Conditioner - necessity or cosmetic?

[treadstone]

A topic I feel never really gets clearly addressed on these boards is whether conditioners are necessary or mainly for cosmetic purposes. Some people don't use conditioners at all or almost never, yet still see positive results. Others insist conditioners are necessary due to the use of "harsh shampoos" in hairloss treatments (ie. Nizoral, T-Gel).

I'd be interested in seeing evidence for it either way. Most of the arguments people make in favor of conditioners appear primarily to be cosmetic, and have little to do with the actual healthiness of the scalp. I understand the need for your scalp to feel agreeable after washing it, and do use a tea tree oil conditioner about twice a week.

Also, I find the idea of "harsh shampoos" unclear. There's always a small amount of lipid to protect the scalp (even if you wash your hair with pure ether). I don't want to discourage anyone from using conditioners, but there also seems to be this idea being perpetuated that if you don't use conditioner, you're foolish because Nizoral will eventually burn a hole in your scalp or something. :shock: lol

 

[evolutionary]

Tread -- I'd be interested in knowing this too. I believe the Tric or Rev site, for example (can't remember which), says that their conditioners carry a small amount of their therapy sprays active ingredients (as do their shampoos). I believe more of the conditioner stays with your head throughout the day than does shampoo, so maybe it would have a slightly better effect.

 

[Bryan]

NANO Conditioner has about the same amount of NANO as the shampoo, according to Dr. Proctor, and I think people overlook that as an important source of that active agent.

 

[Cassin]

We the hairloss treatment user are constantly using treatments that dry out our scalp and possibly damage our hair, so yes. They are needed.

 

[treadstone]

NANO Conditioner has about the same amount of NANO as the shampoo, according to Dr. Proctor, and I think people overlook that as an important source of that active agent.

I don't discount that powerful shampoos like NANO have some serious active ingredients to them. But what about the use of regular off the shelf conditioners, with the belief that 'harsh shampoos' are damaging to the scalp and must be counteracted with conditioners?