Can I skip the final rinse?

April 10, 2016 10:14 AM

For *reasons* I'd rather not rinse conditioner off before getting out of the shower. In other words, I want to work a conditioner into my hair as soon as its clean and leave it there. I do the curlygirl thing of cowashing and being silicone-free. My current favorite conditioner is L'Oreal Evercurl which is an okay moisturizer but gives me great curls. So, is there a product or method out there that can free me from that final rinse?
posted by DrGail to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

It seems like leave-in conditioner is exactly what you are looking for; I would try searching for that.
posted by bergamot and vetiver at 10:20 AM on April 10, 2016

Sorry, I guess I didn't address your concerns about silicone. It seems like silicone-free leave-in conditioners do exist, e.g here. I don't know if that one is particularly good for curly hair, but in my experience the curlygirl method works fine with products not specifically marketed for curls.
posted by bergamot and vetiver at 10:26 AM on April 10, 2016

Is there a reason you can't use your existing conditioner? Use less than you are using to co-wash, obviously.
posted by tinkletown at 10:34 AM on April 10, 2016 [6 favorites]

This is a thing many people with curls do. If your reasons somehow relate to not wanting to rinse conditioner off at all, that's going to be more complicated, but one variation on the Curly Girl method is to do a full serious condition (my hairdresser taught me to actually scrunch in handfuls of fairly cheap conditioner to sit for a few minutes minutes while I deal with other shower tasks), rinse that out well, and then scrunch in a very light coating of conditioner again, avoiding the scalp, with a nicer conditioner if you prefer, to leave in as product.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:41 AM on April 10, 2016 [3 favorites]

I was instructed to use this by rinsing out SOME of it (but leaving some in), or actually reapplying a small amount as a leave-in, and it is designed for curls and never got greasy or weighed things down.
posted by blue suede stockings at 10:47 AM on April 10, 2016 [4 favorites]

I have curly hair. I co wash, then put in conditioner again, squish to condish then sort of half heartedly rinse of a bit of the conditioner if it feels too much. The only downside I've found to leaving it on is that occasionally if I leave too much in it will look like I have dandruff. You will unfortunately most likely have to rinse at least once or partially, to wash out the dirt etc, when co washing you don't have the soap suds to do that work for you the running water is pretty much it.

If you are after a specific conditioner, honestly there is no reason not to use anything you like, if you are concerned there are a lot of leave in conditioners on the market. The Devacurl product recommended by blue suede stockings is very good.
posted by wwax at 10:58 AM on April 10, 2016

Response by poster: Just to clarify: Thus far I've been cowashing and then rinsing very thoroughly before applying the L'Oreal conditioner, which is what I'd like to skip rinsing out.
posted by DrGail at 11:09 AM on April 10, 2016

Have you tried just not rinsing out the L'Oreal? I use one of those ones, and only rinse out most of it, and I suspect I could get the same results by just putting in less and not rinsing.
posted by mskyle at 11:14 AM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

This is exactly what I was taught to do at a Devachan salon, with Devachan conditioner (though I assume other silicone-free conditioners would also be acceptable). Apply conditioner via scrunching, exit shower. No rinsing. If I were you, I'd try it with your conditioner of choice and see how it goes.
posted by unknowncommand at 11:50 AM on April 10, 2016

If you're interested in experimenting with a different conditioner, I use and love the SheaMoisture line. They have a line of products for curly hair, but I find their Raw Shea Butter line to be more moisturizing. This conditioner in particular says explicitly that it can be used as a leave in (or just a regular wash out). They also have a curly hair line if you want something a little lighter. Although the Coconut and Hibiscus curly hair conditioner doesn't advertise being used as a leave in, several reviews on the naturally curly site say that they use it as a leave in.The SheaMoisture line is silicone free and sulfate free. Oh, and here are reviews for the raw shea butter conditioner that I
primarily use.

I actually used the Evercurl line before switching to SheaMoisture. Personally, I find the SheaMoisture line to be more conditioning, and less prone to cause problems with my hair/scalp. (I have snowflake hair that gets greasy and dry very easily, and a scalp that is very sensitive, so ymmv.)

Currently, I usually do a similar thing to Lyn Never, where I put conditioner in, let it sit, rinse, and then put a little bit more in after rinsing. Instead of co-washing, I use an apple cider vinegar rinse, and shampoo about every other week with the SheaMoisture raw shea shampoo.

If you like your current conditioner, you might as well first try using it as a leave in, but if you don't like how that turns out, I would definitely recommend trying out SheaMoisture.
posted by litera scripta manet at 12:14 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

If you're not rinsing out the conditioner, I wouldn't consider it co-washing since you're just leaving whatever sweat, dirt, etc. that's accumulated on your hair and scalp and coating it with conditioner. But I do think it would be fine to do it that way most days if you still rinse thoroughly once in a while.
posted by Kriesa at 12:58 PM on April 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

John Masters Organics has "detanglers" that are leave in conditioners, such as this citrus neroli one.
posted by gudrun at 2:16 PM on April 10, 2016

I have curly hair and often leave in (at the encouragement of my hairstylist) Devacurl conditioner.
posted by FlyByDay at 9:24 PM on April 10, 2016

It's okay to leave the conditioner in without rinsing. If you use too much conditioner it can look kind of built-up and gunky though, or even some conditioners might do this. Try it once and if it looks dull or like product is built up, then next time use less conditioner after the co-wash. And if it never looks right you might need to switch to a lighter conditioner or a leave-in formula (there are conditioners specifically designed to be "leave in" but for the most part they aren't a lot different from regular conditioner, except that they tend to be lighter conditioners rather than heavy ones.)
posted by Polychrome at 4:09 AM on April 11, 2016

I used the devacurl conditioner for a while, but found it left a residue on my hair. (For what it's worth, the water where i live is very hard, so your mileage may vary.)
These days I use Kinky-Curly Knot Today leave in detangler. (the pink one. Haven't tried the updated formula) i either work it thru and rinse, or use a very small amount and don't rinse. I love it - doesn't dry out my hair, gives my mildly wavy hair lovely curls, and doesn't leave residue.

I also find that it lasts. If I use it, I can shower the next day with only a rinse, and it still gives my hair a nice bounce. In fact - if I'm going out for the evening and depending on what sort of style I want, I'll have a shower, run the kot-today thru my hair, let my hair air-dry, and then jump back in the shower for a quick rinse.
Versatile and brilliant. I love it.

I have reasonably short hair (chin length)and do a minimal - or no - comb after my shower and while my hair is still wet - which really helps with the volume.

(I tried the Kinky-Curly curling custard (lower on the linked page) and found that it does give nice curls but it's basically a styling gel - leaves my hair stiff and crispy, and once you've set your style that's it. No running your hands through or napping or nada.)
posted by tabubilgirl at 8:33 AM on April 11, 2016

I have curly hair, and I use Aveda's Dry Remedy conditioner as a leave-in. I wash my hair with an organic shampoo, towel dry, and apply a dime-sized blob of the conditioner to my hands & work it through the hair. Then a little bit of Aveda styling gel, and blow-dry with a diffuser. The Aveda Dry Remedy works excellent as a leave-in -- I never have gummy or oily hair from it. Aveda's Damage Remedy also worked this way. (Note: I have had bad experiences doing this with other brands of conditioner). A tube of Dry Remedy will last me 6-8 months using it every 2 days, so it's totally worth the price.
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 11:09 AM on April 11, 2016 [2 favorites]

I find it works best to cowash, rinse thoroughly, and then apply a little more conditioner, concentrating on the ends to leave in. You'll definitely start to get a feel for how much is too much to leave in. I also use various Ouidad leave-in conditioners as needed. And every so often a curl-specific clarifying shampoo removes any dulling buildup.
posted by gateau at 5:07 PM on April 11, 2016