Questions to those who use cones

[Ylva]

Hi,

I might face conditioner disaster later this year or early next year due to availability, so I have stocked up on some cheap coney conditioners that I am determined to make work for me in case of an emergency. If it was up to me, I'd be completely cone free, but I want to be prepared. I have a couple of questions.

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?

Thanks in advance.

[sophia_]

I use a moderate amount of cones, and no sulfates. My hair always feels horrible after I clarify, so I don't. I never wash my length at all except after an oil treatment, which I do about once every 2 weeks, and I notice it works just as well as when I was cone-free. My hair loves glycerin, so I use a cream or leave-in with a lot of it after I wash it, both of which happen to be cone-free, but they work on top of cones just fine. I don't feel like cones completely coat my hair, and oils and humectants (besides glycerin for some reason) make my hair stick to itself too much, I personally need a whole lot of slip.

[daisy rei]

I shampoo and condition my hair using coney shampoos like a normie. I do however make sure to only use shampoo on my scalp, never the ends, and conditioner only on the ends, never the scalp. No deep conditioning treatments and I only oil the ends just before a wash. No build-up problems at all so far and I've been doing this for three months now.

I don't use heat or chemicals at all, so I don't really have to deal with a ton of dryness or damage. Cones simply make my hair lay down flatter it seems. Breakage is maybe a little less evident but I lost some volume/fluffiness that I gained from going cone-free.

[Doreen]

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
Once a month or less, only if I feel like there is buildup.

2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
I use olive oil from time to time, especially in the colder months. Maybe twice a month at the very most. I do notice a benefit from it, the oil locks in moisture and prevents it from getting that crunchy feeling on the ends.

3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?
I use leave-in creams and serums to smooth down flyaways and braid shred instead of hairspray or other styling products, but I don't think they actually effect the condition of my hair.

[GrowlingCupcake]

1) I wash my hair with a sulfate shampoo every wash.
2) I pre-poo every other wash. I also use the ROO method (I use baby oil, and use more than is recommend).
2) I deep condtition with variours products. Aphogee Keratin 2 Minute Reconstructor, K-PAK Intense Hydratror, K - PACK Color Therapy Luster Lock, and K-PACK Deep Penetrating Reconstructor.
I definitely notice a difference,
3) I combine Biosilk Silk Therapy Original with NB's Selkie Detangler. The Biosilk helps tame frizz, and the SD helps with my tangles. I also use NB's oil, and salves. They definitely help.

[poli]

1.How often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
I use sulfates almost every wash - every 2 days. I sometimes switch to shampoo bar or herbal wash but it's just to mix things up, not really on regular basis.
2. Do you deep condition or oil?
I oil pre-wash, about every other wash day. My hair likes monoi (coconut) oil, argan or jojoba. I find it still works to soften my hair and add elasticity. I haven't deep condition with a hair mask in a loooooong time. My hair seems not to need it.
3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones?
I use leave-ins with cones, they are my most coney products. The rinse out conditioners I like are usually cone free. This is especially beneficial to keep the moisture in and avoid splits.

[leayellena]

1. I even co-wash with cones. I actually make the difference between CG (curly girl) which means no cones and co-wash=whatever condition is on sale.
2. I do both deep conditioning with a cone conditioner then oil my hair. my hair feels smooth. nothing special but I think less split ends?
3. my hair doesn't like leave ins but love oils. can anyone tell me why leave-ins make my hair greasy and frizzy?

[paulownia]

I use sulfate shampoo every wash. I wash every other day.
I use oils as a pre-poo treatment once in a while. Works just fine. I don't do deep treatments before washing.
I don't use a leave-in, it tends to weigh my hair down.
My hair is doing well on my current regimen. I don't have any split ends.

[C_Bookworm]

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
I was my hair daily with sulfates, but only the roots. The only time I wash the length is post-henndigo, which is about once a month.

2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
I don’t use either.

3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?
I do. It gives my hair some nice slip for detangling and helps push the texture one way or the other (I’m 1C/2A, and can find dramatically different results depending on the leave-in I choose).

[Joules]

I started using cones a month ago, and so far I've used only products with amodimethicone. It's a polymer-type silicone that adheres only to damaged parts of the hair and doesn't build up on itself. There are quite a lot of conditioners with only amodimethicone on the market (at least here where I live, a lot of Garnier Fructis and Whole blends conditioners, some from Elseve/Elvive...it's a good cone to start).

I shampoo my lengths every wash, I'm alternating between sulfate and sulfate-free. I'm doing it not to wash out cones, but to wash out whatever I put on my lengths to protect it from shampoo (I always oil my hair heavily before sulfate shampoo and put a lot of conditioner in before sulfate-free shampoo). So far my hair has been ok with it. I tried co-washing with amodimethicone, it was ok too, I stopped co-washing for a different reason.

Oils and cone-free deep conditioners have been working just as good as before. Same with leave-ins, I even incorporated an amodimethiconey leave-in into my routine too. My hair has been a lot better than before actually, I started to really enjoy it rather than just being patient with gnarly and tangly perpetually oiled ends.

I don't know the actual science behind silicones, like, whether heavy waner-insoluble cones prevent oils from penetrating the hair, but judging from different reviews and hair care stories I don't think they do. Coffee&Makeup on Youtube uses heavy cones and does oil treatments and her hair is fantastic (I started to doubt my cone-free routine after watching her videos, and I'd been cone-free for 8 years, so that's saying something). I'm still unsure about using conditioners with heavier cones on my hair, I feel like water-insoluble cones would work best as leave-ins to seal in all the good stuff, but I need to actually experiment on my own hair to find out what really works and what doesn't.

[lapushka]

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?

Thanks in advance.

I weekly wash, and out of habit (and because of ROO 46 weeks in a row), I sulfate wash + lengths. I condition twice after every wash + do ROO, and I use the LOC/LCO method to style so yes there is either a leave-in or curl cream in there. It works for me splendidly every time. I don't use a lot per layer of styler, though! Less is definitely more. :)

[TreesOfEternity]

I don’t know the science behind how different cones work but I can tell my experience with them.
I feel hair is able to absorb coconut and olive oil to some extent when cones were used on the last wash. Anyway I use sealing oils after a wash and coconut as prepoo on the next and it still works, so sealing oils and cones seem to let hair absorb stuff until a point (if there is no weeks worth of build up).
When it comes to clarifying: I recently had terrible buildup because I refused to shampoo my length regularly. From now on I will apply diluted shampoo to them every wash or every second wash (I do coconut oil prepoo anyway so it is a little protected from shampoo). This is specially important if I plan on doing a deep treatment.
Finally when it comes to leave ins, I find my no-cone leave in cream does its work. As good as when there are no cones on my hair? almost, there’s no big difference I can notice.

[Zesty]

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?
2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?

1. I use sulfates every wash. I shampoo twice, roots only, but let it run down the length. I don't remember the last time I intentionally shampooed my length.

2. I do, and it does make a difference. I'll use coconut or almond or olive heavily before a wash and they do seem to penetrate and improve my hair. I think that's a common misconception about cones, that they completely seal the hair and keep anything from penetrating. It's not shellac. :shrug:

3. I only use oil after a wash. Usually mineral oil based amla oil on dry hair. I used to use the LOC method as well but eventually that built up I think, and it didn't make enough of a difference to continue. The amla oil does help.

I'm all about preventing tangles and mechanical damage and improving slip, and cones do that the best for me. Interesting to read what other people do, thanks for asking, Ylva!

[Ylva]

Thanks so much everyone for your replies so far!

I'm relieved to hear that you guys still experience the benefits of leave-ins even when you have cones in your hair. I have a feeling that in the future I'll need to rely more and more on good leave-ins, as I don't seem to be able to put enough moisture into my hair with in-shower conditioners, even though I WCC with very hydrating conditioners. I really hope I can make cones work for me somehow, I could use the ease of them.

[Dark40]

When i use cones, I do use sulfate shampoos during every wash, and that's 3 times a week. Or, I'll co-wash with a cheap coney conditioner 3 times a week. Yes, I do deep condition with all kind of products like, "Queen Helene Cholesterol Hair Conditioning Cream," and "Pantene Pro-V Intensive Moisturizing Masque," I do that once or twice a week, and yes I do oil the whole length of my hair as well, and yes i also do use a leave-in conditioner after every wash as well.

[Joules]

Thanks so much everyone for your replies so far!

I'm relieved to hear that you guys still experience the benefits of leave-ins even when you have cones in your hair. I have a feeling that in the future I'll need to rely more and more on good leave-ins, as I don't seem to be able to put enough moisture into my hair with in-shower conditioners, even though I WCC with very hydrating conditioners. I really hope I can make cones work for me somehow, I could use the ease of them.

The thing with hydration is it's improtant to not only provide it for the hair, but also to make it stay in the hair, and cone-free stuff doesn't work in that direction unfortunately. Especially on high porosity hair. That was one of my problems, no matter how much hydrating products I used on my hair the effect lasted one day max, after that my ends turned into tangly Sahara desert and I had to oil them to get some slip. Using coney stuff after super hydrating cone-free products magically solved this issue.

[Zesty]

The thing with hydration is it's improtant to not only provide it for the hair, but also to make it stay in the hair, and cone-free stuff doesn't work in that direction unfortunately. Especially on high porosity hair. That was one of my problems, no matter how much hydrating products I used on my hair the effect lasted one day max, after that my ends turned into tangly Sahara desert and I had to oil them to get some slip. Using coney stuff after super hydrating cone-free products magically solved this issue.

This is a super great strategy. I used to condition twice, first one with a good cone-free conditioner, second one cone-ful. I use the ROO method instead now, just for ease, but my understanding is that the "science" of hair products supports that order.

[ArabellaRose]

I recently tried cowashing and my hair didn't like it at all, it's set me back and my hair broke out in horrendous split ends and I'm still managing the damage from it, so I've returned to my old routine as it was working really well for me.

I use a coney shampoo and conditioner and the shampoo contains sulfates (Elvive Dream Lengths), I wash every 2-4 days depending on if I'm lazy or have a special occasions where I want to look my best. I occasionally use a deep conditioning treatment or coconut oil with good effect. I use a leave in cream conditioner (Elvive Dream Lengths again) and a leave in oil too, again with good effect.

[lapushka]

I recently tried cowashing and my hair didn't like it at all, it's set me back and my hair broke out in horrendous split ends and I'm still managing the damage from it, so I've returned to my old routine as it was working really well for me.

I use a coney shampoo and conditioner and the shampoo contains sulfates (Elvive Dream Lengths), I wash every 2-4 days depending on if I'm lazy or have a special occasions where I want to look my best. I occasionally use a deep conditioning treatment or coconut oil with good effect. I use a leave in cream conditioner (Elvive Dream Lengths again) and a leave in oil too, again with good effect.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, they say, right? But I know, when I first got here, I experimented with *loads* of stuff. If you are going to try new things, though, try it one at a time, and not 2 or 3 things at once, because you'll not know what is OK, and what isn't. Just something we tell all newbies here.

No method is wrong. It is all OK, if it works for you, it works. No question about it.

[Ylva]

The thing with hydration is it's improtant to not only provide it for the hair, but also to make it stay in the hair, and cone-free stuff doesn't work in that direction unfortunately. Especially on high porosity hair. That was one of my problems, no matter how much hydrating products I used on my hair the effect lasted one day max, after that my ends turned into tangly Sahara desert and I had to oil them to get some slip. Using coney stuff after super hydrating cone-free products magically solved this issue.

Yes, that is precisely how I would do it with cones as well, but the thing is, I have been cone free for a long time and it has been a very successful strategy for me. Also, this question was regarding cones and leave-ins, so if I was to apply leave-ins before using a coney conditioner, that would defeat their purpose as they would largely get rinsed out. I would not switch away from cone free unless I had to. For me it's best to simply avoid washing my lengths as much as possible.

[Salwety]

1. When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?

I Water wash and use heavy cony conditioner as leave in, pantine sleek and smooth. I didn't have to use shampoo in the past three years except for two unfortunate occasions. So I think silicone in that one doesn't build up on my hair.

2. Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?
I use a lot of oil (olive and castor) as part of LOC after washing my hair. And my hair do absorb it. No matter how much I apply, it disappears.

3. Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?

Yes I use them together, and yes I do notice the benefits.

[Alibran]

When using cones, how often do you wash your lengths with sulfates?

The only cone I use is amodimethicone. As someone mentioned earlier, it only attaches to damaged hair, and doesn't build up on itself. I avoid products containing dimethicone or cyclomethicone like the plague, as my hair hates them, and turns into a knotted, snarly mess.

I never wash with sulphates, but I do get my hair professionally coloured every 2 months, and I think the colour removes any silicone deposits as it's rinsed out. My colourist just rinses it out with water, and doesn't use shampoo on my hair.


Do you deep condition or oil (with penetrating oils) your hair when you have cones in your hair? If you do, do you still notice any benefit from it?

Yes, usually with a 50/50 mix of heavy conditioner and coconut oil. I notice less benefit than when I was cone free, but I think that's because my hair is generally in better condition now, so the before and after difference isn't as extreme.


Do you use leave-in conditioning products on top of cones? If you do, do you notice any benefit from it?

My routine is CO wash with a light-ish conditioner containing amodimethicone, followed by an ACV rinse, and then leave in a good handful of heavy (protein-loaded, restructuring) conditioner containing amodimethicone mixed with some coconut oil. If I didn't use leave in, my hair would be a wild, frizzy mess regardless of what conditioner I used.