whats wrong with Silicones again?

[AnjelLuvs]

Tried to do a search but wasnt coming up with anything useful...

Why do you ladies like or request silicone free products?
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[Lilmama1011]

Silicones coat the hair and block moisture so if you use a deep conditioner with cones after rinsing it out and moisturizing and sealing it will be pointless because the cones are blocking the moisture from getting in thus causing buildup

 

[Lilmama1011]

But some says conditioner or anything with cones provide great slip so easier detangling, that why some like it and some choose to avoid it because they want all the moisture they can get because their hair is so dry and needs any moisture it can get without being blocked

 

[curlycrocheter]

Silicone for me does nothing but dry my hair out & cause it to matt/tangle/shed.

When I started my hhj, I gave up all silicone and strived to only use products with natural ingredients. Then one day I thought they can't be that bad. So I bought some drugstore conditioner with silicone.

Everything was fine at first. My hair detangled like a breeze & felt super soft. As SOON as I turned the water off & stepped foot out of the shower, it went drastically downhill from there.

As it dried, my hair started to matt & tangle before my eyes. It was awful. It took me weeks to undo that. I was literally staring into the abyss of a horrible setback.

My experience might be drastic. Silicone may not be that bad for your hair. But, the general consensus (from my research) is that curly/kinky hair does best when it is not subjected to silicone.

Sorry for the long winded repsonse

 

[overtherainbow]

I almost had a setback with cones too. I jumped on the HE cowash bandwagon and my ends never forgave me. My hair felt super soft in the shower, but once it dried, my ends were brittle and breaking. Not all cones are bad though. My hair can tolerate amodimethicone conditioners. It's supposedly water soluble in products that also include Trideceth-12 and Cetrimonium Chloride. I'm not sure how true that is though.

 

[mshoneyfly]

Because of what lilmama said, silicones seemed to stunt my retention. In addition to poo's and conditioners, drug store styling products, serums and leave-ins contain them too. I have a product for split ends that instructs to apply to clean, damp hair ends. The silicones seal in moisture but also block any additional moisture from entering the hair shaft.

I have been silicone free for one month. I have started to get terrible matting, dryness and tangling with using mostly natural products. The other day, after revisiting a blog on silicones, I decided to use the cone product as my last sealant. So I moisturized with a water based cone free product. Then sealed with an oil and followed with a cone product for splits.

My hair dried soft, moist and tangle free. As long as I use a water soluble cone in this order and cowash after a few days, I wont get the buildup that causes breakage.

Here is a link to the bloghttp://blackhairmedia.com/hair-care/silicones-in-hair-products-good-or-bad/

 

[Saludable84]

Silicones are not that bad. There is no rule that says if you are on a journey, you have to omit them from your regimen. Everyone's hair responds differently. I, personally, only use water soluble cones and only in oil sealers after my hair is washed and conditioned.

Some people can use them in their DC's, others cannot. I have similar experiences like the previous responses to silicones. It actually chips my hair, so I stay away from them. It all depends how use them. Try it out for yourself. There is no reason to ban them if you do not know how they will react with your hair.

Please excuse my iPhone; it's trying to get it together

 

[MileHighDiva]

^^Saludable84 can you list the water soluble cones? TIA

 

[mshoneyfly]

^^Saludable84 can you list the water soluble cones? TIA

MileHighDiva
The above link has a list of soluble and non-soluble cones toward the end of the article

 

[Amarilles]

There's nothing wrong with silicones y'all. Dang...Lorraine Massey really drove this one in. In my opinion this lady painted silicones as bad because her rival line was full of them. She was smart, it worked.

Silicones do not block moisture from entering. If this were true, the hair would not be able to get wet after a silicone is applied. Water is moisture, so if the hair can get wet then hey, moisture can enter. What silicones do is prevent the hair from swelling in the presence of moisture but it cannot block moisture altogether, it still enters.

Anyway...what's the point of sealing then if not to temporarily block moisture from entering? This is why we seal the hair after applying moisture but no one is running away from natural oils. The true con to synthetic oils (like silicones and mineral oil) is that they don't have healing and fragrance properties like natural oils do. And they have to be washed away with surfactants, not with one of these shampoos made entirely out of oils and plant extracts. The con to natural oils is that they have to be constantly reapplied (reason why some of us have to M&S multiple times a day) because they either penetrate the hair or evaporate after a little while, leaving the hair unsealed and vulnerable to dryness.

 

[DarkJoy]

Cones make my hair break off, shed like mug, and causes scalp flaking/dandruff. End of story. I went cone free to mostly mixstressed things from my kitchen and a few months later tried a LHCF popular co-wash product that I didnt realize had cones. Damn. My hair was coming out in my hands as I was washing it.

Amodimethicone, the water soluble one seems OK, but not straight dimethicone for *me*.

 

[BraunSugar]

There's nothing wrong with silicones y'all. Dang...Lorraine Massey really drove this one in. In my opinion this lady painted silicones as bad because her rival line was full of them. She was smart, it worked.

Silicones do not block moisture from entering. If this were true, the hair would not be able to get wet after a silicone is applied. Water is moisture, so if the hair can get wet then hey, moisture can enter. What silicones do is prevent the hair from swelling in the presence of moisture but it cannot block moisture altogether, it still enters.

Anyway...what's the point of sealing then if not to temporarily block moisture from entering? This is why we seal the hair after applying moisture but no one is running away from natural oils. The true con to synthetic oils (like silicones and mineral oil) is that they don't have healing and fragrance properties like natural oils do. And they have to be washed away with surfactants, not with one of these shampoos made entirely out of oils and plant extracts. The con to natural oils is that they have to be constantly reapplied (reason why some of us have to M&S multiple times a day) because they either penetrate the hair or evaporate after a little while, leaving the hair unsealed and vulnerable to dryness.

My hair agrees with everything you have said here.

 

[Channy31]

I see no huge problem with silicones, but do avoid them where possible.
They work as a good heat protectant I've heard

 

[Lilmama1011]

I see no huge problem with silicones, but do avoid them where possible.
They work as a good heat protectant I've heard

oh yeah I forgot about the heat protectant part

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

There isn't anything wrong with cones. They aren't as evil as everyone makes them out to be. However I would be lying if I said they didn't have their drawbacks, but then again it depends on your hair.

My hair personally hates them, but everyone's hair is different. The only real way to see is to try your hand at using them.

 

[classoohfive]

I see no huge problem with silicones, but do avoid them where possible.
They work as a good heat protectant I've heard

I'm under the dryer now with a cone-y serum. I also did a DC on my hair so I don't have to worry about dryness as my hair and I agree with what Amarilles said. It's going to slow down the loss my moisture from my hair and give me some protection from heat when I flat iron in the morning.


How well you do with silicones depends on your hair, the product, and what you're trying to do.

 

[virtuenow]

Silicones are synthetic oils...plastics. They feel very cheap on my hair, leaving it hard as a rock and dry.

 

[Blessed&higlyflavoured]

I personally do not seek them out. But i don't avoid them either.
The exceptions being my cowash conditioner. i recently started cowashing with a silicone free all natural organic conditioner and it's working wonderfully.
and Heat protectant. If i'm putting heat in my hair i want it coned up to the nines. Nothing else protects the hair from heat like silicones imho. For me it really isn't that serious. But for some ladies it seems to have been the turning point in their hair journey hmmmmm interesting

 

[Evolving78]

i have no problem with cones. cones are my friend!

 

[APrayer4Hair]

I don't use cones because I don't use sulfates.....simple as that.
IMO I don't see the point in using non-soluble cones when u have to use a detergent to remove them. I don't think they're evil, just counterproductive.

If ever I use heat agin, I'll definetly use cones.

 

[TamaraShaniece]

My hair hates cones. Even though I'm relaxed, my hair can't stay frizz free or balanced.

Every time I straightened my hair (using silicones) my hair would poof up w/ in seconds of being in high humid areas.

On wash days my hair porosity was extremely high. I learned that if your hair doesn't get enough moisture, it will pull it from the air causing frizz. The silicones was only making it worst.

 

[mshoneyfly]

Yeah, I was having trouble staying balanced too. Limiting silicone use has helped my hair tremendously. I hope I retain some length this time too *fingers crossed*

 

[Saludable84]

MileHighDiva,

The link provided by the post before me broke it down. I can use amodimethicone (?) in DC's, but I don't since I only limit myself to Silk Dreams and Darcy's Botanicals. I use the non water soluble ones in my Organix oils during the week, but since using them I have noticed thicker ends and I still don't need to cut them as much. For me, as long as my cuticles are closed and my hair is washed, conditioned and final rinsed, they work fine for me.

 

[My Friend]

some of y'all are ok'g cones BUT you don't use them on your hair

 

[genesislocks]

Here is an interesting semi-scientific article on the subject:
http://blackgirllonghair.com/2013/03/if-hair-is-dead-can-it-be-moisturized/

1. Even dead hair contains water
Hair contains about 8 to 12%water on a weight basis. Dry hair has less, damp hair (obviously) has more. And in our previous jobs at cosmetic companies we actually tested hair care products and proved that you can increase the amount of water that hair contains. Without revealing any industry secrets we can tell you that the test involves weighing the hair, treating it with a moisturizing product, drying it to remove moisture and then weighing it again. A test like this shows that you can lock more water into the hair.

2. “Moisturize” doesn’t necessarily mean more water
While the term “moisture” does specifically refer to water, the term “moisturize” has a broader meaning. In essence it means “fighting the effects of dryness.” The effects of dryness that hair experiences include roughness, dullness and loss of manageability. If you counteract these effects you are moisturizing hair. And that brings us to our third point…

3. Silicones and oils that coat your hair ARE moisturizing.
In fact, these materials moisturize by points one and two: they can lock in moisturie (water) and they can make dry hair more smooth, soft, and shiny (i.e. they fight the effects of dryness). So even though they contain no water and even though they’re only coating the hair, these ingredients can moisturize.

The bottom line

We frequently hear that conditioners just “coat” hair and don’t really moisturize. But by understanding the true nature of moisturization as it relates to hair you can see that these products REALLY do provide a moisturization benefit.
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I think the issue is one of those things where we will all "believe what we want to".
Do I personally agree with this? I dunno. I plead the 5th

 

[Amarilles]

Silicones are synthetic oils...plastics. They feel very cheap on my hair, leaving it hard as a rock and dry.

Synthetic oils are not plastic though.. synthetic hair is made of plastic but silicones and mineral oil aren't, they're synthetic simply because they're man-made. They're not extracted from a plant.

My Friend There are a lot of things that don't work for some of us but they aren't deemed as bad. A lot of us cannot use protein, would it be fair then to call it bad? I personally can't use pure oils on my hair/scalp, could I then call them bad?

Polyquaterniums fit more the shoes that 'cones have been squeezed into. Some of those don't even wash away with sulfate-heavy shampoos but we hung on cones that are easily washed with regular shampoo.

 

[JaneBond007]

. The con to natural oils is that they have to be constantly reapplied (reason why some of us have to M&S multiple times a day) because they either penetrate the hair or evaporate after a little while, leaving the hair unsealed and vulnerable to dryness.

That makes absolute sense right there. I never thought of it that way.

 

[DominicanBrazilian82]

I like cones... I use heat (hooded dryer - rollersets) and my hair is fine. I don't avoid products with them, but I also don't search for products with them either.

DC'ed today with Silicon Mix and my hair feels amazing. I don't M/S so I like that it protects my hair from the inside out.

 

[ShiShiPooPoo]

I like cones but I am sure to clarify often.

 

[nurseN98]

Nothing for me. I like them and my hair only suffers with them if i dont shampoo properly. I especially love them for their detangling and heat protecting properties. All these years i've been flat ironing my hair with high heat (425-450) and my hair is still on my head.