Does anyone else with long hair NOT use conditioner?

[NowIsTheWinterOfOurDiscontent]

Hello

I'm 43 with just-past-shoulder length hair. The individual hairs are fine but I have a lot of them, according to my hairdresser, so my hair looks thick. I have stopped bleaching my hair and only quickly blast it dry after washing (I don't heat style per se). I also sleep on a silk pillowcase.

I'm low in energy these days. I find most conditioners make my hair feel a bit sticky and need washing more often.

Can I just...stop using conditioner? My plan is to keep using a wide tooth comb in the shower before I get out, to rid me of tangles.

There is a hairdresser on TikTok or Instagram who says you don’t need to use conditioner. I find it very odd. I always use conditioner but my hair tends to be on the dry side.

Have a look on SM. I’m sure you’ll find lots of posts on there. I’d just be careful and make sure you use heat protector and some serum or oil once dry, so your hair doesn’t dry out completely or break.

I too have a lot of fine hair and didn’t start using conditioner till I got to my forties because it was naturally long, straight and silky. Then peri menopause started and my hair is now just a frizzy mess even with conditioner. You won’t know till you stop using it.

One thing, you have mentioned being low in energy. My hairdresser believes that the state of our hair is directly affected by your diet but, if you think that applies to you, improving your diet won’t show up until new hair starts growing (so it’s not a quick fix to see results if you have shoulder length hair).

My hair would be impossible without it. Long think wavy hair. If your hair is straight, and doesn’t tangle, and has a decent amount of oil you might be okay.

Well You can try it and see. Personally I wouldn’t it is not my hair.
Have you tried different ones? More light weight conditioner? Only on the ends of the hair?

If mine was as short as yours, I may be able to get away with it. Couldn't you just use 2 in 1?

I never use it. Hair is long and thick, but each hair is fine.
Found conditioner or any products too heavy for my hair and sent it greasy quickly.
My hair is my crowning glory and I get lots of compliments on it.

I have wavy hair, but it’s very fine and silky. I use a leave in conditioner that I rinse out, so the conditioning effect is very light. Works brilliantly for me.

I don’t use conditioner, but my hair is shorter than your’s, between jaw and chin length. I think I’d have problems if it was shoulder length. Could you just put a very light conditioner on the ends, and then shampoo at roots and rinse them both out together?

I don't use conditioner at all. Never have. I have below shoulder length, wavy, hair. I use a small amount of mousse to control, potential, frizz.

I do like the idea of washing out a leave-in conditioner, as mentioned above, though. Having said that, conditioner, even on the ends, only, just does not work for me. I have medium thickness hair but a lot of it.

If it is not broke, I would be inclined to stick with it

I don’t use conditioner near my scalp, just from about half way down!
i wouldn’t be able to get a comb through it without conditioner.

When I was low on energy I used Cowash. My favourite was the AsIAm Cowash.

Really good, really easy.

Oh lots of responses already, thanks!

I'm skeptical re heat protectant sprays. i listened to something on BBC Radio a few years ago and it said it's useful in theory but you'd need to ensure you coated every strand of hair which is impossible.

I've not found I'm very good at keeping the conditioner "just on the ends" esp as I like to comb it through. 2 in 1 would, I suspect, give me greasy roots.

I've tried all sorts of products - with and without silicone. I do have a low tolerance for anything sticky or that builds up in the hair. Garnier Fructis - looking at YOU!

I feel it will be one less thing to buy/spend money on and 1 less thing collecting mildew in the shower!

My hair does tend towards a slight wave/frizz but blasting dry does seem to solve 90% of that.

Yeah you guys are right - nothing for it but to give it a go!

I can see why women just chop all their hair off eventually!

On the low energy thing - I've always been like that really. I don't think I'm unwell. Don't think I'm in peri yet either. I think it's mostly psychological. I can simply NO LONGER BE ARSED! with a lot of stuff. So actually, peri defo is on the way!

I have long hair (well past shoulders) and use conditioner about once every 3 months. Same as you, my main reason is that i just cant arsed with the faff. My hair is fine! Go for it. I also use a clarfying type shampoo regularly so that i dont have to wash it every other day, which i do if using a normal shampoo.

Late 40s, very thick waist length curly hair. The only time I use conditioner is after swimming in salt water.

Similar hair to you OP

I only use it occasionally, and it's fine

It's actually been quite a revelation. I just think they're trying to make money.

I do use L'Oreal extraordinary oil. I only use a tiny bit though. If you find it a faff just buy leave in - which makes a lot more sense anyway.

I also find with regular gym etc I am washing my hair nearly every day and I was surprised that stopping conditioner didn't make much difference. I think most products are just designed to sit on the hair. It makes sense that leave in conditioner would be better.

Day to day, it looks absolutely fine. I do need to put a bit of hairspray on it for flyaways

I went through a lot of hassle with my hair because I tried one of those keratin treatments. It was completely pointless. They promised I would keep my curls. And lose my frizz. This did not happen. I posted about it here if you want to search.

So then I had to use that horrible silicone free stuff and anyway, it was a good review into what does and doesn't work.

I also noticed that in spite of me fretting about my hair, it looked pretty much the same in all photos. So then I realised I should stop stressing about it.

I have similar hair and would definitely get a lot of breakage if I tried combing wet without conditioner. Only ever use on mid length and ends. A spray conditioner when towel dried isn’t a faff, but depends on your faff tolerance :)

I have zero "faff tolerance". Chat GPT tells me I "dislike friction in everyday life".

Yeah I do believe that the skin and hair care industries are just largely scams to make money.

Hair = greasy - so use a detergent to get rid of grease. Don't think we need to overcomplicate it.

Yes I do have a kids detangling spray under the sink in case I need it.

Have just dropped off my remaining unopened conditioner at the food bank so I can give this a proper go!

I have thick wavy hair that I never mastered. I tried the no-poo regime along with the curly girl nonsense a while ago and felt like I needed to wash my crusty hair far more often.

In the last couple of years I've just been using a simple shampoo and light conditioner on the very ends after swimming (rare), otherwise it gets VERY staticky.

I use a hot air styler on air-dried hair to minimise damage, which my hairdresser approves of.

I have shoulder length hair and only use conditioner maybe twice a month and I usually wash my hair every 2-3 days and I always use a clarifying shampoo. I hate my hair to feel crusty, or sticky or coated.
I have similar hair that you describe and conditioner weighs my hair down and leave it feeling lank and lifeless.
I do use products on my hair before drying mainly the colour wow stuff that’s a leave in multi use treatment thing which helps detangle and protect against heat.
I just find conditioner, no matter how light weight is too heavy for my hair

You could try using conditioner before shampoo. Sounds weird, but it stops the ‘lankness’. My hair is quite fine and thin.

@NowIsTheWinterOfOurDiscontent , I do use conditioner but I don't believe it actually conditions the hair. Depending on which conditioner I use, it either looks better or worse than if I don't use it.

My hair is long and I never use heat on it.

I have not seen anything scientific that states that conditioner works. I only use it because a colleague used to nag me about it.

ChatGPT told me I was over conditioning my hair and making it too soft (aka fluffy/unmanageable). Same with serums. Recommended a weekly protein bond repair treatment instead which I think has helped. I don't really get tangles but still use a conditioner very lightly at the ends as it's hard to get out of the habit. Its cheap and doesn't take a minute and mine is for greasy roots and dry ends. And I do put in leave in conditioner before my cap to protect it whilst swimming.

I use conditioner because I wouldn’t have a chance of detangling without it. I don’t think it’s actually necessary!

When I ran out of conditioner and couldn't get to a shop i googled what household items I could use instead. I found one part apple cider vinegar to two parts water, pour it on your hair, leave for one minute then rinse. Its really good.