Best Natural Hair Conditioner For Your Curls, Kinks & Coils

Natural Hair Is Beautiful Women’s Tee

Knowing what types of conditioners are needed for natural hair is just as important as knowing how to properly use them. Knowing which natural hair conditioner that will give your hair hydration, protection, softness and fight frizz means knowing all the types available to you. It’s not always about brand that one needs to know but about ingredients and intent. Cleansing hair is extremely important but a natural hair conditioner has a bigger job for your curls and there are three kinds that we need and use weekly.

Care & Retention For Natural Hair Growth

Knowing the difference between a regular (rinse out) conditioner, leave-in conditioner and a deep conditioner are crucial to keeping your hair properly conditioned, moisturized and overall healthy. Here is a breakdown of the three, when to use them and how.

Every curly girl needs to use a rinse out conditioner because it keeps our hair moisturized in the days after styling. The natural oils from our scalp don’t travel all the way down our hair shaft because of our curl pattern in order to properly moisturize our hair. So we coat our hair with a rinse out conditioner so that it will stay moisturized in order for us to retain length.

If you’re complaining of dry hair and you don’t use a rinse out conditioner – there’s why. The conditioner closes our hair cuticle and keeps the moisture locked in after the shampoo has lifted our cuticles and stripped it. The closed cuticle makes it less susceptible to breakage when detangling with your fingers or combs. As well as, the conditioner makes our hair easy to detangle because of the ‘slip’ that comes with this heavy product as the rinse out conditioner is heavier than a leave-in. Our hair will stay moisturized even though we rinse it out therefore leaving it in our hair is not good.

Popular Natural Hair Conditioner For Curls, Kinks & Curls

We should use a rinse out conditioner weekly to replace moisture lost throughout the week from the elements of the environment and our manipulation. If you want a moisturizing product to stay in your hair after wash day – use a leave in.There are a few rinse-out conditioners that you can also leave in and my favorite is Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Intensive Hydration Conditioner. I use it as a leave-in never assume which conditioner you can rinse-out or leave-in. Consult with the product so you are using them correctly. They will tell you if they can be used both ways.

Popular Rinse out conditioner: DEVACURL One Condition Original Daily Cream Conditioner

So, why do we use a leave-in conditioner if we use a rinse out conditioner and deep conditioner? Because the leave in serves a real purpose. This lightweight product acts as a protective barrier around our hair shaft for when it is being manipulated during the styling process, affected due to the environmental conditions and rubbing against our cotton clothes.

Popular Leave In Conditioners For Curls, Kinks & Curls

 In addition, it adds a bit of moisture for the days after styling. Ladies, please don’t even consider just using leave-in conditioners (instead of the rinse out) because it’s simply isn’t moisturizing enough as they are have a higher water content, lighter than a rinse out are will not work longer than a day or so. They can be used daily because they are lighter and they make for better daily styling.  This natural hair conditioner will get used the most, so op for one that works well, but also will not break the bank!

Popular Leave-in conditioner: Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner/Detangler

The most important natural hair conditioner would have to be a deep conditioner.  If you want great moisture retention and elasticity – deep condition your hair every single wash day with heat. The heat (a thermal cap like the Hot Head Thermal Cap (which I have and love) or under a hooded cap like the Infiniti Pro Gold BY CONAIR® Soft Bonnet Hair Dryer) causes the cuticles to be raised and allows the emollients and moisturizing ingredients to fully penetrate and coat the hair shaft.

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Everyone should deep condition their hair because it adds an extra boost of moisture and protection for the days after styling. It should be done every week but can be stretched to biweekly depending on your hair preference.  Deep conditioning also fills the holes in the hair cuticle (which is a cause of poor porosity) from the damage and manipulation that occurred in the week and the parts that the conditioner may have missed. Deep conditioning on a regular basis adds shine, prevents dryness and damage and improves the overall look, feel and health of your natural hair.

Popular Deep Conditioners For Curls, Kinks & Curls

 I often add some natural oils like olive or coconut oil to my deep conditioner as both oils are both able to penetrate the hair shaft.  Most oils do not and these two can impart those much-needed nutrients to keep hair strong, moisturized and protected. To take your haircare to the next level, make sure to keep the deep conditioning step in your washday.

Popular Deep Conditioner: EDEN BodyWorks Jojoba Monoi Deep Conditioner

Do you have a favorite natural hair conditioner (rinse-out, leave-in and deep conditioner)? Share below!

Sabrina