Should I stop using conditioner on my thin hair?

[McDougal]

I don't know what's happened to my hair recently but it goes lank and looks even thinner than usual when I straighten it at the minute. At its current length (just above shoulder), I usually curl it which makes it look passable but I'm starting to wonder whether it's getting a bit overloaded with products.

I use silicone free products and have tried various shampoo/conditioner combos but have been googling and using no conditioner seems to be the answer I'm looking for. I wouldn't go cold turkey and would still use a leave in conditioner/hair protector spray before styling but just wondering if anyone else has the same problem with their hair? If so, what works for you? Or am I destined to live with thin, lank locks for the rest of my days?

Have you tried conditioning first, shampooing second? Makes a big difference with mine.

I have but it leaves it so tangled that I ended up using a detangling spray which makes it even more lank

I stopped using conditioner ages ago and it's done my thin, fine lanky fly away hair wonders. It doesn't seem to get as oily/ greasy so I'm not washing it daily anymore either. I rotate shampoos and use a mixture of Philip Kingsley body building shampoo and L'Oréal dream lengths, and whatever else I have knocking about.

I treat myself to a Dyson airwrap last year and use the soft volumising brush day to day and it gives more volume than I achieve with a standard hairdryer. I love the curling attachments too. I know the air wrap is very hit and miss but I love mine and I'm noticing much less fall out and breakage too.

Philip Kingsley elasitizer once or twice a week (Hayes this product at first but when used sparilngly on the lengths and not the roots it's a game changer for me). I've recently started and I love that but it's pricey. It because I use it so sparingly it lasts a long time.

A travel size sample lasted me months and I've just bought a the 150 ml size on feel unique for £35 but they also have an offer where if you spent £45 on that brand you get the150 ml pomegranate and cassis elasticizer for free so I just added the travel size of the body building shampoo to qualify.

When mine started thinning, I stopped using conditioner because it really weighed my hair down and made it look flat against my head, so bad I could see my scalp through it.

I used two different thickening shampoos on it, and dried it upside down for a bit of volume, and it did look a bit better for a while without the conditioner.

Mine is also better without conditioner most of the time, and just used from mid length to the ends when I do.

I swear by Jamaican black castor oil. My hair was so damaged and thin and now it’s so thick I literally see my hairdressers heart sink every time I walk into the salon. She hates trying to tame it as there’s just so much of it. I also use it on eyebrows and eyelashes

My hair was never in such terrible condition as it was when I was using silicone free shampoo and conditioner. It absolutely destroyed it.

@Ebonyandivory2 what do you do-rub it on the scalp? For how long please I bought some but not used it yet

And yes-my greasy hair is better without conditioner & using sls free shampoo - OGX

Although I think styling products can be used if they're silicone free? There's a recent thread on it

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to give no conditioner a go and see how my hair responds. The castor oil sounds interesting so I might have a look around for that too. Anything they'll make my increasingly thin hair look better sounds good to me!

@buckeejit I’m assuming you have European hair? If so my hair is a little different and can handle the heavy oil whereas yours probably can’t so I’d recommend mixing it with Argan oil as castor oil is very thick. Work it through your hair and massage your scalp with a small amount. It has to be the pure Jamaican black castor oil. The refined white one is nowhere near as good. You can find it in the Afro Caribbean hair shops or online but use a trusted stockist if buying online. It really does work wonders even if my hair stylist hates me for using it

I tried no conditioner but then got an even worse problem: STATIC!!

Honestly you should stop the leave in conditioner too and stop straightening your hair for a while. Thin greasy hair doesn’t really need the extra stress. Talk to your hairdresser for a style that requires minimal upkeep. Often an old fashioned weekly diy blowdry is enough.

Maybe try thickening shampoo with the kids detangling light weight leave in conditioning spray, it is for detangling very fine hair.

I would occasionally use a clarifying shampoo like Tresemme to get rid of product build-up.
This might help to put a bit of bounce back into your hair.

I've got fine hair, but quite a lot of it and was sick of it always looking so limp. It's quite wavy and I spent ages trying with the curly girl method - it did accentuate the curls but also made it look weirdly flat at the same time.
I've just been using a shampoo for fine hair and no conditioner for a few months now and it's the best it's ever looked. I use the Lush Roots treatment once every couple of weeks, but don't otherwise use anything else on my hair. It's bouncy, so the wave looks nice, shinier than it's ever been and doesn't get nearly as greasy. However, I don't think this would work if you regularly use straighteners. Could you rethink your style slightly so that you have to use less heat on it as I do think it's a killer for fine hair ?

Which shampoo please @TheHoundsofLove ?

I had really bad thinning hair, so much so that i could see my scalp. It was awful. Then i was told about a product and it's literally changed my life.

It's called Nioxin and what you do is go onto thier website and answer a few questions about your hair, then it will recommend which treatments is right for you. It's a shampoo, conditioner and a root and scalp treatment that you use every wash, and the difference it has made to me is incredible.

I've been using it about six months now and I am so so impressed - my hair looks, feels and is thicker. It strips everything out of your hair and takes it back to how it used to be - i had curly hair as a young child and in the past month I've noticed that the curls are coming back when my hair is wet.

My hairdresser reccomends Nioxin to everyone with thinning hair now and just yesterday said to me that I'm living proof that it actually works!

Instead of using heated styling tools, which always damage your hair a bit) can you use old fashioned velcro rollers? Much better for your hair

I have very thin hair and don’t use conditioner anymore (apart from like once a month). I also use dry shampoo sometimes to give it a bit more volume

I don't straighten it often but, when I do, it only looks good for a couple of hours before looking like it could do with a wash!

I tend to use a clarifying shampoo once a week or so but I've been trying to not wash so regularly recently so don't seem to need it as often.

So first time this morning washing and no conditioner and all seems good so far. I let it air dry for a little while before using a little of a spray I received in this month's birch box to help me get my fingers through it and it looks okay now it's 90% dry. Not as nice as when it's curled but passable for a morning at the cinema with DD

Overinfested I don't live in the UK and it's an own-brand only available here in Germany. But, it's from a natural/vegan range (so is pretty gentle) and says that it's for volume. I would say that you just have to keep trying until you find one that suits your hair - I tried loads before I found this one. Luckily, I've got 2 filthy dogs who need bathing pretty often...with an assortment of half-used shampoos!

I've just posted something along a similar vein OP. I've been using a silicon/paraben etc free shampoo and no conditioner for about a month. Ends are really dry, no easier to style (maybe slightly less frizz at roots) but more volume on the whole and less greasy.

Love some recs for light weight oil products - love the idea of afro Caribbean products- but I fear they will be too heavy for my fine hair.

I've been wondering if there's such a thing as a lightweight oil product, Kmini, as all reviews I've seen are so mixed and what seems to work for one thin haired soul is disastrous for the other .

Glad you've got more volume but please report back if you find a product to help with the dry ends!

No replies on my thread so might as well just hijack yours