Can You Wash Hair Without Conditioner?

Everyone talks about how damaging shampoo is for your hair, and some swear it off altogether, but if you have fine/thin hair, conditioner may actually be more your enemy. It can make your hair too soft, or even greasy, so if you're wondering if you can wash your hair without conditioner, the answer is yeah, of course you can! But would you really want to?

Fine hair is already difficult to style, and sometimes conditioner can make it super soft, which feels great and all, but have you tried using a curling iron on that? Doesn't work so well. Conversely, if you use too much conditioner on thin hair, it can also make your freshly-cleaned hair feel greasy way faster than it should, and your hair wash was basically for naught. So you might want to skip the conditioning stage altogether, and I mean, it's your hair, you can of course do whatever you want to. But that might not be the best idea.

If you have super dry hair, you need conditioner to hydrate and restore moisture to the hair follicles. Even if you feel like your hair is generally really healthy, shampoo is super drying, and lathering up without conditioner could leave your hair weak and brittle, and therefore more susceptible to damage. If you yank a comb through it or try to blow-dry it without having conditioned, you may seriously regret the breakage that could possibly occur.

Skipping conditioner is probably not the best idea, but if your hair is getting dirty too quickly from it, or isn't styling properly, here are a few ways to still condition without weighing down your hair.

1. Condition First

Since conditioner doesn't always rinse fully out, condition first to still hydrate your hair without having it totally kill your hair's body and bounce.

2. Only Condition The Ends

Your roots really don't need conditioner, and they are what gets dirty first, so if you only put it on the ends, you'll run less risk of greasy hair.

3. Choose A Conditioner With Less Oil

Living Proof Conditioner, $17, Amazon

Less oil = less grease.

4. Use A Conditioning Spray

L'Oreal Leave-In Conditioning Spray, $9, Amazon

Conditioning sprays are amaze for anyone with thin hair who still wants protection without weighing their hair down.

5. Try A Texture Spray For Styling

Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, $44, Amazon

If conditioner makes your hair difficult to style, use a texturing spray to give it volume.

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Images: Suphaya/Fotolia, rh2010/Fotolia, Voyagerix/Fotolia; Walmart; Oribe; Living Proof