Testing Cruelty-Free Conditioners

Hair Conditioner and me have a long and fraught relationship. I have early childhood memories of my mother, herself with the glossy auburn tresses of a white woman, desperately trying to tame the tangled masses of her mixed-race daughter’s coiled curls by drowning them in thick white globs of conditioner. All my mom had ever dealt with was her own sleek, fine (but thick) hair. But take that fine, thick hair and add my dad’s kinky curls, then throw it on the tender scalp of a six-year old? It was a battle every day. But conditioner was there, my faithful ally, helping me get through it, softening the knots and helping the tangles slide out.

Now, as an adult, I still thank my conditioner for the work it does to keep my hair in check. I have, however, graduated from the 1L pump bottles of bargain cream-rinse to slightly more sophisticated conditioner leanings. I had been using Dove or Aveeno, but was on the hunt for a cruelty-free replacement. These were my four criteria points:

1. Obviously cruelty-free. Ideally, also vegan.

2. As someone with a 3b/3c hair type, my tendrils are very curly and damage prone. My hair also tangles and mats easily. This means that I am looking for a highly moisturizing conditioner with a lot of slip (Slip is that slick feeling some conditioners have that make it so much easier to comb through matted knots).

3. Not outrageously expensive. I don’t use as much as my mom used to use on my curls, but I still go through the stuff at quite the clip.

4. Bonus: smells delish.

Check out the video to see how the products I tested performed:

Products Tested in Video:

• Alba Botanica (Coconut Milk)

  • $9.97 for 335 ml

  • ($0.03/ml)

• Nature’s Gate (Avocado Henna)

  • $8.91 for 532ml

  • ($0.02/ml)

• Live Clean (Fresh Water Hydrating)

  • $5.49 for 350ml

  • ($0.02/ml)

• Giovanni (Smooth As Silk, Deeper Moisture Conditioner)

  • $8.95 for 250 ml

  • ($0.04/ml)

For me, in terms of slip, Alba Botanica was the clear winner. It also smells amazing! But, it’s a bit on the expensive side, so I would recommend Live Clean as a cheaper option. Keep in mind though, if you have a totally different hair texture than I do, you could value totally different things in a conditioner.

Hopefully this was helpful for you! Let me know if you have any questions, or if there are any other conditioners you want me to review. While shopping for this test, I realized that there are about a million cruelty-free hair options and I’m totally open to trying more out for you. Just give me a shout on Instagram (@ThisIsKassia) to let me know what you’d like to see me try!

Thanks for reading (and watching!),

xoxo,

K