Smoothing Conditioner

Conditioning esters and a silicone blend, neither of which is an active in the sense the rest of this range uses that word. The esters are light emollients that soften the outer layer of the hair and give it slip. The silicones lay down a very thin, low-friction film that sits over the cuticle and fills the gaps where its scales have lifted, which is what a rough, frizzy or dull length actually is under magnification.

The effect this produces is measured in a lab as combing force, meaning how hard you have to pull to get a comb through wet hair. Conditioning agents of this type reliably lower it, and lower force means less snapping while you groom. That is ingredient-level science, measured on conditioning agents in general and not on this finished formula. Take it as a fair explanation of why the product feels the way it does, and not as a clinical result. Nothing in it affects the growth of hair, and no such claim is made.

Thinning hair tends to be finer hair, and fine hair shows frizz, static and rough ends far more plainly than thick hair does. It is also handled more, because people who are watching their hair wash it more often, comb it more carefully and style it more deliberately. Keeping the length smooth is the cheapest way to reduce the breakage a towel and a comb cause, and it is the one part of this range that does something on the day you use it.

This is the version for hair that is rough and unruly rather than damaged. If yours is bleached, heat-styled or snapping when wet, the Repair Protein Conditioner is the better choice, because hydrolysed keratin is small enough to sit inside a damaged fibre and not only on top of it. For a longer, more concentrated weekly version of this one, use the Smoothing Hair Mask. It follows any shampoo in the range, and if you are washing often with one of the scalp shampoos such as the Anti-Hair Loss Shampoo, conditioning the lengths lets you keep that routine without the ends paying for it.

Every wash, on damp hair, mid-lengths and ends only.

1. Shampoo and rinse as usual, then squeeze the water out of your hair with your hands. Conditioner applied to soaking hair is mostly diluted before it can deposit.
2. Take a coin-sized amount, roughly 3 to 5 mL for short hair and up to 10 mL if your hair is past the collar, and warm it between your palms.
3. Work it through from about halfway down the length to the ends. Keep it off the scalp, where it has no job to do and where a film-forming ingredient is one more thing to build up.
4. Leave it for one to two minutes. Longer does not deposit more.
5. Rinse thoroughly, ideally in cooler water. Under-rinsing is the usual reason conditioned hair goes limp or looks greasy by the afternoon.

Order matters if you use a scalp topical. Condition, rinse, then dry your hair and scalp completely before you apply anything like the Minoxidil Topical Solution. Applying a topical to a damp scalp spreads the dose away from where you put it. Silicones also accumulate over weeks on some hair types, so a weekly wash with the Deep Cleanse Scalp Shampoo keeps the length from going flat and heavy.

The effect is immediate and purely cosmetic. You will feel it the first time, in the shower, as the comb stops catching. Softness, shine and reduced frizz show once the hair is dry. There is no timeline to wait out and nothing that accumulates in your favour, since the product works while it is on the hair and stops working when you stop using it. It will not raise your hair count, thicken an individual hair, or slow shedding. If you want an effect on the follicle itself, that job belongs to minoxidil, which is the only ingredient in this range with strong evidence behind it.

For external use only. Avoid the eye area and rinse with water if it gets in. This one is lightly fragranced, and fragrance is among the more common causes of contact irritation, so if your scalp is already sore or flaking from a topical treatment, patch test a small amount behind the ear and leave it 24 hours before you use it on your hair. Keeping it off the scalp, as above, avoids most of that risk anyway. Stop using it if you develop itching, redness or a rash. It is a cosmetic product with no medicinal claim, and it neither treats nor prevents hair loss. Keep out of reach of children.