There are thousands of different conditioners on the market and, in many ways, they all work toward similar goals. A good conditioner will restore the moisture that has been lost during shampooing while also smoothing your hair cuticles, boosting shine, and minimizing frizz.

However, that’s not all a conditioner does. Many conditioner formulas have also been designed to provide additional benefits, whether this may be richer moisture for dry and coily hair or volumizing properties for fine, limp hair. Either way, if you use a conditioner that has been formulated for a hair type that isn’t yours, you run the risk of leaving your hair feeling brittle and damaged.

So, how do you pick the right conditioner for your hair type? Read on as Evalectric explains!

Determining Your Hair Type

Of course, before you can go about matching a conditioner to your hair type, you need to first understand what your hair type is.

Hair type essentially refers to the texture and curl pattern of the hair. There are four main hair type categories:

• Straight
• Wavy
• Curly
• Coily

Each category can then be split into further hair types. For example, super-straight and fine hair would be referenced as hair type 1a, whereas straight hair that has some slight bends would be classed as 1b. Likewise, loose curls would fall under 3a while springy S-shaped curls would be categorized as 3c. 

When choosing other hair care products, such as hair serums, it’s worth identifying the specifics of your hair type. However, when it comes to choosing a conditioner, you don’t have to be quite so detailed. Instead, so long as you know which of the four main hair types your locks fall under, that should be enough to guide you in making the right decision. 

Understanding How Oily Your Hair Is

Your hair is naturally moisturized by the sebum produced by your scalp. The sebum from your scalp slowly makes its way down each strand of hair to ensure that the entire hair shaft is lubricated.

However, this occurs much faster in straight hair than in curly hair types. The journey to reach the ends of the hair is much more complex with curly hair, simply due to all of the bends and kinks the sebum needs to travel over before it can actually access the drier ends of the hair.

This is why people with straight and wavy hair tend to have oilier strands than those with curly and coily hair.

Why does this matter?

Because conditioners designed for curly and coily hair will be much thicker and richer than formulas created for straight and wavy hair. This helps to make up for the lack of natural oil that curlier hair types have.

However, there are always exceptions. For example, if your hair is only slightly wavy but still happens to be extremely dry, then a conditioner designed for curly or coily hair may be better suited for you than one made for straight or wavy locks. So, if your hair type doesn’t correlate with how oily your hair is, then, in these rare cases, you’ll need to do a little extra research into ingredients to make sure that the conditioner formula you choose will work well for your hair.

Choosing a Conditioner for Your Hair Type

Now that you know what your hair type is and have accounted for any extra needs that your hair may have, it’s time to learn how to pick the very best conditioner for your locks:

Choosing a Conditioner for Straight and Fine Hair

If you have very straight and fine hair, then this means that you’re probably prone to greasy locks as well. As a result, you need a conditioner that’s extremely lightweight. After all, you don’t want your conditioner to weigh your strands down and leave them looking limp!

The best choice for this hair type is usually a volumizing conditioner. These help to add texture and volume to fine hair, giving it some extra body and movement.

Choosing a Conditioner for Wavy Hair

Wavy hair can be a challenge to deal with. It reacts differently depending on the environment that it’s in. For example, if wavy hair enters a humid environment, it’ll soon start to frizz. Meanwhile, in dry locations, wavy hair can quickly become limp and dull.

The best conditioner for dealing with this would be a moisturizing formula. Ideally, it should still be relatively lightweight. However, at the same time, it should contain plenty of ingredients that add moisture to your strands.

The Evalectric Moisturizing Conditioner would be a great choice. It contains argan oil, which has been proven to keep the hair feeling protected against environmental damage. It’s a very silky-feeling conditioner that boasts fantastic hydrating and moisturizing properties. This enables it to give the hair a softer, smoother, and sleeker finish.

Choosing a Conditioner for Curly Hair

The curlier your hair is, the drier it will likely be. As a result, the conditioner that you pick for your locks needs to be extremely hydrating. 

In addition to using a conditioner, it would also be worth treating your curly locks to a hair mask once a week. A mask will offer similar benefits to a conditioner but with a formula that’s so much more intense. Using a hair mask for 10-15 minutes each week will really help to enhance the effects of your conditioner. It’ll leave your hair feeling softer and so much more manageable.

Choosing a Conditioner for Coily Hair

Coily hair is highly prone to dryness. The curls are so intense that sebum really struggles to travel down each hair shaft. This leaves the hair feeling parched.

Fortunately, there are many conditioners out there designed specifically for coily hair. These are usually brimming with plant butters and oils, which are great for providing deep moisture and hydration. The thicker and richer the conditioner, the better your hair will feel afterward.

How Often to Use a Conditioner on Your Hair Type

Finding a conditioner that works well for your hair type will do so much for how healthy your hair looks and feels. However, in order to experience the full spectrum of benefits that your conditioner could potentially offer, you need to be using it at the correct frequency.

To put it simply, the oilier your hair naturally is, the less often it will need to be conditioned. People with a hair type that’s straight and fine may find that their hair feels limp if they condition it after every wash, even if they’re using a lightweight formula that’s designed for their hair type. For this reason, you may want to save your conditioner for every other wash instead.

Meanwhile, those with curly or coily hair would benefit from using a conditioner frequently. With that said, this doesn’t mean that you should start washing your hair more often. The more you shampoo your locks, the drier they’ll be. Each time you wash your hair, you remove the sebum that your scalp has produced. This means that it will then need to start from scratch when it comes to sending sebum down to the dry ends of your hair. 

So, if you have curly or coily hair, try cutting back on how often you wash your hair and consider co-washing every once in a while. This refers to washing hair with just a conditioner, instead of a shampoo. It still cleans the hair, albeit in a much gentler way than a shampoo would. This can really help to ease the feeling of dryness and brittleness. 

How to Use a Conditioner

So far, we’ve covered how to choose a conditioner and how often to use it. However, ensuring that you’re applying your conditioner in the correct way is vital too.

Prepping Your Hair

Unless you’re planning on co-washing, you should always begin by shampooing your hair. This removes all of the dirt and oil from the surface of your strands, so that your conditioner can then fully work its magic.

When choosing a shampoo, the same rules apply – make sure that the product you pick is suitable for your hair type. The drier your hair is, the gentler your shampoo needs to be.

One shampoo that works well for all hair types is the Evalectric Moisturizing Shampoo. This formula feels lightweight yet it’s brimming with argan oil to help keep your strands feeling hydrated while they’re being cleansed. 

Applying Your Conditioner

Once your hair has been washed, gently wring out any excess water. Many people make the mistake of applying conditioner to soaking wet hair. While the hair is more permeable when it’s damp, overly wet hair will only cause your conditioner to slide off your strands, instead of penetrating through or fully coating your fibers. 

Then, squeeze out a small amount of conditioner. The amount that you use should, once again, depend on your hair type, as well as the length and thickness of your mane. For example, if you have very fine and straight hair, you’ll only need a very small dollop of conditioner. On the other hand, if your hair is thick and curly, you’ll probably need to use about double the amount.

Apply your conditioner to the ends of your hair only. Don’t be tempted to apply any product near your scalp, unless you happen to have severely dry and damaged hair. For everyone else, conditioning your scalp will only lead to greasiness, heaviness, and buildup. 

At this stage, it can be helpful to use a wide-toothed comb to evenly distribute the conditioner through your strands. 

Then, give your conditioner a few minutes to work its magic before you rinse it out. Make sure that you rinse it thoroughly. Allowing any conditioner remnants to linger on your strands will only result in you having to wash your hair again sooner than what would have otherwise been necessary.

Summary

If you want your hair to look and feel its very best, then it’s definitely worth spending some time ensuring that the conditioner you’re using is suitable for your hair type. This will help to give your locks the right amount of moisture and care, leaving each strand feeling beautifully balanced and healthy.

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