Are Silicones Really All That Bad For Your Hair?
I know you all are pros at reading the ingredients at the back of your hair products by now and if you see anything that ends in ‘cone’ you would probably fling the product across Target demanding to speak to the manager about this atrocity.
OK maybe that is a slight exaggeration, you might just fling it back on the shelf and move swiftly away! But don’t be so quick to dismiss products that have silicones in them though, it may surprise you to find out that sometimes they are not all that bad.
Let’s give your the 411 on silicones so that next time you go hair product shopping you can make an informed decision.
Why Silicones Might Be Bad For Your Hair
Buildup! That is the number one reason that a girl might decide, eh! silicones are not for me. The truth is most silicones are not water soluble which means that with every application they remain lodged in your hair eventually causing to look dull and lifeless.
This is also the reason one might find a great hair product that works wonders but after a few weeks of using it you find that suddenly it doesn’t work as well. It’s simply that build up is not allowing the product to penetrate as deeply as it once did so your hair does not the get the full benefit of its use.
What a lot of women don’t consider is that build up is really nothing a great clarifying shampoo* can’t cure. Clarifying is in fact the remedy for all kinds of build up including natural sebum, added oils* and of course silicones.
What Are Considered Good Silicones
Good silicones are the ones that are water soluble and are actually responsible for the wonderful slip that you get from some conditioners and of course the frizz free easy detangling you might be searching for from your conditioner.
Don’t be fooled though there can still be some buildup with the water-soluble cones though, but the buildup is slower and like before it can be cured with a good old clarifying shampoo*.
Know Your Cones
Don’t you hate it when someone wags their finger at you about bad hair habits because they heard you are still using silicones and bragging about how long they have been cone free in a Facebook group.
What works for someone else may not work for you so don’t jump the gun in silicone use. Don’t start to use them just because we said that it’s ok and certainly don’t eliminate them altogether from your regimen because someone else said you should.
It’s all relative and what you should do depends highly on your own hair and how it responds to them. Being aware of the different types of cones is the first step in making the right decision for you so make sure that you know your cones.
The easy way to identify a cone in an ingredient list is that usually they end with four letters ‘c-o-n-e’ or you might see something that ends in ‘col’ or ‘zane’.
To further break it down, water-soluble silicones the ‘good guys’ are stearoxy Dimethicone and Behenoxy Dimethicone; say that three times really fast!
Bad Cones that may cause major buildup are Trimethylsilylamodimethicone, Amodimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl Dimethicone, Stearyl Dimethicone, Cetearyl Methicone and Dimethiconol. If your favorite product contains any of these then be absolutely sure to clarify regularly. Up to once a month if necessary.
Note: If you are following the curly girl method then cones are a big ‘no no’. There might be some instances where a product is considered curly girl friendly and still have some cones listed on the label.
If you know your cones chances are you wont be too afraid of them but some women would rather not allow the build up to happen in the first place and prefer to avoid cones all together and that’s fine too. The point is, know what is best for you and own hair.
If you are a cones all day kind of girl invest in a great clarifying shampoo and ensure that you deep condition to ensure that you are replacing any moisture and oils* that might be stripped from your hair when using the shampoo.
Spell check had a field day with this post! Happy coning ladies!
