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COMBING AND SETTING CONDITIONERS
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These are the conditioners to comb your hair with and leave in.
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Before I recommend any conditioner here, it goes through several tests. The first is that I check out all the ingredients, and research any unfamiliar ones with the most objective sources I've been able to find to date. Then I use it for at least a week. If it combs well, keeps my curls clumped, smooth and moisturized, even at the end of the week, then I recommend the conditioner for combing and leaving in.
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Pantene's Relaxed & Natural for Women of Color:
This is my favorite conditioner.
It's nice and slippery for combing, and thick enough to set your curls and keep them moisturized. It’s usually found in with the regular conditioners. Or try these other Pantene Conditioners: Color Revival, Daily Moisture Renewal, Hydrating Curls, or Always Smooth Conditioner. I've heard of some people having problems with this conditioner, but it uses similar ingredients as the other popular conditioners. I've been using it for years and have had no problems at all. *Note: Be cautious of the shampoos, though: many of them have ammonium xylenesulfate, a laquer solvent that is a drying and color-stripping ingredient.
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Clairol's Herbal Essences conditioners such as:
break's over (coco mango & pearls)
: it is nice and slippery for combing, holds the curls together nicely, is conditioning, and it smells wonderful.
This is my favorite scent.
dangerously straight (honeyed pear & silk): I know, it's weird this one is here. It just has an extra ingredient in it to keep hair smooth. It's great for combing our curls.
totally twisted (french lavender twist & jade extracts): It works the same as the other Herbal Essence conditioners. It smells a little harsh to me.
none of your frizziness (mandarin balm & pearls): This works as well as the others. It has a nice scent.
hello hydration (orchid & cocnut milk): This also has one of my favorite scents. I removed it for a while because they changed the ingredients, and I wanted to make sure the new ones were okay. So far my research indicates that they are fine, so I've put it back.
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Colored/Permed/Dry/Damaged Hair Conditioner (rose hips, vitamin E, jojoba).
It always surprises me to still see this in the stores. For some reason I keep thinking this is an older model of Herbal Essences.
*Note: Be cautious about the shampoos for Herbal Essences because most of them
contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which can be too drying.
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Shikai Natural Everyday Conditioner
Available in most health food stores. This has hardly any scent at all. I needed to use much more of this product, but it didn't build up, and it was a very smooth comb. I wasn't expecting it to be, but it is quite effective. My curls stayed clumped and moisturized, but not greasy or heavy.
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Paula's Choice Smooth Finish Conditioner (All Hair Types)
Works surprisingly well. It makes the comb just glide through (well, relatively for my hair). This has no fragrances or dyes. It dries a bit lighter than other conditioners, so you may need to use more of it. This would be perfect if you needed to comb out mats. This would also be perfect for a child or someone with a sensitive scalp, since no sensitizing essential oils are in this.
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Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner (or Smoothing Shea Butter Conditioner) :
Has a nice sweet coconut scent. It's a bit light, so you might want to add a bit extra to your ends when they dry.
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Frizz-Ease Care Curl Around Style-Starting Daily Conditioner: Curly
This has a light, powdery scent, and did a good job of clumping my curls. It's a bit light, so you may need to smooth some more on your ends after your hair dries.
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TRESemme Smooth & Silky for dry or damaged hair:
This conditioner is a bit thicker than the others, so it doesn’t glide as easily when combing. The slight stickiness helps keep your curls clumped, but they aren’t sticky when they dry. You could also try: TRESemme's Curl Moisturizing for curly or wavy hair, Anti-Breakage Vitamin b-12 & gelatin, Moisture Rich for dry or damaged hair, or Thermal Recovery Replenishing conditioners. (I'm still checking out their shampoos).
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Blended Beauty Curl Styling Butter: If you are very gentle, especially when you comb the ends, this works great at clumping curls. It's a bit sticky, so if your hair is matted, you wouldn't want to try to comb with it. It's also greasier than the other products, but it clumps well.
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Freeman PureColorFresh Curl Conditioner (jasmine & violet smooth and moisture)
This conditioner combed well and clumped well. It dries a bit light, so I used more when combing, and smoothed more on my ends once they dried.
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Nature's Gate Organics Fruit Blend Fortifying Conditioner (Grapefruit & Wild Ginger)
I was nervous about this one because of the "graperfruit" in it, but it did fine. It was much lighter than other conditioners, so I used lots more of it. This would be great if you didn't need as much clumping as I do. However, it didn't get gunky when I added more to the ends of my curls once they dried.
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Nexxus Hydra Sleek Silken Smoothing Conditioner
This seemed to dry with a lighter fragrance than other conditioners. It also dries a bit light, so you may need to use more of it.
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If you are curious about the ingredients in your in your products, check out the Ingredients Dictionary. Remember, the only place a product has to tell the truth is on the ingredients list.
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