# Do all people need to use conditioner in their hair? Or just some? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2019, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417 "2019-12-05T16:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/21 "2019-12-05T22:58:09Z")
I’ve never used conditioner in my life. And my hair is happy without it. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/22 "2019-12-06T05:52:09Z")
Shampoo and conditioner are not necessary, and your hair and scalp will do a lot better without them. I personally haven’t used any shampoo or conditioner for about 8 years. I simply wash my hair with warm water in the shower. My hair has never looked better, it doesn’t get oily (had problems with oily hair when I was younger), is manageable, no dandruff, and no, it doesn’t smell. And I’ve stopped losing hair and going bald. I don’t even think about using shampoo or conditioner any more. There’s a whole ‘no shampoo’ movement, just google it. When you first stop using shampoo, your hair may get a bit oily for a while, because your scalp is used to producing excessive oil, due to oil always being stripped away by shampoo. After a few weeks it will settle down. Using shampoo and conditioner is a modern myth, driven by marketing. [Photos and story of a lady with long, oily hair switching to water-only](http://fulfilledhomemaking.com/no-poo-shampoo/) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/23 "2019-12-06T16:03:02Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Using shampoo and conditioner is a modern myth, driven by marketing. > > [Photos and story of a lady with long, oily hair switching to water-only](http://fulfilledhomemaking.com/no-poo-shampoo/) I am interested in that lady’s use of baking soda as a scalp-cleaning agent. … Whether one’s hair smells or not going without shampoo seems to be a matter of genetics and luck. Plus individual variance and sensitivity – one person’s “_Smell? What smell?_” is another person’s “_Hack! Gag! What died in here?_” ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/24 "2019-12-06T16:23:01Z")
I have long curly hair. I condition it twice a week and when the conditioner is in, I run my fingers through it to get the knots out. If I didn’t, I’d end up with dreadlocks. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/25 "2019-12-06T16:54:42Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I am interested in that lady’s use of baking soda as a scalp-cleaning agent. > > … > > Whether one’s hair smells or not going without shampoo seems to be a matter of genetics and luck. Plus individual variance and sensitivity – one person’s “_Smell? What smell?_” is another person’s “_Hack! Gag! What died in here?_” People tend to believe what they prefer to believe… or what they’ve been _conditioned_ to believe. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/26 "2019-12-06T17:02:14Z")
_Need_? Hair conditioner was invented in 1900 and people got by just fine before that. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/27 "2019-12-06T18:11:42Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > _Need_? Hair conditioner was invented in 1900 and people got by just fine before that. Because they didn’t wash as often, heat style and/or color their hair the way we do. We “got along just fine” without a lot of things before their invention filled a need or at least made our lives a little bit better. I know the internet loves absolutes, and people in general love to project their own experience on everyone else, but as several people have said above, “ **it depends on your hair** ”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/28 "2019-12-06T18:30:40Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Because they didn’t wash as often, heat style and/or color their hair the way we do. We “got along just fine” without a lot of things before their invention filled a need or at least made our lives a little bit better. > > I know the internet loves absolutes, and people in general love to project their own experience on everyone else, but as several people have said above, “ **it depends on your hair** ”. Thanks for saying that better than I was about to do. I mean obviously there was a time before hair conditioner. Even a six year old would know what the OP meant. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/29 "2019-12-06T18:55:47Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > I am interested in that lady’s use of baking soda as a scalp-cleaning agent. Not a great idea as a routine measure because of the high pH. I’ve used a rinse of dilute apple cider vinegar, which works well for an itchy scalp. The no shampoo business is just another fad. It’s okay for some, but not for all (or even for most, from what I’ve read). ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/30 "2019-12-06T19:38:26Z")
I wish I had enough hair for this to all be meaningful to me… ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/31 "2019-12-06T19:55:39Z")
I was under the impression that conditioner is not particularly useful if you have short hair. I have long, naturally wavy hair, so I always use it now, but I’m fairly certain I didn’t when I was a kid and my hair was kept in a bob cut. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/32 "2019-12-06T21:01:08Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I was under the impression that conditioner is not particularly useful if you have short hair. When I was a kid, I had thought conditioner was pretty much just a detangler and combing aid. Later, I started hearing about “natural oils” and “moisturizing” and “avoiding dry brittle hair”. Having short hair, I note that it never really gets tangled to the point of not being able to run a brush or comb through it. So, I don’t need the detangling/comb-aiding properties of conditioner. My hair never gets dry or brittle no matter what I shampoo with (all that natural oil!), so I don’t need any of the purported hair-enhancing features. OK. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something essential about conditioner that the wider world knew all about. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/33 "2019-12-06T22:47:29Z")
It can also depend on what shampoo you use. I can’t get a comb through my hair easily after washing it with some shampoos unless I use conditioner (though vinegar works fine.) With other shampoos there’s no problem and the conditioner’s not necessary. Whole lot of factors involved. Do what works for you. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/34 "2019-12-06T23:12:42Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > People tend to believe what they prefer to believe… or what they’ve been _conditioned_ to believe. 🙂 People also tend to believe what they want to believe about whether their own unshampooed hair smells. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/35 "2019-12-07T04:55:29Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > People also tend to believe what they want to believe about whether their own unshampooed hair smells. Nonsense. If hair is washed regularly with warm water it doesn’t smell, and there’s absolutely no reason why it would. That’s a fact. If you want to claim differently, find a cite, or try it for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417/36 "2019-12-07T15:41:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What do you even mean by “need to use conditioner”? So far as I can tell, nobody at all needs it. If I don’t use conditioner, I look like I stuck my finger in a light socket and it’s so dry and tangly that I can’t get a comb through it. I’ll stick to my conditioner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-people-need-to-use-conditioner-in-their-hair-or-just-some/844417.md?page=1)