Why does conditioner not 'work' on my hair?

[Nahthatsnoton]

Hair was no problem as a child and throughout teens. Since 20s (now 30s) hair is very dry but no conditioner seems to get 'into' my hair even the expensive ones. I can use half a bottle of conditioner and still not detangle my hair.

I have fine, brownish/reddish (but going a bit grey), naturally wavy hair.

I have tried expensive conditioners, leave in conditioners, overnight treatments, coconut oil etc. The only thing that worked was a Brazilian blow dry keratin treatment at the hairdressers but at £300 a pop the cost of that is more than I would like.

Any ideas wise Mumsnetters? Product or hair care tips all welcome.

Amazon sell diy keratin treatments. My daughter uses them for her rather dry spiral curly hair & it looks fab. I think hair ages like we do, loses its melanin etc.

I'm sure someone with better knowledge of this will comment, but have you investigated protein v moisture? A lot of conditioners have ingredients that act as proteins on the hair, so if you use too many or have hair that doesn't like protein you get protein overload, where your hair is dry, brittle and stringy.

If that's the case you need to use a clarifying shampoo and then just use products that are low/no protein and have more moisturising ingredients. If you google protein or moisture you'll find lots of info on it.

How often are you using shampoo ?

OP Why not try co-washing instead of using a shampoo and scrunch your hair dry with cantu cream. Maybe your hair wants to be curly and you just don't know it !

You might need to get a sulphate free shampoo and conditioner

My dd3 has very dry curly hair which is bloody nightmare and we have to use these types.

We are currently using Body Shops vegan Banana Truly Nourishing shampoo and conditioner and I put their coconut oil hair stuff on her hair and leave it over night once a week. Its now manageable. And if I use it on me I can tell the difference the next day when I get up than when I use normal brands as I don't resemble Rod Stuart as much

My other kids who are not allowed to use it as its not cheap just have the usual brands and they are fine

It's possible the Brazilian blow dry has damaged your hair, especially if a lot of heat was used in the ironing process. That only becomes apparent once the temporary keratin coating wears off.

I'd advise a good trim. I have bleached blonde hair: so dry and a bit damaged and this is what works for me;
Towel dry hair after shampooing,
Deep conditioner on midlengths and ends (I use Tony and Guy damage repair mask)
Comb through conditioner to coat each strand- this will help with hair prone to tangling
Rinse out
Blast with cold water
Apply a few drops of Elvive Extraordinary Oil to towel dried hair before drying.

The above routine makes my rather straw like hair feel miraculously silky and smooth.

More water. Add a bit of conditioner then more water, more conditioner and so on and squish it in so the water gets mixed with the conditioner
Use a wet detangling brush
Protein v moisturise
Look for a conditioner with good slip
If you wanted to try it cheaply
XHC conditioner is protein (£1)
Creightons micellar conditioner is moisture (£1.49)

Thanks all, some really helpful tips and I will look into protein vs moisture.

Annoyingly despite the issue being dry hair my hair gets very greasy at the roots so I don't think I can ditch the shampoo.

I don't think the keratin treatment is what caused the dryness as I have only had a few over the years and it seems a pre-existing problem but really appreciate everyone's advice. Hopefully silky locks will come my way!

Tbf, conditioner is not to 'detangle' it's just to add moisture.

My hair is very fine and I find that if anything, conditioner makes it knot more tbh.

Best thing you can do is get some de-tangelisning spray and comb your hair through after washing before it dries. With some of the spray too.

Maybe look at how you wash your hair? Brad mondo (yeah he is a bit annoying) has done a few you tube videos about shampooing too roughly etc I’m sure other hairdressers will have done these sort of videos too. And things like silk wraps/pillowcases for sleeping. But I went sulphate free as others have advised and think it’s been amazing, much less greasy scalp and much better hair condition overall.

I can use half a bottle of conditioner and still not detangle my hair.

Have you tried a Tangle Teezer (or cheaper knock off)?

Get a tub of solid coconut oil and saturate your hair in it.

Leave it in overnight and for as long as you can (a whole weekend is ideal if you're not going anywhere!)

Another thing to consider is that your hair might be overloaded with silicone build up after trying so many products?

Build up of silicone can mean conditioning treatments aren't "soaking in" to your hair and it just feels weirdly dry but greasy.
Try stripping it with a decent clarifying shampoo (I swear by Vosene original for leaving it completely squeaky clean) then apply your conditioner and it should work as it should!

I used to buy hair straightening kits. It's a bit like a reverse perm but works well for a month. I'm currently using olaplex which is a bit of a faff but it works.

I had similar hair issues & after trying every conditioner out there, I finally stumbled on Asiam Coconut Cowash three years ago & have never looked back. The cheapest outlet is superdrug but do have a look at the reviews on Amazon first. It's the best of both worlds - the moisture of cowashing with the cleaning power of shampoo. This stuff cleans away sebum & product residue but do use a clarifying shampoo, once a month. You can condition afterwards with another product in addition to this if you need to. I generally don't - but I do use liberal amounts of Cantu leave in conditioner after washing.

Try looking up hair porosity. You can put a hair in a glass of water to see

I have dry hair and its bleached, before I blow dry I use morrocan oil (The actual branded one) and makes my hair silky and soft, wouldn't be without it now!

My hair texture changed when I hit 60 - and not for the better. It was red but has turned reddish brown with grey strands in. It's dry and has developed waves. What has helped with the dryness is only shampooing once instead of twice and only washing it twice a week. I'm still looking for the perfect conditioner....

Following. I used to love a Boots Botanics hair serum they used to sell - discontinued since about 2015. It was only about £4 and transformed my straw-like barnet into soft but not slippery hair - I haven’t found anything like it since.