Any recommendations for silicon free and humectant free products?

[stephanie6211]

Hi all! I recently moved from a humid area to one with very low humidity and a frequently low dew point, and I finally realized my humectant heavy products are wrecking my hair. Now I'm on the hunt for humectant free products that are curly girl friendly! I have high porosity 2c-3a, waist length thick hair that's constantly thirsty. I'm currently using Suave coconut to co wash and detangle, tresseme botanicals as a second conditioner, and grapeseed oil followed by shea moisture smoothie when I want to style. Unfortunately I'll need to replace all but the oil, so I'd love any and all recommendations! Budget friendly is preferred for the first co wash product as I tend to need tons, but I'm willing to splurge a tiiiiny bit on styling products (as I frequently commit a long hair sin and wear my hair down...oops!)

Thanks in advance!

[nycelle]

That's a toughie. Not sure anything like this exists that's also budget friendly..

The only one I can think of (from memory) is Living Proof No Frizz conditioner, but it's on the more expensive side.

[milosmomma]

I would recommend the love beauty and planet conditioners in the sandalwood and shea and the lavender scents. They are cg friendly and very affordable, I believe 6-7 usd. As far as I'm aware they dont have humectants but not entirely sure of what all the humectants are besides honey and aloe. I would also recommend Eden bodyworks almond marshmallow deep conditioner. I got mine from amazon for 8 usd but it is a huge 16oz tub and it is cg friendly as well. The only thing is it has some aloe but pretty far down the ingredients list.

[blackgothicdoll]

Garnier Fructis Legendary Olive, if they have it in your area. I haven't seen it in some stores for awhile. I think TGIN green tea leave in doesn't have glycerin, either. Both are cone-free.

[milosmomma]

I just checked ingredients and found a list of humectants and it seems the one love beauty and planet sandal wood conditioner has dipropylene glycol towards the end of the list. The list of humectants I found had propylene glycol but not DIpropylene glycol so I am still not sure.

[Kathie]

I see you have 2c/3a hair- there are a lot of curly products that are silicone free and many that are also humectant free... catering for curlies in different humidity. Might be worth checking those out. Not sure of your budget so don't have any specific recommendations.

[JennGalt]

I’m having to look for similar products for the opposite reason: I live in a dry area and glycerin transports moisture out of my already dry hair. I’ve been able to continue using film-forming humectants; have you had any luck with those?

Kinky Curly Knot Today is free of humectants. I love the stuff and it has become a HG product :) SM JBCO leave in doesn’t have any glycerin, but has a water soluble cone-like protein/copolymer hybrid. SM Coconut and Hibiscus Conditioner is also glycerin free, but has the same protein/copolymer hybrid. The corresponding shampoo contains glycerin, but it’s near the bottom of the ingredient list. SM moisture retention shampoo is free of glycerin but has aloe high up on the ingredient list. I can’t recall if or where aloe placed on the ingredient list of the other SM products I listed, as I was only scanning ingredient lists for glycerin. The KCKT is humectant free though :)

Hope that helps!

[stephanie6211]

(I'm a lurker and not much of a poster so I apologize in advance for formatting issues!)

Thank you all so much! I actually had my eye on Knot Today, glad to hear a good review! I haven't tried many film-forming humectants yet but I'll definitely give it a shot.

I had a thought, would using mineral oil as a last step create a barrier and keep the humectants sealed in, as long as I get enough moisture packed in first? I've used it in humid areas and it gives me incredible shine and softness but kept the humectants from drawing in moisture, so I might give that a shot unless you guys think that's not a great plan.

What are some good ways to load up on moisture without humectants? Lots of oils and emollients?

So sorry if these are silly questions, I feel like a newbie all over again! Took me forever to get a routine going well and have been using it for yeeeears with great success, it feels super weird starting from scratch. I greatly appreciate everyone's recommendations and help, y'all rock!

Edit: totally thought I was quote replying to individual users, sorry for derailing but is there somewhere I can check out for formatting tips (as well as how to insert emoticons?) Sorry mods if this isn't the best place to ask!

[lapushka]

Hi all! I recently moved from a humid area to one with very low humidity and a frequently low dew point, and I finally realized my humectant heavy products are wrecking my hair. Now I'm on the hunt for humectant free products that are curly girl friendly! I have high porosity 2c-3a, waist length thick hair that's constantly thirsty. I'm currently using Suave coconut to co wash and detangle, tresseme botanicals as a second conditioner, and grapeseed oil followed by shea moisture smoothie when I want to style. Unfortunately I'll need to replace all but the oil, so I'd love any and all recommendations! Budget friendly is preferred for the first co wash product as I tend to need tons, but I'm willing to splurge a tiiiiny bit on styling products (as I frequently commit a long hair sin and wear my hair down...oops!)

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure if humidity & dew point levels can affect anything that is rinse-out... :hmm:

So I think you're pretty good choosing just about anything you have available to you for CO-washing and conditioning.

The stylers is a bit trickier. I myself love the JBCO leave-in by Shea Moisture or the Cantu leave-in. The curl enhancing smoothie by Shea Moisture or the frizz-taming smoothie are also great options. For gel I use Eco Styler (which is a staple for me). And then I have a generic serum (Aldi, brandname Kyrell).

That's about it that I can recommend. I'm using these on and off and interchangeably, and I quite like them all!

[JennGalt]

The Cantu leave in has glycerin. I had to stop using it because it was making my hair brittle :( I don’t want to waste it though, so might try to turn it into a modified SMT. On rare occasions I still use it to tame frizz, but I have to put a fair amount of JBCO underneath it to protect my hair. But not often. I believe CES has glycerin too, but I’ve seen more than one ingredient list for it and am not sure which one to trust.

Rinse out products with glycerin high up in the ingredients list do seem to leave my hair drier than my homemade concoctions that have no glycerin, but usually the next day; which is why it took me so long to catch the culprit. Glycerin seems to moisturize and soften for 12-24 hours, but then will dry my hair out. Also, it takes forever for some parts of my hair to dry. Rinse out products generally don’t cause as much drying as leave ins, though. I think that might be another YMMV thing though, since my hair seems unusually keen to drink up anything and everything it can. Perhaps it would be fine for OP?

Emoticons can be accessed by clicking the smiley button at the top of the text entry box. And and I can’t recall where I found formatting info, but you can use the “Reply with Quote” button at the bottom of a post to quote it, or the little quotation symbol and plus sign if there are are multiple posts you want to quote. :)

[lapushka]

The Cantu leave in has glycerin. I had to stop using it because it was making my hair brittle :( I don’t want to waste it though, so might try to turn it into a modified SMT. On rare occasions I still use it to tame frizz, but I have to put a fair amount of JBCO underneath it to protect my hair. But not often. I believe CES has glycerin too, but I’ve seen more than one ingredient list for it and am not sure which one to trust.

Rinse out products with glycerin high up in the ingredients list do seem to leave my hair drier than my homemade concoctions that have no glycerin, but usually the next day; which is why it took me so long to catch the culprit. Glycerin seems to moisturize and soften for 12-24 hours, but then will dry my hair out. Also, it takes forever for some parts of my hair to dry. Rinse out products generally don’t cause as much drying as leave ins, though. I think that might be another YMMV thing though, since my hair seems unusually keen to drink up anything and everything it can. Perhaps it would be fine for OP?

Emoticons can be accessed by clicking the smiley button at the top of the text entry box. And and I can’t recall where I found formatting info, but you can use the “Reply with Quote” button at the bottom of a post to quote it, or the little quotation symbol and plus sign if there are are multiple posts you want to quote. :)

That reminds me. LOL! I still have a small bottle of glycerin here (discovered it this past week). I think I'm going to mix it in with my oils for ROO. Me? I like glycerin. But I realize it is a YMMV thing!

[Dark40]

I would recommend Alberto VO5 Kiwi and Lime Conditioner. All of their products are silicone-free. I would also recommend Garnier Fructis also.

[JennGalt]

If you’re still looking for resources and product recommendations, I found a YouTube channel by a lady with fine, high porosity, humectant sensitive hair: MelissaQ. She does sometimes use products with glycerin layered over other glycerin free products in the summertime, but most of her recommendations are both silicone and glycerin free. I don’t believe she uses cones at all, and I’ve seen her mention in one video that her hair also dislikes honey because of its humectant effects. Here’s a link to her video about leave in conditioners: https://youtu.be/alzX0GQl8cY

And a video about glycerin free drugstore products: https://youtu.be/993FE7VSPoU

She also has a video somewhere on her channel about glycerin free stylers. Perhaps more than one such video. Hope that helps :)

[stephanie6211]

Thank you all for the replies! I wanted to update incase anyone is in the same boat. I've been testing out HE Hello Hydration to cowash (it has cones but ones that don't tend to cause build up, but we'll see...), followed by Knot Today as a leave in and my hair feels amazing!! Following up with grapeseed oil on soaking wet hair, and trying out the Cantu Mousse. So far so good minus the mousse, I'm looking for more definition than it provides, but I have Alaffia curl cream on the way, fingers crossed! I don't think all the products are 100% free of humectants but they're pretty far down the list. My hair is much softer and frizz free so I think I'm on the right path! Thanks a bunch y'all!

[Kalamazoo]

Lately, I've invented my own conditioner:

Place 2 T. Fenugreek Seeds in 2 c. bottled Spring Water.

Leave in fridge at least overnight. (I think mine's been there for a month.)

Whenever hair seems tangly, apply the soak water to the tangle.

On the wet hair, apply a little oil. (I've been using Earthly Delight Pomade. Ingredients: Coconut oil, Olive oil, Beeswax, Candelilla wax, Vitamin E, Sage EO, Rosemary EO, Bergamot EO, Nettle leaf, Argan oil. It's as thick as petroleum jelly. I think anything of that basic consistancy would work as a sealant.)

This next part may not be CG-Friendly, but it works for me (I'm somewhere between 1b & 2a.): I gently work my fine-toothed ox horn comb through each snarl, applying Fenugreek Soak Water & Earthly Delight Pomade to each tangle, until I can comb straight from scalp to ends. I've read that some curlies are able to comb their hair ONLY in the shower, when it's loaded with conditioner & very wet.

Maybe my ingredients would work for you, but not my combing technique?