In the world of hair care, there seem to be contradicting statements regarding just about every aspect of your strands. One of the more debated elements of hair care is the matter of should conditioner be used on roots or avoided at all costs. Some say using conditioner on roots will lead to weighed down, flat hair that is extra oily. Others say not using conditioner on your roots will leave your strands dry, brittle, and thirsty for moisture. So, which one is right?

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When it comes to caring for your curls, you may feel more comfortable creating your own products. Maybe you just don’t have the time to run to the store to pick up another bottle. Whatever the case, there are a ton of easy-to-make ideas for a DIY conditioner for curls. They use natural ingredients you probably already have on hand in your kitchen! Here are a few of my favorite recipes for a nourishing DIY conditioner for curls.

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by Mary Wolff

We all want healthy, beautiful curls. One of the best ways to make sure hair stays this way is by protecting it from harmful ingredients in the products you use every day. One of the biggest offenders is added fragrances in shampoo. When looking for an easy way to help make hair healthier, avoiding fragrances in shampoos is a pretty quick fix. Still need some convincing? Here are a few reasons you should be avoiding fragrances in shampoos.

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Conditioners have always been a hot topic of discussion in the curly hair realm. Are we using the right products for adequate conditioning? What is the best way to condition? Once the hair has grown from the hair follicle, it must be conditioned for the best preservation. We can find this external nourishment via hair product ingredients found in our daily conditioners and deep conditioners.

What’s in a daily conditioner?
A daily conditioner is also known as a surface conditioner, cream rinse, or finishing rinse. These are usually formulated to be used in conjunction with a shampoo. They are designed for daily maintenance and manageability for your hair by conditioning the cuticle, making it lie smooth, enhancing shine, and reducing frizz. Manufacturers usually recommend leaving a daily conditioner on the hair for 1-5 minutes before rinsing. The purpose of a daily conditioning rinse is to moderately adsorb ingredients onto the surface of your hair. According to our Curl Chemist Tonya McKay, "adsorption describes the process when atoms or molecules are attracted to the surface of a material (hair)."

Ask almost any natural woman about the top concern about their mane and most will tell you moisture retention. Textured hair has unique challenges in that it craves moisture as if its life depends on it and truth be told, it does. Conditioners are every curly girl’s answer to combating dryness but here’s the thing, not all conditioners are created equal. Here are a few attributes that separate the men from the boys.

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For the majority of the time I spent transitioning, I never bothered purchasing a leave-in conditioner. Not a single one.

As far as the blogs were concerned, leaving some of my regular conditioner in my hair after washing, or mixing some concoction of conditioner, water, and oil was good enough. While there are certainly benefits to the aforementioned methods, now that I am completely natural, I tend to rely more on products that are labeled exclusively as post wash leave-ins. Why? We'll get to that in a second. But first, let's break down a few facts:

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