CONDITIONER: MEN, WHAT’S THE WORD?
Written by Jessica Tellez, Hairstylist at Urban Betty
Why should men use conditioner? Because as a society, we’ve moved past relying on the direction of your father’s personal grooming advice. Are you still wearing your dad’s underwear suggestions? No? Are we still asking what he thinks our next dance moves should be? Also, unlikely. Let’s put haircare on the same plane, unless of course he’s a client of Urban Betty, in which case he’s already heard this spiel. I’ll explain both the scientific reasoning as well as practical applications in the following.
SCIENCE-Y REASONS:
The action of shampoo is to lift the cuticle (slightly) and remove oil and dirt. The action of conditioner is to close that cuticle back down and restore PH levels. When it comes to treatment conditioners, they can range from moisture to color-saving, from smoothing to volumizing, and from light to heavy. All of them have a target audience (much like the Thursday night TV lineup!).
When it comes to men with short hair, they still need a good conditioner. This can even be in the form of a leave-in conditioner, that is afterwards rinsed out. Leave-in conditioner happens to work best for hair that becomes limp, too soft, or fly-away with traditional conditioner. If your hair is shorter and tends to be thick and/or unruly, try the smoothing option. As always, talk to your stylist to get the best recommendations. They know your hair better than any grocery store clerk, unless the clerk works at Urban Betty. But that’s a whole other blog, entirely. Happy conditioning, guys!
