question about silicones

[muddblood21]

Are silicones and hair a black and white issue or can hair really love some cones and absolutely hate other cones? I have a few different coney products and have started to notice that some make my hair look and feel glorious...but some (one in particular) makes my hair feel crunchy and super dry. Is it the different cones, or the different additional ingredients giving me these very different results? If I can pinpoint the ingredient that is giving me the crunchy hair(silicone or whatever it might be), I will avoid it like the plague!

[maborosi]

Yes, hair can like certain cones and dislike others. For me, my hair hates dimethicone but likes amodimethicone.
Cones are varied and diverse- there are many kinds out there, just like there are many different oils.

~maborosi~

[Absinthium]

Check if this product contains alcohol. It might be the reason why it doesn't work well, alcohol can make hair dry.

[prettyinpink]

Some cones work for some better than others. Dimethicone and methicone are the heavy ones that require a clarifying shampoo to remove. Other cones such as bis-aminopropyl dimethicone and amodimethicone wont build up and work well (for me, at least)

I'm curious, did you use garnier?

[breezefaerie]

Crunchy hair might need to be clarified, or it could be protein overload.
Have you clarified your hair lately, and are you using a product that contains protein?

[Anje]

I tend to find silicones more drying than most people. Cyclomethicone/cyclopentasiloxane in particular are drying for me, I believe, though it's hard to narrow it down sometimes.

[muddblood21]

These are both good thoughts! I will compare the type of silicones in the problem product to the ones I get good results from. I never even thought to check for alcohol (the problem product is a detangler and it only occurs to me to check hairspray for that). Thank you both for the insight! I will repost when I can check the labels and compare.

[patienceneeded]

I generally avoid conditioners with dimethicone in them. Other cones are fine with my hair, but dimethicone always seems to cause problems. I always check the label before I buy now, even with brands that have previously worked fine. If I see straight-up dimethicone on the list I don't buy it.

[muddblood21]

prettyinpink, I was using a Pantene detangler. I only use it in emergencies now since it makes my hair feel gross. I do clarify with Vo5 about every two weeks or so (because the other product I actually love, a L'Oreal protectant spray, sometimes makes my hair feel heavy after a few applications). breezefaerie, I do occasionally use some protein products, but not often (maybe once or twice a month). I am growing out bleach, the bleached hair likes the protein and the non bleached hair is indifferent to it. I am actually leaning towards just chunking the Pantene spray, but I am a cheap skate and hate to waste an almost full bottle. :p

[Jolly-Good-Show]

Does anyone else get buildup easily? I use conditioner with one cone listed in the ingredients. It's not especially rich. I get slightly greasy hair underneath at the nape when it's freshly washed... my hairs quite dense...I also have an oily scalp. Maybe I'm using too much conditioner

[DweamGoiL]

Does anyone else get buildup easily? I use conditioner with one cone listed in the ingredients. It's not especially rich. I get slightly greasy hair underneath at the nape when it's freshly washed... my hairs quite dense...I also have an oily scalp. Maybe I'm using too much conditioner

For me, that is the only place I get any buildup. My hair is fine, but it's thick in volume. Years ago, a hairdresser told me to be especially diligent about rinsing that area, so now, I split the canopy of my hair in half and let the water trickle into the part on the back of my head all the way down to the nape for a good minute or so. This has helped tremendously.

[Jennielee88]

I spent weeks wondering what 'cones' meant.. ha!

[Jolly-Good-Show]

For me, that is the only place I get any buildup. My hair is fine, but it's thick in volume. Years ago, a hairdresser told me to be especially diligent about rinsing that area, so now, I split the canopy of my hair in half and let the water trickle into the part on the back of my head all the way down to the nape for a good minute or so. This has helped tremendously.

Interesting... thank you!


I spent weeks wondering what 'cones' meant.. ha!

I was the same!! haha, just thought of traffic-cones and was like :confused:
:P

[muddblood21]

Well, just to update in case anyone is still wondering: I compared the ingredients of the products that yielded good results to the one that seemed to give me weird crunchy/dry results. I stand corrected! Most of them have protein (in one form or another) in them, including the "trouble product" (*hangs head in embarrassment*). Good thing I do clarify at least twice a month if not more often. One thing that did stand out to me was that the Pantene spray my hair seemed to HATE felt amazing if I used it on freshly clarified hair. There was some of the same ingredients in the L'oreal spray I love, including some of the same types of silicones; however the only thing it has that none of the other products had was protein in the form of the amino acid Arginine. My conclusion is that the issue might be WHEN I use the Pantene (fresh clarified hair VS week old wash) because of the proteins, not necessarily the silicones. I think my hair rejects it due to build up of protien and/or silicones. It might take a while of "try this, try that" before I REALLY figure it out. Sigh.

[breezefaerie]

That's half the fun - trying to figure out what your hair needs and what works best for you!

[muddblood21]

Well, breezefaerie, if that is the case I am having a lot of fun! :eye: I have learned SOOOO much since joining LHC!

[HintOfMint]

Keep in mind that sometimes a negative effect in a product may be the result of something completely different from whether it has silicone or not. For example, the reformulation of Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition has silicone (which my hair actually really likes) but also high amounts of isopropyl alcohol which dried out my hair.

Also some conditioners have tons of silicone (Pantene, I'm looking at you) and some conditioners aren't completely dominated by the ingredient. I've found that Herbal Essences Honey I'm Strong and Hydralicious are great conditioners for me in that respect. My hair still benefits from silicones but it still manages to feel like hair.

All in all, it's not a completely black or white issue. In my hears at LHC, I've tried CO, CWC, sulfate-free with cone-free, regular cone-free, movie star shampoo (shampoo with coconut oil and no conditioner), a brief stint with water-soluble cones... and finally I've settled on sulfate shampoos and coney conditioners again.