The Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar: for hair that needs more

Run your fingers down a lightened ponytail and you can often feel the moment the hair changes. The top feels smooth. Somewhere around the mid lengths it starts to feel rougher, and by the ends it catches. That is not bad hair. That is hair that has been coloured, lightened, heat styled and lived in, and it simply needs more looking after than the hair at the roots.

This is the conditioner bar I recommend most to my blonde clients, and to anyone whose ends feel dry, rough or tangly however much conditioner they use.

What it is and who it is for

The Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar is a 75g solid conditioner, rich and creamy when it meets wet hair.

It suits:

• lightened and blonde hair, including highlights and balayage
• coloured hair, especially on the mid lengths and ends
• dry, damaged or heat styled hair that tangles easily
• thick, coarse or curly hair that needs a richer conditioner to feel soft

If your hair is fine, you can still use it, but keep it to the very ends. For a lighter everyday finish, the Chocolate Conditioner Bar may suit you better.

Why lightened and coloured hair needs more

As a colourist, this is the part I always explain to clients.

The outside of each hair is covered in a layer called the cuticle. On healthy, untreated hair it lies fairly flat and smooth. Lightening and permanent colour work by lifting that layer, so the product can get inside the hair. After every colour service, hair is a little more porous than it was before: it takes in water quickly and lets it go quickly too.

Porous hair feels drier, tangles more easily and catches on the comb. It also loses toner and colour faster. A good conditioner cannot undo what lightening has done, but it can make the surface of the hair feel smoother, help it hold on to moisture and make detangling far gentler. And gentler detangling means less breakage.

What is inside, and why I chose it

BTMS (behentrimonium methosulfate, with cetyl alcohol). This is the backbone of the bar and makes up most of it. It is a conditioning ingredient with a slight positive charge, which draws it to the most porous, damaged parts of the hair. It is what makes the comb glide through.

Cetyl alcohol. A soft, waxy fatty alcohol, not a drying one. It gives the bar its creamy texture and adds to the smooth feel on the hair.

Broccoli seed oil. One of my favourite oils for hair. It is light, gives a lovely slip and shine, and is often used as a plant alternative to silicones for exactly that reason.

Cocoa butter. A rich plant butter that softens dry ends.

Hydrolysed wheat protein. Helps hair feel smoother and look more polished. If you are sensitive to wheat, please check the full ingredients list.

Sodium lactate. A humectant, which means it helps hair hold on to moisture.

Stearic acid and glyceryl oleate. Stearic acid gives the bar its firm shape, and glyceryl oleate helps the oils blend into the formula.

Citric acid. A small amount to adjust the pH of the bar, so it is balanced for hair.

Fragrance and preservative. The bar is fragranced, and a gentle preservative system (phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin) keeps it safe, as it gets wet every time you use it.

What makes it different

Conditioner bars sometimes get a reputation for being light or waxy. This one is built for hair that needs real conditioning. Most of the bar is the conditioning ingredient itself, with cetyl alcohol, broccoli seed oil and cocoa butter around it, so a little gives a lot of slip.

There is also no added water in it. A liquid conditioner is mostly water, so a 75g bar gives you a lot of conditioning in a very small space, with no plastic bottle.

How to use it

1. After shampooing, squeeze as much water out of your hair as you can with your hands.
2. Glide the bar down your mid lengths and ends three or four times, or rub it between your hands and smooth it on.
3. Work it through with your fingers until the hair feels slippery.
4. Leave it on for a few minutes.
5. Rinse thoroughly.

For a weekly treatment, apply a little more, comb it through and leave it on for longer before rinsing.

My tip from the chair: squeeze the water out before you condition. If your hair is dripping wet, the conditioner slides straight off and is diluted before it can do its job. Then, while it is still in, comb through with a wide tooth comb from the ends up. That is the moment your hair is at its most slippery, so it is the kindest time to detangle. Hair that is detangled with conditioner in is far less likely to snap than hair brushed out later.

What it is free from, and why

This bar contains no silicones and no added water.

Silicones are not harmful, and they give an instant smooth feel. But on porous, lightened hair they can build up over time, and that build up can make blonde look dull and stop the next conditioner reaching the hair properly. I wanted a rich conditioner that rinses clean and leaves the softness coming from the formula itself.

Looking after your bar

Keep it dry between uses, on a draining rack or in a tin, and never sitting in water. Conditioner bars soften if they stay wet, so a dry bar will last you much longer.

Try it

If your ends feel dry, rough or tangly, especially if your hair is lightened or coloured, this is the conditioner I would reach for. Use it with Blue Vibes to keep blonde toned and soft, or with the Rice Shampoo Bar for gentle everyday washing.

You will find the full ingredients list on the Deep Conditioning Conditioner Bar product page. If you are not sure whether your hair needs this bar or a lighter one, message me and I will help.

Eliz, colourist and founder of ECBEAUTYLAB