How to Select a Moisturizing Conditioner

For the greatest moisture supplementation, deep conditioning with a moisturizing conditioner cannot be beat. While water based moisturizers boost daily moisture, they cannot touch the conditioning power of today's moisturizing deep conditioners. While hair product mistakes in other areas of your hair regimen are often excusable, shoddy moisturizing deep conditioning efforts will always show! Moisturizing deep conditioners are no doubt the backbone of any healthy hair regimen.

For the best moisturizing result, your weekly conditioners should always be super moisturizing. Protein-based deep conditioners should only be used as the hair dictates. Please see my moisture/protein balancing article for more information. You may find that you can go quite a while without protein deep conditioning, and that is okay! Keep in mind that many moisturizing deep conditioners also contain some protein. Wheat and silk proteins are the most common gentle proteins in moisturizing deep conditioners. They tend to be extremely gentle and actually enhance the hair's elasticity by helping moisture bind within the cuticle. So, if you see this kind of protein in your moisturizing deep conditioner don't fret! You're still okay moisture wise!

So what should you be looking for in a moisturizing deep conditioner?
1.) Fat
When looking at moisturizing deep conditioners, you really want a conditioner with lots of "fat" in it! Okay, what do I mean by fat? You need a moisturizing deep conditioner that contains lots of fatty alcohols. Fatty alcohols are "hair friendly" alcohols, unlike the alcohols found in finishing sprays which are often drying to the hair. Common fatty alcohols include substances like cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, and myristyl alcohol.

2.) Humectants, Emollients, and Conditioning Agents
Humectants are substances that draw moisture from the surrounding air to the hair! Common humectants, emollients, and conditioning agents you want in your moisturizing deep conditioner are propylene glycol, sodium lactate, sodium PCA, hydantoin, glycerin, polyquarternium, glyceryl stearate, centrimonium chloride, and other natural waxes and oils.

3.) Silicones
You also want a moisturizing deep conditioner formula with a few silicone ingredients, or "cones." Silicones have gotten a bad reputation in many healthy hair care circles as scalp clogging, hair coating, moisture defeaters. However, all "cones" are not bad and many are quite useful. "Cones" actually help with your ability to effectively detangle your wet hair. Much of the sleekness and softness we get from rinsing out our conditioners is thanks to those pesky "cones"! Now if you are conditioner-washing the hair regularly (or washing the hair without shampoo), you don't really want to deal with "cones" too much. Silicones will build up on the hair without your shampoo's surfactants there to assist with removal. If your moisturizing deep conditioner is silicone heavy, you should consider clarifying the hair at least once or twice per month.

Now obviously if your ingredient list on your moisturizing deep conditioner reads like this: Ingredients: water, cone, cone, cone, cone, cone.... There is a problem. A conditioner whose ingredient list reads this way is not deep moisturizing your hair. It is merely applying layers of slick silicones to the cuticle, giving you an awesome shine and making your hair a dream to detangle. Unfortunately, such a conditioner will eventually lead to dryness from a lack of moisture being deposited within the strand. If you use a conditioner like this, use it as a final conditioning rinse after you've already gotten your main moisturizing deep conditioning done. Some "cones" leave more 'breathable' layers on your hair than others. Amodimethicone and Cyclo-____ (any kind of 'cone') are the most stubborn "cones" to remove from the hair shaft. These "cones" often need to be completely clarified away.

AVOID
So what ingredients should you avoid in your moisturizing conditioners? You should basically try to stay away from moisturizing deep conditioners that contain petrolatum, mineral oil, heavy proteins, and other heavy oils. These conditioners will only coat your hair.

Other Moisturizing Conditioning Products
The same principles that apply to moisturizing deep conditioners also apply to your moisturizing leave in conditioners and water-based moisturizers. You want WATER, FATS, HUMECTANTS/EMOLLIENTS, and just a little detangling support from light silicones. A little mineral oil in your moisturizing deep conditioner is passable since much will be rinsed away, but avoid it in your water based moisturizers and leave in conditioners if possible.

How to Use Your Moisturizing Deep Conditioner

1.) Choose a sulfate free shampoo from the regimen builder. Kenra Moisturizing shampoo is wonderful for this. Thoroughly saturate your hair with warm running water for 5 minutes to remove any topical debris on the strands and scalp. Apply your moisturizing shampoo.

2.) Rinse the shampoo thoroughly. Apply a moisturizing deep conditioner like Kenra Moisturizing conditioner. Cover hair with plastic cap.

3.) Sit under hooded dryer for 30-45 minutes on medium heat.

4.) Rinse the conditioner with cool water. Proceed with leave in conditioner and preferred styling methods.

Great Moisturizing Conditioning Product Examples:
Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner, Elucence Moisture Benefits conditioner, Creme of Nature Nourishing Conditioner, Herbal Essences Replenishing conditioner, Dove Intense Moisture Conditioner, AtOne Botanicals conditioner, Nexxus HydraSleek Conditioner, KeraCare Humecto Conditioner, Infusium Moisturizing conditioner.

Halal, John. (2002) Hair Chemistry and Structure Simplified. Delmar Publishers.