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When they first came out, combo shampoo/conditioners seemed like a great idea. Hey, any way you can shave off a few minutes here and there in your beauty repertoire is cool, and when you can save a few bucks in the deal, that’s even better. But not all the cleansing conditioners have turned out to be worth their weight in the shower. At the same time, there are some products that might just hit the mark. It depends on what type of product you like, what your specific hair needs are and what actually works best for your hair type and style.
Non-Lathering
Besides saving time and money, another good thing about choosing a cleansing-conditioner combo is that you aren’t subjecting your hair to a slew of chemicals. By sticking with just one product, you spend less time stressing out your tender tendrils by rubbing, squeezing and twisting out multiple products. Non-lathering cleansing conditioners, such as Salon Grafix Healthy Hair Nutrition Conditioning Cleanser, are designed to restore your hair to its naturally healthy state with a proper pH level. This Salon Grafix product doesn’t strip your hair of natural oils either, according to "Glamour" magazine editor Danica Lo. The product leaves your hair really smooth too, according to Lo and her buds.
Medicated
Dry skin, over or under-shampooing and underlying medical conditions can cause those creepy white flakes that ruin your black jersey-clad shoulders. The dreaded dandruff can occur when you’re allergic to an ingredient in your haircare product as well. Before you try any new conditioning shampoo, talk to your doctor or dermatologist to make sure you don’t end up using something that creates a worse mess on your head. Then you might try one of the over-the-counter medical conditioning cleansers such as Neutrogena T/Gel that conditions your scalp while cleaning your hair. Mayo Clinic docs report the conditioning cleanser contains tar, which can be particularly helpful if your dandruff is the result of psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis.
Naturals
Popular ingredients in cleansing conditioners include botanicals and natural ingredients such as tea-tree oil. The scientists at the Duke University School of Medicine seem to think that tea-tree oil, added vitamins and botanicals though are mainly only good for marketing purposes. In a report in the "International Journal of Trichology," Duke researchers stated that the natural additives you see in cleansing conditioners are just a result of a passing fad. However, the Mayo Clinic reports that daily use of a conditioning shampoo that contains tea-tree oil may actually be an effective treatment for dandruff.
Repairing
There’s also a type of conditioning cleanser that doesn’t provide the one-stop resolution of the shampoo-conditioner shampoos and doesn’t contain medicine for those bothersome scalp problems. When you’ve wreaked havoc on your tresses by sunning and swimming in a pool loaded with chlorine, you may need a heavy cleanser conditioner that revitalizes damaged hair. "Cosmopolitan" recommends Gil Ferrer CoolScalp Conditioner that contains humectants, almond and peppermint oils, along with proteins to restore some of that moisture you lost in the sun. While the cleanser does condition your hair, it's not a bad idea to add a second leave-in conditioner to hold moisture and prevent further damage.
