January 31, 2021

Best Deep Conditioners & Conditioners for Curls – Protein & Moisture

Today’s video is the second edition to the Top 10 Curly Hair Products series, and I am sharing my favorite deep conditioners and rinse-out conditioners. There is a variety of protein and protein-free options for both product types, and they’re all CGM-friendly (no silicones).

If you haven’t already seen part 1, I shared the Best Shampoos for Curls: Clarifying, Shampoo, Low-Poo, & Co-Wash.

Product	Key Ingredients	Benefits	Moisture Level	Proteins?	Price
Briogeo Be Gentle, Be Kind Avocado + Kiwi Mega Moisture Superfood Mask	Avocado, Kiwi, Spinach, Aloe, Cocoa seed butter, Biotin	Hydrates & softens	High moisture	None	$36
Curlsmith Hydro Creme Soothing Mask	Hylarulonic acid, Green tea, Lavender and Cedarwood	Reduces shedding, soothes scalp	High moisture	None	$29
Bounce Curl Ayurvedic Deep Conditioner	Baobab seed oil, Sunflower seed oil, Hydrolyzed jojoba esters, Aloe	Moisturizing & softening without weighing down	High moisture	None	$25-$28 *10% off with code GENAMARIE
Not Your Mother's Curl Talk Deep Conditioning Masque	Sunflower seed extract, Avocado, Buriti, and Marula oil	Deeply moisturizing without weighing down	High moisture	None	$9
Shea Moisture Treatment Masque For Dry Hair Jamaican Black Castor Oil	Castor oil, Shea butter, Coconut oil, Avocado oil, Mango seed butter, Aloe, Vinegar	Strenghtening, moisturizing, restores damage	Medium/high moisture	Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Keratin	$9
MICHE Strengthen Protein/Moisture Balance Deep Conditioner	Mango seed butter, Olive oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride	Strengthens, reduces breakage	Medium/high moisture	Hydrolyzed baobab protein, Wheat amino acids, Soy amino acids, Hydrolyzed silk protein	$20
Curlsmith Post-Biotic Calming Conditioner	Hylarulonic acid, Shea butter, Green tea, Lavender, Cedarwood, Peppermint	Sooths scalp, restores moisture, balances pH	Medium moisture	None	$28
Bounce Curl Super Smooth Cream Conditioner	Aloe, Safflower oil, Black cumin oil, Marshmallow root extract	Moisturizing & smoothing	Medium moisture	None	$20-$23 *10% off with code GENAMARIE
Not Your Mother Curl Talk 3-in-1 Conditioner	Shea butter, Quaternium-91	Seals in moisture, restores elasticity, leave-in, rinse out, or co-wash	Lightweight moisture	Keratin amino acids	$8.50
Innersense Pure Inspiration Daily Conditioner	Aloe vera, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Shea butter, Rice bran oil, Avocado oil, Coconut oil, Green tea	Moisture, shine, manageability, tames frizz	Lightweight moisture	Hydrolyzed quinoa, Hydrolyzed rice protein	$26

How to Choose a Deep Conditioner or Conditioner

I think having a couple on hand to rotate between is helpful. Here’s a few things to keep in mind:

How much moisture does your hair need?
Is it damaged and in need of protein?
Do you have fine curly hair that gets weighed down easily?
Do you have coarse hair that can tolerate heavier butters and oils?

If you were on a tight budget and could only get 1 product, I would recommend going with a deep conditioner instead of a regular conditioner. On regular wash days, you could use a small amount of deep conditioner and rinse it out after a 1-5 minutes. One days you need an extra dose of moisture, you could leave it on damp hair for 15-20 minutes and then rinse.

I find myself reaching for protein-free deep conditioners the most because my styling products often contain protein, and I like to incorporate bond-building treatments a few times a month so I get strengthening benefits then.

Alternating between a moisturizing only deep conditioner and a protein deep conditioner is a great way to maintain balance. However, most deep conditioners that contain a couple of protein ingredients, like the 2 mentioned in this post, also contains lots of moisturizing ingredients for proper balance.

Top 10 Deep Conditioners & Conditioners

Your Favorites

Since I’ve only tried but so many deep conditioners & conditioners, I wanted to find out what are y’all’s favorites! I asked you over on Instagram to submit your go-to conditioners to give everyone more suggestions. Here are the most common answers that I don’t have listed above already: