If you have fine and thin hair, it's important not to skip conditioner, as you can still enjoy the benefits of such a product. The right formula detangles, reduces static electricity, prevents flyaways, adds volume, and may even keep your hair looking cleaner.
If you have very short hair, you may omit using a conditioner, as your scalp will produce sebum which protects the hair. However, the longer the hair is, or you have a dry scalp, it is harder for the sebum to reach the ends.
Leave-in conditioner is good for fine hair—as long as you find the right formula. "We all need some daily added moisture to our strands," Streicher tells Cosmo.
If you have fine and thin hair, it's important not to skip conditioner, as you can still enjoy the benefits of such a product.
Malin and Goetz Cilantro Hair Conditioner. Really, really fine hair demands a really, really light conditioner. For this, Malin + Goetz Cilantro conditioner is ideal: It's light, but still delivers nourishing fatty acids and shea butter to fine hair and split ends.
Conditioners help detangle and smooth the strands, allowing shed hair to be released. This might give the impression that conditioners cause hair loss, but in reality, they improve hair health.
It's important to brush your hair daily to ensure you are stimulating your hair follicles, but if you brush thin hair too much you will lose more hair. Just one or two short brushing sessions of a few strokes are sufficient to keep your hair maintained and healthy.
The difference between fine hair and thin hair is to do with the density of your hair and the thickness of the strands. With fine hair, you have lots of hairs with a small diameter. With thin hair, you can have thick hair strands but fewer of them.
And for those with thin and fine hair, a medium-length hairstyle is an especially great choice. If hair grows too long, it starts to look scraggly and stringy. If cut too short, it looks sad and limp. A medium-length cut gives movement and life to thin hair while keeping any little amount of natural volume intact.
Skipping conditioner can leave fine hair dry, tangled, and prone to breakage, but using the wrong one can weigh it down. “Fine hair can be more fragile, so it's essential to use conditioners with lightweight proteins to help maintain the hair's elasticity,” says Rivera.
Parabens, polyethylene glycols, formaldehyde, triclosan and more can cause scalp dryness buildup, as well as damaged strands and hair fall. Instead, consider a plant-based, gentle approach to washing and fortifying your strands, with a shampoo and a conditioner that smooth, condition and restore.
Folks who use a co-wash instead of shampoo can actually skip conditioner since too much moisture can be detrimental to hair. The same goes for those using a conditioning wash, says Longsworth.
The answer depends on which conditioner you're using. While every conditioner will moisturize your hair and keep it looking healthy, only certain ingredients will make your hair look fuller. There's research that indicates ingredients like biotin, caffeine, green tea, and saw palmetto can help make hair look healthier.
If you have thin hair, using a leave-in conditioner every time you wash your hair is a good starting point. Apply to damp, towel-dried hair to help lock in moisture, detangle, and provide extra protection during styling.
Using conditioner on the scalp is not recommended as it causes buildup and dandruff, which may weaken the hair roots and damage the hair. Thus, conditioner should be applied only to the hair strands, not to the scalp.
Designed for normal to thick color-treated hair that is vulnerable to dryness, Pureology Hydrate Shampoo is made with ingredients (like jojoba oil) to restore lustrous locks. Taking it a step further, Pureology Hydrate Shampoo has an exclusive AntiFade Complex® that keeps your hair color looking vibrant for longer.
Fine hair is prone to getting oily more easily, especially if you're constantly loading it with products to increase its volume or hold. That means deep-conditioning it too often can cause more harm than good in the form of excess weight or oil overproduction, so only do it every other week, or once a week at most.