Moisturize Your Natural 4C Hair With Rich Conditioners

Check out these tested conditioners for our results, suggestions and tips for use.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Discover the Best Conditioners for 4C Hair


By Miracle Westfall03 Oct 2023


Whether you’re looking for a couple of leavein conditioners that will continue to nourish and moisturize hair over the next few days or a deep conditioner that will penetrate the hair strands and leave your frizzy hair feeling soft and bouncy, we have the recommendations for you.

While these products are probably good for all hair types, our testers have 4c curls and we focus on checking out the best shampoo and conditioners for 4c wash days.  Wash day is the day that we try to correct the most common issues with dry 4b and 4c hair and we try to repair the conditions that damages hair like environmental heat, wind, and friction that damages hair and creates hair breakage.

For the best chance at healthy hair, use a hair treatment especially formulated for type 4c hair. Products for 4c and 4b hair vary it will take some time and patience to find the right daily moisturizer, styling products and conditioners for natural hair.  Some days you may feel like like going all natural with apple cider vinegar and olive oil and other days, you'll want something predictable, portable and fragrant Like one of the conditioners listed below.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to click through and make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you.  Please read my disclosure for more information. We purchase and test products.  We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Best Deep Conditioner for 4C Hair

As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner

This is my absolute favorite conditioner for 4c hair.  I started using it when I started my transition from relaxed hair to natural hair.  It was a life saver when I couldn’t find anything to moisturize my dry, brittle hair. If you’re looking for intensive hydration for dry hair or curly hair, this deep treatment is the right product for you.

The Good Stuff:

  • Key ingredients in this deep treatment conditioner include coconut, sugar cane, green tea, apple, lemon. Vegetable glycerin, shea butter and vitamin E.
  • Other natural ingredients: water, cocos nucifera (coconut extract), citrus reticulate (tangerine extract),  cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, and citrus medica Limonum (lemon peel extract).
  • This formula is a thick cream that smoothies the hair cuticle layer and strengthens weak areas of the hair shaft. It repairs split ends and promotes shine.  It tends the encourage your curl pattern as it conditions and it makes the hair super easy to detangle.  
  • When used with a moisturizing shampoo on wash day, this shea butter and coconut oil based deep conditioner will leave your curls moisturized and shiny. After, washing and rinsing, massage into hair carefully and let sit for a few minutes.  Rinse and style.
  • It leaves hair moisturized and encourages your natural curl pattern to come through.

The Bad Stuff:

  • It is expensive, especially if you want to use it on every wash.  A 8 ounce jar tends to last up to 4 washes for me and the 8 ounce jar costs anywhere from $9-$15 depending on sales or specials.

Pro Tip:

  • Once you’ve decided that this is the deep conditioner for your 4c hair, stock up when the product goes on sale.  At least once or twice a year, it will go on sale for a great BOGO deal.
  • Our testers have enjoyed almost every product from this line so if you have the chance, grab an assortment of their shampoo and conditioners.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Best Leave In Conditioner for 4C Hair

As I Am Jamican Black Castor Oil Leave In Conditioner

If I’m trying to keep wash day to a minimum, I’ll use the KeraCare Natural Textures Cleaning Cream and then apply this As I Am Leave in Conditioner before moving on to with my Twist and Define Cream or gel products

The Good Stuff:

  • Key Ingredients in this leave-in conditioner includes extracts of coconut, sugar beet root, green tea, lemon, apple, sugar cane, and saw palmetto.
  • Other ingredients include cocos nucifera (coconut) and phyllanthus emblica (Amla), Serena serrulata fruit (saw palmetto extract) and Peru’s Mali’s (apple) extract.
  • The fragrance is very light and not overpowering at all.  This is a great benefit if you tend to mix a couple of products while styling your hair.  At least one of the gels or curl custards is likely to have a strong scent.
  • It helps with detangling and contains a strengthening agent and other ingredients that promote hair growth.
  • It is a light formula that is light enough to use everyday. 

The Bad Stuff:

  • I like to deep condition every time I wash my hair so this product just feels too light.  But if light is your preference, then this is a solid choice.

Alternative Leave In Products

 
 
 
 
 
 

Design Essentials Natural Almond and Avocado Leave In Conditioner

Key Ingredients in this moisturizing conditioner is sweet almond (prunus amygdala’s dulcis) oil, tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia) leaf oil and avocado (per sea gratissima) oil and jojoba oil (simmondsia chinensis) and hydrolized keratin to strengthen hair strands.

The Good Stuff:

  • Key Ingredients in this moisturizing conditioner is sweet almond (prunus amygdala’s dulcis) oil, tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia) leaf oil and avocado (per sea gratissima) oil and jojoba oil (simmondsia chinensis) and hydrolized keratin to strengthen hair strands.

The Bad Stuff:

  • The formula is light so you’ll have to apply every day or two.  This can cause product build up.

  • The need to use it everyday also means that you use a lot of the product over time and may have to buy it more often and a longer lasting leave in product.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Affordable Leave In conditioner for Natural Curly Hair

Keracare Curlessence Moisutrizing Leave In Conditioner

The Keracare Curlessence Moisutrizing Leave In Conditioner with Jamaican Black Castor Oils and Coconut Oil for natural hair types 3 and 4 comes in a 12 ounce tub for dipping.  

The Good Stuff:

  • It is one of the most affordable product lines for natural hair and this conditioner lasts a long time.
  • The formula is quite slippery to me but it feels good on the hair and creates nice slip for combing through.
  • It doesn’t leave the hair feeling sticky when dry and can be reapplied at night for re-twisting.

The Bad Stuff:

  • The second ingredient is glycerin which explains the slip but also indicates that it might not contain as much natural oils as one would like if you’re looking for a natural moisturizer for your 4c hair.

  • I kind of hate digging my hands into jars of products and I hate having to pick up a bottle to squeeze out ore product (when my hands are already super slippery) so I wish all manufacturers would create formulas  in pump bottle only. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Masks and Repair Conditioners

Shea Moisture Manila Honey and Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Protein Power Treatment

This sulfate free conditioner is great for extremely dry, brittle hair.

The Good Stuff:

  • Sulfate free formula

  • Safe for color treated hair.  It won’t strip your hair color or alter the color

  • It contains castor oil, shea butter, manuka honey, yogurt powder, coconut oil and jojoba oil.

The Bad Stuff:

  • The product was recently reformulated and 2 waxes were introduced into the formula.  This added weight to the formula and now makes it feel heavy and hard to rinse out.

  • With the yogurt powder, it may not be the product to use if you are sensitive to milk or dairy products.  Even topical application can cause rashes or itching.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Masks and Repair Conditioners

Camille Rose Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Mask

This deep conditioner provides moisture in one deep treatment and seems to be great for low and medium porosity hair that can be hard to moisturize.

Thier shampoo and conditioners work really well together  to eliminate frizzy hair and promote hair growth for your 4c curls.

The Good Stuff:

  • Really light cocoa butter fragrance.
  • Light feel for a treatment masque. Not heavy at all.

The Bad Stuff:

  • It is a fairly expensive product as it comes in a 8 oz jar for about $20 at most retailers. But it only took a couple of dips of product to apply to my entire head.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Masks and Repair Conditioners

Carol’s Daughter Coco Creme Curl Quenching Deep Moisture Mask

Carol’s Daughter products have been around since 1993.  They started in New York City and spread country wide in a matter of years.  The products have a loyal following for good reason. The conditioning mask has a great fragrance and feel.

The Good Stuff:

  • Sulfate free formula
  • A great deep conditioning treatment masque for dry type 4c hair.
  • Gives at least 48 hours of curl definition

The Bad Stuff:

  • No real change in the hair after use and had to use a lot of leave in conditioner
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Masks and Repair Conditioners

Carol’s Daughter Almond Milk Ultra-Nourishing Hair Mask 

Great for reconstructing and repairing over-processed hair.  this is a solid choice for transitioning hair.  It will repair the damage done to relaxed hair while giving you time to grow out the length before the big chop.

The Good Stuff:

  • No Parabens, no mineral oil, no petroleum, and no artificial colors.
  • It has a nice light fragrance
  • It smoothed my dry hair as soon as I applied it, it made detangling and comb through really easy.

The Bad Stuff:

I really can't think of any negatives about the product specifically.  the one issue that I have with most of the product lines is that there are too many products and not enough information to tell them apart other than the fruit or oil that they emphasize on the label.  Carol's Daughter has 15 separate collections for hair. They all stress repair, moisture and strengthen or 2 of the 3.  Its too expensive and confusing to purchase one of everything...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Masks and Repair Conditioners

Cantu Shea Butter Leave In Conditioning Cream for Natural Hair 

The Cantu Shea Butter product line is very popular and used by a lot of people with great results.  The products come in large containers and usually very affordable.

The Good Stuff:

Tons of tutorial videos on how to apply them, mix them and make them your own

The Bad Stuff:

  • I have to come clean and say that our testers are not fans of the Cantu products that we have tried.  They feel waxy and synthetic but most people call this great slip and notes that it makes if super easy to detangle the hair.

  • They also have a very strong fragrance and it can be overpowering especially when using other products.

  • As someone who raised a child with a ton of food allergies, I have been reading labels for 2 decades.  When I see an ingredient labek that is as long as my hand, I don’t even bother. The ingredients list for this conditioner is VERY long compared to other products in this roundup.  A lot of the components are extracts and look natural but others don’t.  I would rather use a product with a short ingredients list that I can understand.

And the winner is...

As someone who usually suffers with dry 4C hair, I really appreciate a conditioner that gives me predictable, consistent results that doesn't make my hair heavy.  We love the As I Am product line and the As I Am Hydration Elation is our go-to conditioner.

  • deeply moisturizes hair shaft and smooths the cuticle layer.
  • makes hair shine
  • increases manageability and makes detangling easier.

WINNER

 
 
 
 
 
 

What is the best moisturizer for 4c hair?

As I Am Hydration Elation

Why wait? Get the product now!

Sometimes you can even get this product on sale at BOGO 50% off.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to click through and make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you.  Please read my disclosure for more information. We purchase and test products.  We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own.