Conditioner Frizzes Hair And Undefines Curls

beingofserenity

Well-Known Member
Has anyone else noticed this?

I recently big chopped my hair anf it's been great! Uo've gotten tons and tons of compliments so I feel great and I also truly feel that I am finally at a place where I can appreciate and really start to understand my hair.

That said, I've been noticing that conditioner makes my hair frizzy. It was particularly noticeable last night. I used aussie moist shampoo to wash my hair which had a lot of crap in it, oils/butters/aloe vera juice/curl activator...I've been expirementing with different combos to moisturize. So, when I washed my hair with the poo, I had little curls popping everywhere. And my hair was hanging more. It doesn't hang at all usuallly after washing. But when I applied conditioner all the curls went away and my hair was standing up on on my head as usual. And this morning, when I cowashed, my hair was even more frizzy, undefined, and shrunken.

I remember reading about how DubaiDee stopped using conditoner because she felt like it was impeding her progress with MHM. So, maybe there is something about conditioner that makes certain hair types frizz up.

I want to try experimenting with other ways to detangle/condition my hair. I am thinking about using oil rinsing, Irish Moss, and rhassoul clay.
 
I had a lot of frizz post bc. I did a lot of cowashing in the beginning which I think helped. I still wet my hair everyday but I only cowash once a week now and use sulfate free shampoo once a month. For styling I prefer runny gels. I think working in sections also cuts down on frizz. By working in sections you're sure to be covering all of your hair with product. Check out Teri laflesh tightly curly method, Lorraine Massey curly girl method. LHCF, Google and YouTube were my best friends after my big chop. There is a lot of info over in the fall and winter wash n go challenge thread (it has morphed into year round).
 
Interesting. I guess it depends on your hair type and the products you use, or you may be using a shampoo/conditioner combo that does not work together. I do not use store-bought shampoo and I have quite the conditioner stash, but nothing I use makes my curls frizzy or lose definition. My hair loves moisturizing, store-bought conditioner and defines w/everything I apply.

The exception for me is rhassoul clay. Using it left me w/no definition of any kind, so I will never use it again. Another thing that makes my hair frizzy is too much shaking after finishing a WnG.
 
My hair is like this. im a high porosity 4c. Do know if you are high porosity? Using products to lay the cuticle down helps after DC. For some that might be a real light ACV rinse.

Try going without DC a time or two and use a good leave in instead.

For me, I just accepted that I have a cottony 4c. not everyone was born with popping curls. If I really want that I have to shingle as described by another poster.
 
My hair is like this. im a high porosity 4c. Do know if you are high porosity? Using products to lay the cuticle down helps after DC. For some that might be a real light ACV rinse.

Try going without DC a time or two and use a good leave in instead.

For me, I just accepted that I have a cottony 4c. not everyone was born with popping curls. If I really want that I have to shingle as described by another poster.

I don't think I am high porosity. I think it's more normal to low. I've been slathering different conditioner types in my hair as a co wash, rinse out, leave in, but the aussie moist shampoo is the only thing that gives me curl definition naturally. Otherwise I need gel and I have to shingle to get curl definition.
 
Interesting. I guess it depends on your hair type and the products you use, or you may be using a shampoo/conditioner combo that does not work together. I do not use store-bought shampoo and I have quite the conditioner stash, but nothing I use makes my curls frizzy or lose definition. My hair loves moisturizing, store-bought conditioner and defines w/everything I apply.

The exception for me is rhassoul clay. Using it left me w/no definition of any kind, so I will never use it again. Another thing that makes my hair frizzy is too much shaking after finishing a WnG.

I think I'll stay away from rhassoul then lol
 
I had a lot of frizz post bc. I did a lot of cowashing in the beginning which I think helped. I still wet my hair everyday but I only cowash once a week now and use sulfate free shampoo once a month. For styling I prefer runny gels. I think working in sections also cuts down on frizz. By working in sections you're sure to be covering all of your hair with product. Check out Teri laflesh tightly curly method, Lorraine Massey curly girl method. LHCF, Google and YouTube were my best friends after my big chop. There is a lot of info over in the fall and winter wash n go challenge thread (it has morphed into year round).

I was doing the tightly curly thing, except I use gel. The only thing about it is while it does look pretty, those aren't my natural curls as opposed to what happened to me after using shampoo.
 
Same with my hair, my hair is low porosity 4b/4c. I stopped using conditioner and I use bentonite clay and irish moss to detangle. So far so good!
 
Maybe it's the way the shampoo is reacting with the conditioners. Could be that the pH's are off if you're using different brands. Have you tried the Aussie Moist Conditioner or the Aussie Moist 3 minute miracle?
Also it could be your technique. I found when I first BC'd, I was manually creating frizz because I was raking the conditioner through my coils. Now I use the praying hands technique and I gently separate my coils to prevent unnecessary frizz.

And I second what @stephanie75miller said. Post BC, my hair was frizzy and undefined to the point where I thought I was 4c/4b because my coils weren't not used to being defined and I didn't have enough length to weigh down my curls. My frizz stayed for about 1 year! Frequent washing and WnG's would help quicken the process of training your curls to behave.
 
I don't think I am high porosity. I think it's more normal to low. I've been slathering different conditioner types in my hair as a co wash, rinse out, leave in, but the aussie moist shampoo is the only thing that gives me curl definition naturally. Otherwise I need gel and I have to shingle to get curl definition.
Ever try bentonite clay? I could probably skip using a conditioner afterwards, but I don't. Talk about curl definition and clumping...and sodium clay is much more conditioning than calcium clay.
 
And I second what @stephanie75miller said. Post BC, my hair was frizzy and undefined to the point where I thought I was 4c/4b because my coils weren't not used to being defined and I didn't have enough length to weigh down my curls. My frizz stayed for about 1 year! Frequent washing and WnG's would help quicken the process of training your curls to behave.
I didn't BC but when I began letting my hair grow last April, my hair was completely undefined. Now, w/o product, I'm about half curl and half frizz due to frequent WnGs. I think using gel in sections would speed the 'cultivating' process.
 
Where did you get your Irish Moss? :)

I got mine from here:

http://www.wifglobal.com/seamoss_1.htm

It was whole and I soaked parts of it to make it soft so I could blend it in my concoction. I wanted to start supporting the local Jamaican store though and they sell it in little 2oz packets (also whole and needing to be soaked) for $1.50 and I found that was all I really needed to make a treatment that would last for months.
 
Has anyone else noticed this?

I recently big chopped my hair anf it's been great! Uo've gotten tons and tons of compliments so I feel great and I also truly feel that I am finally at a place where I can appreciate and really start to understand my hair.

That said, I've been noticing that conditioner makes my hair frizzy. It was particularly noticeable last night. I used aussie moist shampoo to wash my hair which had a lot of crap in it, oils/butters/aloe vera juice/curl activator...I've been expirementing with different combos to moisturize. So, when I washed my hair with the poo, I had little curls popping everywhere. And my hair was hanging more. It doesn't hang at all usuallly after washing. But when I applied conditioner all the curls went away and my hair was standing up on on my head as usual. And this morning, when I cowashed, my hair was even more frizzy, undefined, and shrunken.

I remember reading about how DubaiDee stopped using conditoner because she felt like it was impeding her progress with MHM. So, maybe there is something about conditioner that makes certain hair types frizz up.

I want to try experimenting with other ways to detangle/condition my hair. I am thinking about using oil rinsing, Irish Moss, and rhassoul clay.
I use shampoo and conditioner that are pH balanced. This will smooth the cuticle closed and clumps my kinks, curls and waves in a more uniform pattern.
 
It could be build up meaning you need to clarify. It could also be that your hair doesn't agree with the ingredients of the conditioners. Do these products contain mineral oil/petroleum, sulfates, glycerin, etc? If you have fine or thin hair, the conditioners may simply be too heavy for your hair.
 
^^^Yes! You should try clarifying to take out the oils and build up. Moisture shampoo will not remove these throughly.
 
Ever try bentonite clay? I could probably skip using a conditioner afterwards, but I don't. Talk about curl definition and clumping...and sodium clay is much more conditioning than calcium clay.

I'm 4c/b. I find sodium bentonite a bit drying for my hair, alone. I use to use calcium bentonite alone. I loved it. Now I tend to mix either of the bentonites with rhassoul. Great cleansing, conditioning and definition.

I did mildly shampoo and condition (protein and moisture DC) my hair last night and when I used that AO Honey Suckle Rose, and White Camellia (combined, and diluted with water). I can't say that I noticed more frizz, compared to when my hair is "usually" wet without gel- bushy roots/ defined ends.

I put usually in quotes because before I started frequent wetting and MHM- changing my techniques, I didn't have any definition to speak of when my hair was wet.
 
Last edited:
I'm 4c/b. I find sodium bentonite a bit drying for my hair, alone. I use to use calcium bentonite alone. I loved it. Now I tend to mix either of the bentonites with rhassoul. Great cleansing, conditioning and definition.

I did mildly shampoo and condition (protein and moisture DC) my hair last night and when I used that AO Honey Suckle Rose, and White Camellia (combined, and diluted with water). I can't say that I noticed more frizz, compared to when my hair is "usually" wet without gel- bushy roots/ defined ends.

I put usually in quotes because before I started frequent wetting and MHM- changing my techniques, I didn't have any definition to speak of when my hair was wet.
Interesting. Usually people find calcium to be more drying. Neither was drying to my hair. I did MHM this time last year. At that time I needed the structure of a regimen to stay focused, so it was helpful.
 
Back
Top