A 19th-century advertisement for hair care products
Hair conditioner is ahair care cosmetic product used to improve the feel, texture, appearance and manageability ofhair. Its main purpose is to reduce friction between strands of hair to allow smoother brushing or combing, which might otherwise cause damage to thescalp.[1] Various other benefits are often advertised, such as hair repair, strengthening, or a reduction insplit ends.[weasel words]
Conditioners are available in a wide range of forms, including viscous liquids, gels and creams, as well as thinner lotions and sprays. Hair conditioner is usually used after the hair has been washed withshampoo. It is applied and worked into the hair and may either be rinsed out a short time later or left in.
For centuries, natural oils have been used to condition human hair.[2] A conditioner popular with men in the lateVictorian era wasMacassar oil, but this product was quite greasy and necessitated the pinning of a small cloth, known as anantimacassar, to the headrests of chairs and sofas to preserve the upholstery from being damaged by the oil.[3]
A bottle of modern-day hair conditioner byClairol (right)
Modern hair conditioner was created at the turn of the 20th century when theEdouard Pinaud company presented a product he calledBrilliantine at the1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.[4] His product was intended to soften men's hair, including beards and moustaches.[5] Since the invention of Pinaud's early products, modern science has advanced the hair conditioner industry to include those made withsilicone,fatty alcohols andquaternary ammonium compounds. These chemical products have the benefits of hair conditioner without feeling greasy or heavy.
Conditioners, also called deep conditioners or hair masks, are heavy and thick, with a high content ofcationic surfactants that are able to bind to the hair structure and "glue" the hair surface scales together. This type of conditioner is designed to restore hair's moisture levels and reduce breakage. These are usually applied to the hair for a longer time (30–45 minutes).
Leave-in conditioners are thinner and have different surfactants, which add only a little material to the hair to avoid weighing down the hair or causing greasiness. They are based on unsaturated fatty acid chains, which are bent, not straight. Leave-in conditioner is designed to be used in a similar way to hair oil, preventing the tangling of hair and keeping it smooth. Its use is particularly prevalent among those with naturally curly or kinky hair.
Rinse-out/rinse-through conditioners are the most common or generic on the market. Ordinary conditioners are generally applied directly after using shampoo, and manufacturers usually produce a conditioner counterpart for different types of shampoo for this purpose.
Hold conditioners, based oncationicpolyelectrolytepolymers, hold the hair in a desired shape. These have a function and composition similar to dilutedhair gels.
Cleansing conditioners are a newer category, typically based on a combination ofamphoteric and cationic surfactants that can be used either in place of shampoo or as a pretreatment before shampooing for hair that is damaged or very curly.[6]
Antistatic agents, which bind to the hair and reduce the static, can include cationic polymers such as polyquaternium-10 and guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride.
Detanglers modify the hair surface pH as acidifiers or coat it withpolymers as glossers.
Glossers are light-reflecting chemicals that bind to the hair surface and are usually polymers, usuallysilicones (e.g.,dimethicone orcyclopentasiloxane).
Oils (EFAs –essential fatty acids) can help dry/porous hair become more soft and pliable. Thescalp produces a natural oil calledsebum. Sebum naturally contains EFAs.
Sunscreen provides protection againstprotein degradation and color loss. Currently,benzophenone-4 and ethylhexylmethoxycinnamate are the two sunscreens most commonly used in hair products. Cinnamidopyltrimonium chloride and a few others are used to a much lesser degree. The common sunscreens used on theskin are rarely used for hair products due to their texture and weight effects.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antimacassar".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 127.
