Washing Hair with Conditioner: A Shampoo Alternative?

by Mary Clarke

Washing Hair with ConditionerHere in the Beauty Lab we've been tracking shampoo trends, including dry shampoo, sulfate-free shampoo, and No Poo. Why the boom in interest in alternative shampoos? One of the major reasons is the belief that conventional shampoos can be harsh on your hair, stripping away its natural oils and leaving it drier and prone to damage. This idea is not new; Clarence Robbins, a well known expert on the science of hair, wrote about the damaging potential of shampoo in his 1979 book, Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. Some women, especially those with very dry hair, are  hoping that by washing their hair less or by using "milder" shampoos, they can harness some of their scalps' natural oils to decrease their hairs' dryness over time. This trend is definitely not for people with oily scalps or hair that gets greasy easily!  Anyway, while I was researching this subject, I found an interesting method that I just had to try for myself. During my last few showers I washed my hair with conditioner - and shockingly enough, I like the results.

First of all, can conditioner actually clean hair?  Sorry to hedge but the answer is yes, sort of. It contains ingredients that  have the potential to slightly cleanse the hair; for instance, one of these conditioning agents actually has antisepic qualities, meaning when combined with water, it can help rinse away dirt and bacteria.  However, these ingredients, which are called cationic surfactants, are positively charged and are therefore attracted to the negative charge carried by the protein in your hair and will stick to your hair, rather than rinse away. Translation: Conditioner probably won't rinse gunk out of your hair nearly as well as shampoo, but might leave your hair feeling nice.

Knowing this, I have to admit I had my doubts: I was anticipating my hair wouldn't feel as fresh or squeaky clean as it does after my normal regimen but I was wrong. After washing with conditioner, my hair looks and feels clean, soft, and smooth. I had also expected that the conditioner would weigh it down but my locks still have plenty of body and volume. I definitely intend to alternate conditioner cleansing with shampooing, especially when my hair is feeling dry.

 Interested in giving this a try? Here's how to go about it:

  • Pick a very cheap, no frills conditioner. This is important for two reasons. First, you'll be using a ton of it, so you don't want to be using up gobs of an expensive salon-brand. Secondly, cheaper conditioners make better cleansers, because they lack the softening ingredients that are packed into costly conditioners.  They also typically contain more of those conditioning ingredients that can have the potential of cleansing.
  • After getting your hair fully soaked in the shower, put a big pile of the conditioner on the top of your head, and start scrubbing it in.  Since it won't create any lather, you really have to work at rubbing the conditioner into your hair, especially at the roots and hairline where hair tends to be the greasiest. (After scrubbing, I  applied more conditioner and piled my hair at the top of my head for the rest of my shower.)
  • Thoroughly rinse all of the conditioner from your head. (I then applied my regular fancy conditioner to the ends of my hair, and rinsed that out.)
  • As I mentioned above, I don't recommend using the conditioner washing method if you have very oily or greasy hair or  haven't washed your hair in a few days.  Also, if you start using this method, I'd alternate with shampoo every once in awhile in order to get a more stringent cleaning in. 

After you try it out, let me know how it goes!