However, if there are tons of extra ingredients in the conditioner, these ingredients are what you'll want to look for (instead of a whole bunch of ingredients that you can barely pronounce).
  2. Essential oils- sage, rosemary & lavender
  3. Refrain from using cheap oils like petrolatum, lanolin & mineral oil.
Protein- just as proteins nourish our bodies, they also nourish our hair. Proteins help to bind to hair follicles and fix weakened areas. The Science of Black Hair says that large amounts of proteins are found in "instant conditioners (v05, suave etc), leave-in conditioners & protein reconstructors.
  1. Examples of proteins- silk, collagen & animal proteins
Posted by Jackie at 12:55 PM
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