Coconut oil is a staple in a lot of women’s hair and skin care routine. This is because coconut oil is packed with many nourishments that keeps the hair looking healthy. Some of these benefits includes moisturizing and nourishing the hair, taming frizz and eliminating dandruff.
Coconut oil is a popular product that’s used for hot oil treatments, which is also known as pre-poo (pre-shampoo) treatment. This treatment helps to nourish the hair cuticles and prepare it for the shampoo process which can disturb the arrangement of the hair cuticles.
But like any other product; natural or synthetic, you may not be able to reap the benefits of coconut oil if you are allergic to it. While everyone is raving about how much their hair loves coconut oil, you may be lamenting over how your hair hates the same product.
MORE COCONUT-OIL-FREE RELATED POSTS
10 Coconut-Oil-Free Shampoos To Try If You’re Allergic to Coconut Oil
15 Coconut-Oil-Free Deep Conditioners For Natural Hair
Can I Use Hair Products With Coconut Derivatives If I’m Sensitive To Coconut Oil?
Yes, you can use hair products with coconut oil derivates. While everyone’s hair will have a different reaction to any ingredient. Coconut oil derivates have not been known to cause any adverse reaction on their own, so they are safe to use.
Popular coconut derivatives you may find on your ingredients list are cocamidopropyl betaine, disodium cocoamphodipropionate, sodium cocoyl isethionate (SCI), sodium cocoyl glutamate
Also, most people with coconut oil-sensitive hair will not have any bad reaction to these coconut oil derivates since they do not function the same way coconut oil does and will, therefore not cause the same type of reaction on the hair.
Only few cases of allergic reactions to these ingredients occur due to other impurities formed during the manufacturing process and not the ingredients themselves.
What are the best coconut-oil-free leave-in conditioners I can try if I’m allergic?
The challenging part is that many hair products has coconut oil in it, due to their affordability, accessibility, and hair-nourishing benefits. This means that if you’re allergic to coconut oil, you may find it nearly impossible to find coconut-oil-free leave-in conditioners.
Unlike a shampoo or conditioner that you wash off, leave-in conditioners are supposed to stay in your hair, which makes it crucial that you find a product that’s void of coconut oil.
This is why I’ve put together this list of the best coconut-oil-free leave-in conditioners you can try out.
The Best Leave-In Conditioners Without Coconut Oil
This post contains affiliate links which means that I make a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase with my link.
If you find a discontinued product on this list, please do let me know so I can keep this post updated. I’d also like to inform you that brands change their product packaging from time to time, which means that the product picture in this post might look a bit different from the retailers website at the time you decide to make a purchase.
It’s also worth noting that brands sometimes change their product formula for reasons best known to them. This means that the product formula might have changed by the time you decide to make a purchase. If such happens, please let me know so I can keep the post updated.
1. The Mane Choice – The Alpha “Soft As Can Be” 3-in-1 Revitalize & Refresh Conditioner
Product Promise: Soft As Can Be Revitalize & Refresh 3-in-1 is a co-wash, leave-in conditioner, and detangler all in one. Infused with Biotin & Vitamin, for All Hair Types, and gentle enough for daily use.
Customer Review: “This conditioner is a family staple! I use it weekly for my hair and often daily for my daughter and two sons.”
2. Natures Little Secret – Banana Leave-in Conditioner
Product Promise: Moisture rich, lightweight leave in conditioner. This leave in conditioner not only smells amazing, but is infused with yummy ingredients such as banana, marshmallow root, and slippery elm bark that delivers softness, shine, and manageability.
Customer Review: “I have used so many hair products since becoming natural. NLS will always have me as a customer. This leave in does magic to my hair. A little goes a long way. You will not be disappointed! Very moisturizing!”
3. Carol’s Daughter – Goddess Strength Divine Strength Leave-In Cream
Product Promise: Intensely moisturizes and helps to reinforce weak strands with every use. Makes hair stronger between washes and better resists breakage, so it can maintain its length.
Customer Review: “I love this stuff. I just finished my first bottle and this has gotta be my favorite product I’ve ever used in my hair. I have dry 4a hair, very thick. Semi-coarse. My hair drinks this stuff up. My hair is soft and curls are cute after using. I really see less breakage as well. I feel like it reversed my hair’s damage. I’m buying my second bottle today!”
4. Soultanicals Frizz Whizz Curl Defining Leave-In Conditioner
Product Promise: A moisturizing leave-in conditioner, detangled and curl definer- designed to smooth the cuticle and enhance thick, curly textured hair patterns.
Customer Review: “I’m on day 4 hair and still has great moisture, which is rare for my thin, mixed porosity hair!!”
5. Curlmix Avocado Moisturizer
Product Promise: Rich in unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A, B, C and E, proteins, lecithin, and potassium, Avocado Oil has conditioning qualities that nourish and soften hair. Our Pure Avocado Moisturizer features a creamy consistency that coats each follicle to increase your hair’s resistance to breakage, promoting strong and healthy strands.
Customer Review: “I had made the decision to go short with my hair and to quit the processing that I grew up with. I am excited to have found your product. This picture was taken today after using your step 3 moisturizer. My hair is not dried out and remains naturally curly.”
6. Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-in Conditioner
Product Promise: Creamy herbal conditioner and detangler designed to smooth the cuticle and remove knots, snarls and tangles from thick curly textured hair.
Customer Review: “Used it with argan oil and the KC Curling Custard and BAM. Pictures attached. All about it. I don’t know if it’s this product alone or the curling custard as well, but my hair has NEVER been this soft. By day 3 of me putting my hair up and down 57 times, it’s just a soft mass of curls. My curls bounce now, and these babies have never bounced. The product has great slick, glides through your hair for even distribution. LOVE LOVE LOVE”
7. Miche Lavish Leave-in Conditioner
Product Promise: Moisturizes, detangles, and softens all in one Lavish will infuse dry hair with moisture-rich ingredients leaving hair feeling soft and replenished.
Customer Review: “This is definitely one of the best leave-ins that I’ve tried! It instantly softens & moisturizes the hair & the smell is bomb too! Don’t let yourself run out of this product, always keep 1 in your stash!”
8. Mielle Pomegranate & Honey Leave-In Conditioner
Product Promise: Lightweight, smells good, and feels great. It’s made for thick, curly hair and adds shine and prevents frizz.
Customer Review: “I noticed right away that this hair care product was perfect for my hair. It made it look pretty, and my curls look hydrated, and my curl pattern is very defined, and of course it smells good.”
9. Curl Junkie Beauticurls Leave-In Conditioners
Product Promise: A lightweight Glycerin-free leave-in conditioner that uses the most curl friendly herbal botanicals and emollient butters to add shine to your curls. Excellent base for softening, conditioning, and detangling your curls and coils.
Customer Review: “This is amazing. It really does repair the hair and it is VERY moisturizing. I am transitioning and all your hair treatments work well both on my low porosity natural and relaxed ends. I love your hair treatments so much I recommend it to anyone who ask me for hair treatment. I recommend it in all hair groups I am in. I am just so pleased, It’s a bit pricey but it last along time and I don’t mind paying for quality.”
10. Curl Junkie Curl Assurance Smoothing Lotion Leave-In
Product Promise: Super detangling leave-in that can help you moisturize and style your curls and coils. It can also be used as a rinse-out or on dry hair to add moisture when needed or as a styling aid for twists & braids
Customer Review: “Hands down, this is the best gel of all time. It has hold and slip upon application. Plus my curls clump beautifully. I pair this with the Beauticurls Argan conditioner as a leave in. LOVE this combo for my 3c AA hair. This product withstands the DC humidity! Apply to soaking wet hair!”
In Conclusion
While this post is a response to a protein-free product series articles I had written in the past where many readers claimed that coconut oil acts as protein, this post is not about proteins, ingredients or substitutes.
As mentioned in the post, there’s no such thing as protein-sensitive hair, since your hair is made up of proteins. But it’s possible that you have protein overload in your hair and you may need to hold off on products with excess amounts of proteins while your hair regains it’s protein-moisture balance.
One thing about allergens and sensitivity is that you may be reacting to a product due to a change in your environment, diet or routine. So it’s worth giving your hair a break from coconut-oil in the meantime, while your hair resets its chemical structure. This is highly recommended for someone who used to have success with coconut oil, but suddenly developed negative reactions to it.
Whenever you’re ready to re-introduce coconut-oil to your routine, you can slowly do so by going back to using products with coconut oil that used to work for your hair.