Straighties: your experience with sulphates/cones free products

[Magalo]

Hi!

I'm about to switch to sulphate free shampoo and cone free condish. I thought for a long time that it was useless to do so when you have straight hair... I means, who wouldn't want more shine and slick (cones)?? And since I only use shampoo on my scalp, it's just cleaning better than sulphate free, right? Well, now my ends are REALLY dry, I dislike how flat my hair is after washing and how thin it looks (it look way more voluminous after a day or two). Plus I'm starting to understand that since cones coat the hair it probably block the moisture from entering which may be why it's so dry?


So, for those of you who classifies as a 1, what did sulphates/cones free did to you?

[Amapola]

I started using EO products and they work really well for my hair. I tried several cone-free, sulfate-free products that I did not like... they are littering the bottom of my shower right now... and I also tried a really coney one, the Pantene Ice Shine which I really do not like at all... I still have most of the bottle of that left, I don't know what to do with it!

The one that worked well for me was the EO products. I don't know that they are completely cone and sulfate free, but they are pretty close, and they use lots of essential oils and so on. For me, personally, they have worked really well. Now the length of my hair always looks as though it has been freshly washed, even a week after actually washing. The top of my head is happier too, I don't have to wash so often and it still looks good.

[Bagginslover]

Oh gosh, my hair is SO different since I went sulphate free and (almost) cone free!!

The lack of sulphates, for me, makes up for the lack of cones ;) With it leaving a little natural oil on my hair, I no longer need the cones for shine and slip. My hair just feels nicer without sulphates.

I only use cones now when I don't have the extra time for drying that using an oil-leave in requires. I use an Aussie spray, and it dries so much faster, but I only do that once every few months.

[MsBubbles]

I switched to Aubrey Organics shampoos from White Rain, Suave, etc. I was apprehensive that it wouldn't really get my scalp clean (I have fine hair and an oily scalp), but after a week of every day scalp washing, my scalp oil production adjusted itself. My hair is much softer using AO shampoos. And now if I forget my shampoo at a hotel or somewhere, and use someone's regular drug store shampoo, I get dandruff!

I did not notice any downsides to ditching the SLS and cones.

[martyna_22]

I'm somewhat a 1b and I've been sulphate free for over a year now. It works wonders for me. Be careful to choose a nice shampoo, though, since sulphate-free shampoos are, needless to say, not all equal :) I've come across some horrible ones, and only a few nice so far.
When it comes to cones, I cannot give them up. My hair loves them, and when I went cone free, my hair was not at its best, to say the least.

Experiment on yourself, that's the best thing you can do! :)

[Kaelee]

I went sulphate and cone free for a while and my hair got fragile, and I felt like I was fighting with bouncing back and forth between two much moisture and too much protein. Something was just out of whack and I couldn't figure out what. I did notice more waves (but since I wear my hair up most of the time, I always have bun waves or sleep cap waves anyway :lol: so that part doesn't matter.)

I wound up going back to 'cones and (occasional) sulphates. I have less tangles, feel like I have less breakage and my hair is less fragile and back to its old resilient self.

Cone's don't really block moisture. They actually don't stick to hair nearly as much as they have a reputation for, and a decent number of them are water soluble.

[SleepyTangles]

Hi Magalo. I'm pretty much with Bagginslover and MsBubbles: my hair feels really different with a sls-free and cone-free routine. Aside from the gentleness on the end, sulphate free shampoo helped my scalp a lot: is nè more flaky and greasy. I allo think ditching cones had a part in balancing the sebum production.My hair doesn't agree with cones at all, but I can confirm that they can dehydrate the hair, as they need to be Clarifyied much more often than oils/non-coney products.I'm wavy, but my hair tends to lie flat on the roots. Volume has definitively improved from going cone-free, while I don't feel like sulphates made a big difference.

[TimeForMe]

I tried going sulfate free and CO washing for awhile, and I think if I still lived with soft water, I'd love it. Unfortunately I have horribly hard water. Really, really badly calcified. We sit on pure limestone. Even with a whole house water softener, my teakettle gets a solid coating of white crunchy stuff within a week or two. We give up and replace shower heads every few years as well, and that's with taking them off and doing CLR soaks periodically. I have to throw in a tsp of pure trisodium phosphate for my dishwasher loads, otherwise all my glasses are not just spotty, but opaque white. My coffee maker gets vinegar run through a couple of times a week, and they still crap out after about 2 years, just from buildup.

I have to do sulfates, plus Ion chelating shampoo once a week, plus vinegar rinses, just to keep ahead of the calcium depositing on my hair. Yes, that's drying. I deep condition often, sometimes every other day or so. But the crud and minerals depositing on my hair are even worse - they make it strawlike and break if I don't keep it off.

[BowTie]

I'm 1a/1b. Before LHC I only used shampoos and conditioners bought from salons. Lots of cones and sulphates. I suffered from serious scalp problems and my hair was limp..
In September I bought SLS free shampoo and conditioner. My scalp has completely healed and my hair has more volume.
I think I might have been allergic to something..

[Spindle]

Last night I tried cone free conditioner (VO5) for the first time.... I noticed as soon as I got out of shower that my hair felt 'weird'. All knotty and coarse feeling. I couldn't even detangle it with my wide toothed comb (have never had a problem with tangles, ever).
I hopped straight back into the shower and washed with my regular cone conditioner... hair back to normal, whew!

Maybe you should try it out and see how your own hair reacts. Like mine, it may be really easy to figure out :) Best of luck!

[Katrine]

When I stopped using sulfates years ago I noticed a big improvement. I became a big advocate of trying to do everything 'natural' but found that doesn't always work best for me. My fine hair is fragile and since I've been wearing it down more have found that a spray detangler with cones and a little glossing serum (with cones) go a long way to helping my hair look and feel better. I do clarify regularly and make sure to chelate as needed to help with build up.

[Johannah]

My hair gets less greasy for sure!! And less dry, especially in winter :)

[AspenSong]

I went from being a ' cone addict, to that and sulfate free and I've loved it. The first thing I personally noticed for me when I switched over and cut both out - my scalp which I'd dealt with a lot of itchies with for as long as I could remember, stopped being so itchy and sensitive when I went sulfate free. My ends weren't as dry and sad feeling either. And going cone free, I also have a lot more body in my hair after a wash...My hair is generally softer and tangle free as well. For me, it was a wonderful change when I did it. :)

[alimc]

Sulphate and cone free was good for my mop. It went from being limp and lifeless to voluminous and slightly wavier! The only issue I've had is added tangle post wash and in windy conditions, but it just means I have to be more careful..! Good luuuuuck... :-)

[Nebulae]

For me, sls and cone-free seems to be the way to go. My hair and scalp just behaves better without them. If anyone is thinking about trying, please do! You won't know what works before you try :)

I think my scalp became sensitive to chemicals after many years of dying my hair and using "ordinary" shampoos (sls/sles), it would itch until I scratched it raw and flake a lot in spots. So I quit the chemical dyes and switched to sls-free, and now my scalp is fine and my hair happier :)
I also don't have to wash as often, I think I noticed that right away, as well as a better bounce in my hair. I believe that comes from skipping both the sls and the cones.
I don't dare to credit the condition of my ends purely thanks to no cones, but I think it has helped. My current conditioner leaves my hair incredibly silky! :cloud9:

[Magalo]

Thank you so much!! Wow so many answers!! I just bought sulphate free shampoo, it's the very first time I'll be using shampoo without sulphates! And a no-cones conditionner. I also bought a smoothing cream that was on sale and there's no cones and no proteins in it (it's garnier fructis style pureclean smoothing cream). I'll hope for the best now! :disco: