I haven't had a problem with a film left in my hair using the conditioners I recommend. But other conditioners may leave a film, depending on what's in them.

Sometimes, if I get too carried away and put in too much conditioner in a spot or overall, there can be a little bit of a film when my hair dries. But if this happens, I wet my hands and run them over my curls a few times, and the film is gone.

The only time I will notice a film is is I try to fingercomb, or separate my curls once they've dried. This will make the conditioner that's in them show as a slight dusting. But all I have to do is wet my hands, smooth them back over my hair, and just like that, it's gone again. So this method is best if you are wanting to set your curls and keep them, not so good if you like to change your curls or brush them out when they are dry.

The good thing about leaving in conditioner (if you are wanting curls that clump and you aren't planning on trying to change them once they are dry) is that this is a sort of "self-regulating" process. If I do glop in too much conditioner, the Denman, and me smoothing my hair removes the excess. So I believe it's better to put in too much (because the extra gets taken out), than to put in too little, and have fuzzy, puffy, or even tangly hair.

After a day or two, the effects of the conditioner gets less noticeable, and my hair can start to fuzz a bit at the hairline, so that's why every day I smooth a little of it back in my hair to cut down on any overnight frizzies that pop up.

Plus, leaving in conditioner gives much softer results than the quantity of crunchy gel, sticky styling products, or greasy hair dressings I'd need to get even some of these results. Out of everything I've tried, this method leaves my hair looking the most natural (like my curls just look this way on their own instead of all stiff and crunchy).