The 7 Best Conditioners for Gray Hair in 2024

Noticed that your gray hairs are dryer, more coarse, and sometimes finer than normal? If your head is producing less sebum, you might be searching for the best conditioner for gray hair. You’re in the right place.

What’s the Best Conditioner for Gray Hair?

The best conditioner for gray hair is designed particularly to handle the unique texture of gray hair and make it softer and easier to manage. You can choose pack conditioners that are heavier and provide deep conditioning for your hair.

Another type is leave-in conditioners, and they are lighter but will still help detangle and moisturize your hair. Finally, there are standard conditioners that protect, moisturize, and condition your hair. 

You will want to experiment with different regimens, and you might find that alternating products work well for you. Take a look at the best conditioners for gray hair below, along with what we love about each and their pros and cons.

Our Top 7 Picks for the Best Conditioner for Gray Hair

1. Best Overall: Purple Conditioner by The BTW Co.
2. Best for Dry and Damaged Hair: Bold Uniq Purple Leave-in Conditioner
3. Best for Detangling: Jhirmack Leave-in Conditioner Spray
4. Best for Deep Conditioning: Vitamins Keratin Purple Hair Mask
5. Best for Thinning Hair: ResQ Organics Nutrient Rich Conditioner
6. Best for Dry Hair: MopTop Salon Daily Conditioner
7. Best for Brightening: RUSK Deepshine Platinum Conditioner

No matter what your hair needs are, you can find a great conditioner option for your gray hair. You may want to brighten, moisturize, or protect your hair. Most people use a combination of products to address the changing needs of gray hair.

Why You Need a Conditioner for Gray Hair

When you have gray hair, you may notice that some of the hairs are a different texture. As you age, the melanocytes that produce melanin to give your hair color slow down and eventually die. This causes your hair to be gray, or without pigment. 

This process also changes the shape of your hair follicles, which can change other aspects of your hair. It may be more or less curly, and the hairs can have a medulla, which is a hollow core that makes each strand more wiry.

Your hair may also lose strength and elasticity, and you may have a tighter cuticle. Finally, the melanin protects your hair from damage, and the loss of melanin can lead to frizz, split ends, and brassiness. You can use a conditioner for gray hair to counteract these changes.

Read Next: What Causes Grey Hair?

The 7 Best Conditioners for Gray Hair

There are many changes that come with gray hair, and they impact different people in different ways. You will want to use a standard conditioner, and then you can choose other products as you need them. Take a look at our picks for the best conditioner for gray hair. 

1. Best Overall: Purple Conditioner by The BTW Co.

There are many reasons to love this purple conditioner by The BTW Co. It is made using gentle plant-based ingredients that are designed to lock moisture in. This allows your hair to receive the nourishment it needs to look healthy and beautiful.

It also neutralizes brassiness from environmental damage and product buildup. People who use this product recommend it, and they describe it as a light conditioner that doesn’t weigh down the hair.

It is also free of phthalates, sulfates, parabens, silicones, and synthetic fillers. You can safely use it twice a week, and then use the daily conditioner on the other days. 

Many products dry out gray hair, but this conditioner will add moisture to your hair and leave it soft and smooth. It has a light scent, although some users weren’t pleased with it. However, many people love the scent. It helps transform coarse hair to soft, smooth hair without frizz. 

2. Best for Dry and Damaged Hair: Bold Uniq Purple Leave-in Conditioner

You can use this purple leave-in conditioner to soften and tone your gray hair. It has soft amounts of purple pigments, which help balance brassiness and yellow tones in your hair.

It nourishes hair daily by encapsulating it with shea butter, sunflower oil, panthenol, and allantoin.

You can use this conditioner on all hair types, and it is designed to promote healthy hair, shine, and smoothing. It will tone and detangle your hair. It is rich in emollients, which help to minimize breakage and encourage your hair to grow and repair. 

In addition, this is an environmentally responsible product, as it is free of parabens and sulfates. It is also certified vegan and cruelty free. The bottles and jars are made with recycled plastic, so they are committed to the environment. 

3. Best for Detangling: Jhirmack Leave-in Conditioner Spray

This leave-in conditioner is the best for detangling, as it offers 10 benefits in one product. It moisturizes your hair, adds shine, and reduces frizz while strengthening, softening, and detangling your hair. It smooths, conditions, and protects your hair from extreme heat. 

If you are suffering from dry hair, it contains macadamia oil, green tea extract, and vitamins E and B5 to add moisture back into your hair. It is a great product for freshening up your hair as it smells good and locks moisture in while eliminating frizz.

For the best results, you can use this company’s shampoo and daily conditioner, but you can also use it on its own. It will leave your hair softer, brighter, and nourished, and users love how it freshens up their hair.

4. Best for Deep Conditioning: Vitamins Keratin Purple Hair Mask

This is a hair mask with strong pigment that neutralizes brassiness and allows your hair to shine and look its best. It is a deep conditioning treatment that repairs dry and damaged hair and provides nourishment.

It hydrates brittle hair so that it repairs and grows stronger. It contains nourishment cream that hydrates your hair from the roots to the ends with Moroccan Argan and Jojoba Oil complex.

It leaves your hair silky and smooth without any frizz. It is also cruelty- paraben-, and sulfate-free. This hair mask has antioxidants to restore your hair, and it adds a layer of moisture so that it can help repair split ends, reduce wiry breakage, and make your hair shine.

You can use the hair mask a few times a week, and you will notice results after a few uses. It is ideal for anyone with dry brittle hair.

5. Best for Thinning Hair: ResQ Organics Nutrient Rich Conditioner

This organic conditioner is designed to prevent hair loss. Most hair loss and breakage comes from alkaline shampoos and conditioner that contain chemicals that damage and stress both your scalp and your hair.

And this product moisturizes and nurtures your hair and scalp, strengthens your hair follicles, promotes hair growth, and prevents breakage and split ends.

As it penetrates your hair and scalp, it treats dry, cracked, and itching scalps. It is free of parabens and sulfates, and it is pH balanced and fragrance free.

It is enriched with Aloe Vera, which naturally nurtures your hair with oils, vitamins, and minerals to restore shininess and balance. It contains Manuka honey, which is a natural antiseptic. It helps soothe irritation and redness as it protects your scalp.

It also has a pH level of 5.5, so it doesn’t strip away the acid mantle that protects your hair from bacteria, allergens, and pollution. This is the best conditioner for thinning gray hair. 

6. Best for Dry Hair: MopTop Salon Daily Conditioner

MopTop makes this daily conditioner that helps moisturize thick and textured hair. It is formulated with ingredients that are all natural and ideal for curly hair.

It contains no chemicals, and it uses Aloe extract and sea botanicals along with strengthening wheat and soy proteins to repair and smooth your hair strands. It has an uplifting lemon sage fragrance, which makes you feel refreshed.

You only need to use a nickel-sized drop of conditioner on your wet hair. You can use it as a daily conditioner for softness and shininess, or you can use it on dry hair as a hair mask. 

Not only does it use all natural ingredients, but every unit supports anti-bullying programs and organizations that help survivors of domestic violence. It is a socially responsible company that gives you a product that will make your hair soft and shiny.

7. Best for Brightening: RUSK Deepshine Platinum Conditioner

This Rusk conditioner is the best product for brightening dull gray hair. It is gentle and contains violet that helps brighten hair, and it reduces yellowing and eliminates brassiness.

People found the conditioner to be rich and thick, and it works well on all hair types, including thick and curly hair. Although it contains violet, it doesn’t turn your gray hair purple, and it feels clean on your hair.

It has a fresh, clean scent, and it is ideal to combine it with other products. You don’t need to use this conditioner every day, but some people do without any issue. It works for anyone with silver, platinum, or gray hair, and it adds shine right away.

The violet 2 neutralizes unwanted yellow and gets rid of brassiness. You can apply it to hair wet or dry, and massage it into your scalp. If you need a brightening conditioner, this one does a great job. 

Finding the Best Conditioner for Gray Hair

When you are looking for the best conditioner for gray hair, you need to consider different factors. There are many different types and shades of gray hair, so look at the following to make sure that you choose the conditioner that is best for you.

Moisturizing

The first consideration is how well the conditioner can provide the moisture that your gray hair needs. When hair starts to gray, it is naturally more brittle than it used to be, and you need a conditioner that will lock moisture in and nourish the hair so that it doesn’t break and thin.

The conditioners on the list above all do a great job of locking the moisture into your hair.

It helps to protect the hair from the follicles to the ends, and many use natural products such as Aloe Vera. If you have wiry strands or dry, damaged hair, you need a conditioner that will provide an extra layer of protection so that your hair can be fuller and healthy again. 

Color Enhancing

Another important consideration is how well the conditioner enhances the color to remove yellowing and eliminate brassiness.

Most of them are purple conditioners that help bring out the bright silver, platinum, or gray in your hair while reducing the brassy tones that are caused by environmental damage and residue buildup.

The purple conditioner has crushed violet pigments that fall opposite yellow on the color wheel. This is why they are able to neutralize yellowing and brassy tones. It helps to return your hair to its natural pigment before environmental factors make it dull and yellow. 

Smoothing and Frizz Control

Another consideration in a conditioner for gray hair is its ability to smooth and control frizz. As hair loses pigment and turns gray, it often has wiry strands and flyaways because the hair can be uneven in its texture.

You need a conditioner that can restore order and help smooth your hair and control frizz. You should also choose conditioners that use natural ingredients to control frizz, as silicones and other ingredients can leave residue on the hair that builds up over time.

Look for conditioners with natural products such as Aloe Vera and other plant-based ingredients to condition your hair without adding residue.

Affordability

Conditioners for gray hair can range in price widely, and the key is to find one that is a good value for your dollar. In a daily conditioner, you will want affordability and a product that lasts.

Some products are designed as a hair mask or a hair treatment, and they may be more expensive, but you won’t use them as frequently.

The key is to make sure that there is value for what you are getting. If you are getting a chemical-free product that transforms your hair, it is worth paying a little more.

However, it depends on your hair’s needs. If you are just looking for a conditioner for gray hair to keep your hair moisturized on a daily basis, you will be able to find less expensive products that are still good quality. 

Frequently Asked Questions

So, What’s the Best Conditioner for Gray Hair?

It is important to protect your gray hair with a moisturizing conditioner to keep it soft and healthy. Choose a purple conditioner to make your gray hair bright and free of brassy tones, and choose a conditioner that offers you what your hair needs.

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