Best Drugstore Conditioner For Curly Hair [Review] in 2022

You don’t need to spend an arm and leg on buying curly hair products, especially products that you go through like the bucketload– cough cough conditioner. There are some pretty incredible drugstore curly hair products, especially conditioners when you know what to look for—knowing what ingredients work well with your hair and ones that don’t are also helpful too.

As we all know, silicones should be avoided in all drugstore curly hair products, as they’re likely to be non-soluble. When seeing silicones in professional brands like Olaplex, they use water-soluble silicones, but many drugstore brands use non-soluble ones.

But what’s the difference?

Well, non-soluble silicones tend to build up on curly hair as they can only be removed using sulfates. They create a film over the ends of the hair, which helps with moisture retention to begin with, but after a while, no moisture can penetrate through this barrier, so hair becomes very dry and brittle. Water-soluble silicones, however, aid hydration and wash out with water.

Check out my full guide on everything you need to know about silicones for more details.

But all you really need to know is to check the ingredients for drugstore conditioners for curly hair. Check to make sure the ingredients work for your hair porosity and they are free of any hidden nasties (check for the word “cone” on end).

That being said, Carols’ Daughter is great, but it does contain silicones–water-soluble, don’t worry.

Enough of me rambling on; let’s delve into how to condition curly hair and everything you need to know when buying drugstore curly hair conditioners. After all, we want to keep our curls soft and hydrated, so moisturizing in every step is key.

Conditioning your curls on wash day is pretty straightforward for straight hair, but for curly hair, it is slightly more complicated.

We should condition our curls every time we wash our hair. We can condition the ends of our curls every day if need be and rinse our heads with water to help get rid of excess oils.

The first thing you’ll want to do is wash your curls twice with shampoo. Remember you should only really shampoo once a week unless you have quite fine, greasy hair, and it MUST be with a sulfate-free shampoo.

Sulfates can be very stripping to the hair and can really damage the ends of the hair, causing curls to dry out frizz and even loss of definition in the curls. Once you’ve shampooed twice with a low-poo shampoo, you’re ready to go in with the conditioner.

Apply conditioner and start detangling:

With curly hair, you are brushing your curls while dry is a no-go. Instead, you have to detangle while wet, being extra careful as your hair is most fragile while wet.

This is why I recommend detangling with your fingers or a wide-tooth comb while the ends of your hair are soaked with conditioner; this will give your hair slip and help easily detangle knots.

Be patient and do this step in sections, starting underneath and working your way to the top; I do a rough detangle while the conditioner is on, then thoroughly after rinsing out and applying my leave-in conditioner.

Combing your hair while the conditioner is on the ends also helps encourage as much moisture as possible to enter the cuticle– which is ideal if you have low porosity hair.

As I said earlier, you have to be sure to avoid silicones in your conditioners, these leave a plastic film over the ends of your hair, and while your hair will look shiny, it will lead to buildup and can be quite drying.

Silicones can only be removed with a sulfate shampoo, so if you accidentally use silicones, be sure to do a ‘reset’ wash with regular, clarifying shampoo.

Apply styling products to sopping wet hair:

After showering, I prefer to work in sections when applying my styling cream or gel. Instead of applying them in the shower, I use a water spray, soak each section before applying my gel, and then style with my Denman Brush.

Most curly girls prefer to apply all their products in the shower before drying their hair, but I find I have a more defined curl when I use this technique.

When buying any products for curly hair, we all know there are some key things to look out for and key things to avoid. We curly girls have learned to be very ingredient savvy when on the hunt for new products, but if your have knowledge, don’t worry, I’m here to help!

Humectants: 

When buying any conditioning product for curly hair, the top thing you should keep an eye out for is whether the ingredients are humectants. Humectants are the common moisturizing agent found on most conditioners, shampoos, treatments, leave-in products.

Humectants rate best known for their ability to draw in moisture to the hair shaft while also retaining moisture and preventing loss of moisture. They’re also known to retain moisture while preserving the properties of products.

They are ideal for dry, damaged curls as they help prevent moisture loss which also helps combat issues like frizz. Those with thick, tighter curls tend to have the driest curl types, so adding humectant ingredients like honey can help combat moisture loss, and honey especially can help with moisture retention as well as it is a humectant and emollient.

Emollients:

Emollients are another super important thing to look for when looking for any conditioning product for curly hair; they work hand in hand with humectants. Humectants draw in moisture while emollients create a natural film to lock in moisture.

They are usually hydrophobic oils that form films over the hair’s surface; they help soften and smooth the cuticle to create this film over the strands. They are lubricants and provide extra slip making detangling a dream. 

This is crucial for curly hair as curly hair can only be combed through while wet, detangling properties play an important role in preventing breakage and help ease singles to prevent snagging or pulling. 

Occlusives:

Occlusives are another type of moisturizing agent, while humectants can help pull in water occlusive act as a barrier (similar to emollients) to hold in moisture. They are usually oil-based. 

Occlusives tend to be much heavier ingredients or sealants than emollients, which can help lock in moisture, such as olive oil. Olive oil provides a water/oil barrier, so water cannot escape the cuticle, and the cuticle cannot swell from the environment. 

Avoid silicones:

So we know that we must avoid sulfates when doing either the Curly Girl Method or just caring for your curls in general. Sulfates can be very stripping for the hair, especially curls; they can dry them out, cause damage, and even frizz. 

But there are a few other ingredients that you must avoid when caring for your curls, as, without sulfate shampoo, they cannot be removed, and silicones are the top ingredient you should avoid. 

Silicones are like plastic, and they’re used in conditioning products to smooth down the cuticle, make your hair feel softer reduce frizz. However, without a sulfate shampoo to remove them, it can lead to product buildup, and over time, this makes hair frizzier look limp and lifeless. It will also lose the life of your curl.

Silicones can only be removed with sulfates, and without sulfates, it causes buildup– not ideal, so it is best to cut it out completely. But don’t worry, you can still achieve silky soft hair without silicones; some people will tell you it’s even softer too!

Here are the silicones you should avoid:

• Dimethicone.
• Cyclomethicone.
• Amodimethicone.
• Phenyl Trimethicone.
• Cetearyl Methicone.
• Dimethiconol.
• Stearyl Dimethicone.

Basically, anything that ends in ‘cone’ at the end. I like to buy all my products on my desktop rather than my phone, so I can use the find button to catch out any silicones that my eyes may have missed. 

But that being said, these are only non-soluble silicones; water-soluble silicones are much better for curly hair. Hence the name, water-soluble silicones tend to wash out with water and actually aid with hydration. They are super lightweight too.

Mineral Oils and Waxes:

Mineral oils, petroleum, and other waxes, which are also commonly found in conditioners, just like silicones, cannot be broken down without a harsh sulfate shampoo which is a no-no for curls. 

They can also weigh down your hair, and without sulfates to remove them, they build up like silicones. 

Some waxes use natural ingredients which are safe to style curly or kinky hair. However, most waxes are s non-hydrous, meaning they won’t wash out with just water or co-washing. 

If you find yourself accidentally using waxes or silicones, then you can use your reset shampoo to remove them, then go back to the Curly Girl Routine.

Finding A Conditioner For Your Hair Porosity:

Hair porosity also has a lot to say when it comes to how well products work on your hair. Since the cuticle is different on different hair types, some ingredients are either too heavy or not heavy enough to seal in moisture.

For high porosity hair, the cuticle is raised, so moisture leaves the cuticle as quickly as it enters. For high porosity curls, you should focus on using sealing oils and heavier ingredients to help seal in moisture within the hair.

Ingredients like coconut oil and olive oil are brilliant for creating seals over the ends of curly hair, they create a water/oil barrier so moisture is retained within the cuticle rather than lost 30 minutes after conditioning.

For low porosity hair, moisture has a hard time being absorbed, so heavier ingredients like coconut oil may be too heavy for this hair type as it is difficult to penetrate into the hair strand and just sits on top instead.

Instead, you should look at formulas packed with emollients like shea butter, jojoba oil, or argan oil. Argan oil is a personal favorite of mine for low porosity curly hair as it has a low molecular level, making it perfect for penetrating the flat-lying cuticle.

Argan oil is also great for those with fine curly hair as it is super lightweight and penetrates deep into the cuticle so if you have fine, low porosity hair, then using a conditioner with argan oil is a great alternative– so look out for this in drugstore brands!

So there you have it, who said you needed to spend an arm and a leg on something you use a bucketload of. When it comes to buying conditioner, if you know what works for your hair and what ingredients to look out for, there is no reason why you can’t go for drugstore brands.

I use so much conditioner it feels like I am buying a new bottle every month– my tight coilies will understand this struggle, so I find that purchasing a drugstore brand is my great alternative so I can use as much as my thirsty curls need.

Give some of these drugstore brands a go next time you’re looking to buy a new conditioner; you’ll be shocked by the results!