In fact, leave-in conditioners are your last chance to apply true moisture to your hair before you dry it! Let's see how to take the most advantage of leave in conditioners.
What is a Leave In Conditioner?
Detanglers, leave in sprays, leave in tonic - these are all just variations of the same thing: leave in conditioners. These products are used to provide additional moisture to hair as well as offer ability to help with the comb out process of hair. Most leave in conditioners contain moisturizers, silicones, protein and other strengthening and moisturizing agents. The products come in various forms including sprays, thick creams, and thin liquids.
You can also save money by making your own homemade leave in conditioner. They are really easy to make. Simply take your favorite conditioner and mix it with distilled water in a spray bottle to your desired consistency. You can then use your own mixture to handle a long detangling job or to refresh your curls mid-day without spending a fortune buying lots of leave in conditioner.
Why is a Leave in Hair Conditioner Important?
Leave in conditioners were created to enhance conditioning that your hair has already received. When you condition your hair after shampooing, you have restored suppleness and elasticity to your hair. Depending on many factors, when you rinse the conditioner out, you may lose some of the elasticity even though your hair is still conditioned. Using a leave in conditioner will help your hair hold on to the conditioning that it has already received. They will provide additional conditioning and help your hair hold on to moisture as well.
Does Everyone Need a Leave In Hair Conditioner?
In my opinion, everyone needs a leave in conditioner. Whether your hair is straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, or kinky a leave in conditioner can provide extra ordinary benefits. Most types of hair gets tangly in some way. Using a leave in conditioner will help with that. Depending on what range you are in the spectrum from straight to kinky will determine what type of leave in you need as well as how much of it you'll need.
Sometimes leave in conditioners are referred as detanglers. There's very good reason for this. Most leave-in conditioners have ingredients that help them to detangle hair a lot easier than if you did not use one. Many of them include silicones and moisturizers which aide in the detangling process. You should always always use a leave-in conditioner before attempting to comb out your hair especially if it is curly or kinky. Otherwise, you will risk breaking and tearing your hair.
Those on the curly end of the scale will have better luck with thicker, creamy leave in conditioners while straight hair and wavy hair can do just fine with leave in sprays.
When Should Detangles be Used?
This would seem to be a simple answer but it's not. Yes, of course, a leave in should be used immediately after washing and conditioning. But you can use a detangler much more often than that! If you only wash your hair several times a week, you may notice tangles. A leave in hair conditioner is perfect for this type of job. Spray your hair and restyle. The same thing goes for refreshing a curly style. Use a leave in hair conditioner to do this. Mix it with some distilled water if you want it to be a little bit lighter and spray away.
Do you roll your hair up at night? Are the ends dry? Here's a quick tip: Spray a little leave in conditioner on your ends, then apply a tad bit of oil. Then roll your hair. In the morning, your ends will be moisturized and shiny from the inside out.
Where Should You Apply Your Leave In?
Generally speaking, applying your leave in is most likely done at the sink after you have showered. Here's something that also works. If you're wearing a curly style, you can go ahead and take a little bit of the conditioner you washed with and leave it in your hair. Just take a quarter size amount for each half of your hair (depending on the length and thickness) and massage in concentrating on the ends.
What's the Best Technique for Using a Leave In
My preferred method of using a leave in hair conditioner is section by section depending on time. Take your hair in two to four halves and then spray or apply your creamy leave in. Massage or comb in to make sure you've gotten the conditioner on your roots all the way to your ends.
If your hair is really dry or you're finding that your leave-in hair conditioner is just not providing enough moisture, try adding a nice drop of oil to the bottle. Remember to shake it up every time you use it on your hair. The liquid in the leave in conditioner will provide moisture to your hair while the oil will help seal in the moisture all in one step. This is also helpful to save time on multiple steps of moisturizing and sealing.
Conclusion
As you can see a leave in hair conditioner is an important part of the washing and conditioning process. It is your last chance to infuse moisture into your hair. No matter what other steps you choose to skip in your regimen, do not skip this one. Leave in conditioning - since it is not rinsed out - is one of the most vital things you can do for your hair.
Source: Long Healthy Hair Advisor
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