Have you ever been seduced into buying the conditioner that supposedly compliments your shampoo and then only used it once or twice?
I haven’t for a long time as I know that conditioner makes my hair too soft to do anything with but Miss Frugal is a whole different story. She came home from a recent shopping trip with two bottle of fruity shampoo and two matching bottles of conditioner because ‘they smell gorgeous and they were 4 for £3.00’.
The problem is that she has really sensitive skin so the shampoos made her itch and the conditioners made her hair look greasy so all four bottles are still in the bathroom, practically untouched.
The shampoo can be used by Mr Frugal as he’s really not fussed what he uses but none of us will use the conditioner and I hate to waste it so we’ve been researching what else we can do with our leftover conditioner….
1. Leftover conditioner is great to use instead of shaving cream!
2. Get rid of the frizz by rubbing just a small amount (teeny tiny) of leftover conditioner on the palms of your hands and then smooth your hair down with your hands. Trust me, it works!
3. Add some of your leftover conditioner to the bath for a relaxing soak instead of bubble bath.
4. Fix dodgy zips by rubbing a little conditioner over both sides of a zip that keeps sticking.
5. Soften make up brushes by rubbing some conditioner through them. Leave the conditioner to soak for a few minutes and then rinse with warm water before leaving them to dry naturally. They’ll be lovely and soft when they’re dry.
6. Polish up stainless steel appliances with a small amount of conditioner on a microfibre cloth. Use another microfibre cloth to buff it up to an amazing shine.
7. Getting rings off a swollen finger by covering the finger in conditioner. In most cases, the ring should then pull off easily.
8. It’s a great replacement for fabric softener if you’ve run out.
9. And while we’re on the subject of fabric softener, try using it in my homemade febreze.
10. Quiet down a creaky door by rubbing conditioner over the offending squeaky hinge.
11. Not one I’ve ever tried but apparently leftover conditioner is a great eye make up remover.
12. Again, not one I’ve tried but according to the t’internet conditioner is great for washing your delicates. Just a small amount in some warm water will do the job.
13. Make your own homemade playdough using conditioner.
14. Miss Frugal makes her own DIY de-tangling spray using leftover conditioner after she read this post.
15. And last but not least, when you think you or your children have nits you can smother your heads in conditioner and comb them all out. The conditioner makes it harder for them to cling on.
Miss Frugal would also like to point out that if you have leftover conditioner then you could just throw it in the bin to get rid of it! I clearly have a lot of work to do there… 😉
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Image credit: Shutterstock, monticello
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brilliant tips , I have used the ring tip before
Great to know you can use it instead of fabric softener. Definitely will try that one. I've done the conditioner/nits thing before x
I never knew it could be used for so many things, I bet the play dough would smell lovely! x
Great ideas – I especially love the idea of using it instead of fabric softener and to clean make-up brushes. Brilliant stuff.
Some great tips, although I never have any left over, my girls see to that!
I've found the perfect conditioner for my hair so never have any left over – but these are such inventive ways to use it that I'm tempted to keep some back just to try a couple of them out!
Wow what amazing ideas, I would never have thought of most of these. Love the idea of the play dough!!
Great tips. Condition play dough is super soft and something that I made when the boys were younger. So many things you can use it for
I was making my own detangling spray from conditioner back in the early 90s. I was way ahead of my time!
My top tip for those of us with dry or naturally curly hair; don't shampoo. Seriously. Unless you are wading through mud daily there is enough surfactant in conditioner. Since I dropped the shampoo my hair has never looked better.
I always have the opposite problem, if I don't smother my hair in conditioner I can't get a brush through it so I end up with leftover shampoo. I do use conditioner for shaving my legs sometimes though
Those are all amazing ideas but my problem is the opposite – the conditioner always runs out before the shampoo so I never have any leftover!