Are silicones really that bad?

[hollygolightly]

I love using silicones. Since my hair is bleached it has helped me a lot with keeping my hair soft, hydrated, shiny and less prone to breakage. There are already threads in here about people who love silicones but I know that lots of people don't like them either because they have curly hair or because they simply don't work for them or because there is this thing about silicone not letting moisture in and this what got me wondering. If you are afraid of silicones not letting moisture in why not clarify, do a non silicone hydrating mask and then seal it all again with silicones, I mean, if they don't allow the moisture to come in then they also won't let the moisture come out right? :hmm:

[Ylva]

For some people, they work and for others, they don't. It's not always as simple as "just clarify and do a mask", because some people's hair can't take harsh detergents on such a regular basis. I know that my hair takes at least two washes to come around even though I condition twice, the first one always being a heavy-duty mask, and I focus a lot on hydration indeed. There can also be differences in how quickly the hair accumulates buildup.

Personally, I'm a fan of non-buildup silicones such as amodimethicone and bis-aminopropyl dimethicone. They offer the best of both worlds - for me! :)

So if your hair likes silicones, go ahead and use them.

[akurah]

Not everything works for everyone. I have to use facial sunscreen, but I will not use to save my life any other brand or FORM (my sunscreen is a "wax-like" solid, not liquid) of sunscreen than the one I currently buy to put on my face--not because it protects better, but because I hate how most sunscreens feel and smell (even when designed for face use) and depending on what's in it, I'll get cystic acne flareups, and I'm gonna be in a whole lot of trouble if it gets discontinued. Whereas other people will be happy with any old sunscreen, or alternately, they might have their own "pet product" different from mine, but for similar reasoning.

By extension, the same goes for hair. I'm not particularly fussed about silicones vs not, but I generally use them because they're easy enough and they don't offend my hair. Other peoples hair don't behave in a fashion they like on cones, so they don't use them.

Basically, it boils down to: Do I like how my hair feels after using silicone?

If the answer is yes, go use it.

If the answer is no, don't.

If you don't care, it doesn't matter. :)

[RottenMango]

I think silicones are good for sealing moisture in. I have curly hair and I use a hair serum everyday. I think silicone only becomes harmful to your hair if you don’t use sulfate shampoo or clarifying shampoo to remove them every once in a while. You just have to be cognizant to avoid getting buildup if you use silicone, that’s all. I shampoo every three days with sulfate shampoo and have no buildup issues at all.

[lithostoic]

I used to like them back before I switched to sulfate free. Even water soluble cones aren't necessary with my routine. Though I'm open to try!

[Andthetalltrees]

I use to like them, But I eventually found them to be drying

[Shorty89]

They aren't inherently bad and those with damage often need them for slip. I don't use them because they build up super quickly on me and make my hair feel crunchy, dry and staticky.

[blackgothicdoll]

I don't think they're bad, the proof is in the pudding and plenty of people on this forum use cones with great results. However just like anything, not everyone's hair likes them. Even cones that are states to not build up seem to cause a coating on my hair when high in the ingredient list, which will then dry out my hair and require clarifying, which will dry out my hair even more. I experience similar behavior with waxes and petrolatum so I avoid all of these.

[Joules]

I love silicones,I absolutely adore them. I started using them again last September after a little over 8 years of being cone-free, and it's one of the best hair decision I've made in my life.

I'm a huge believer that anyone can benefit from using silicones, each person just needs to find the right balance. For example for me the most important thing is leave-in, it has to contain cones. Rinse-out conditioner isn't important, I may even prefer a thicker cone-free conditioner to a coney one. Shampoo has to be silicone-free, because scalp and roots don't need this ish. I'm very particular about the type of cones I use, I prefer the non-buildup type, like Ylva.

Some people may not want to bother looking for the right type of cone for them, that's ok, as long as silicones aren't being vilified. I really hate when people claim silicones are bits of plastic that ruin out hair. That's just not scientific and not true.

[lapushka]

I think there have been countless threads on are sulfates bad, are silicones bad. ;)

It is generally a YMMV thing.

If your hair is damaged, silicones are especially nice. My hair is dry on the lengths and so I love silicones. For some people, on virgin hair, they can weigh the hair down, but if you wash them out really well, you're fine!

Some can even dissolve in water, in a light sulfate-free shampoo, only for things like dimethicone and such you need a sulfate shampoo. It's all in how you handle them.

[Joules]

Some can even dissolve in water, in a light sulfate-free shampoo, only for things like dimethicone and such you need a sulfate shampoo. It's all in how you handle them.

According to Science-y hair blog even the most "permanent" cones can be washed out by the gentlest detergents like cocamidopropyl betaine (which is in everything). So unless you're slathering your hair in silicones like there's no tomorrow, I don't think clarifying should be that much of an issue.

[LadyCelestina]

It's not just "they work for some, not for others". Your hair can like a particular type of silicones or like them in a certain amount or in a certain product.

For me, I like to limit silicones to one product in my routine and have all other products cone free. This way I get slip, shine and manageability without weighing down.

They are synthetic oils, so I'd proceed about the same as with normal oils.

[JennGalt]

Not everyone benefits from cones. When I quit flatironing I continued to use a coney conditioner and serum. There might have been some in my shampoo too, but I can’t recall. What I do recall and will never forget is a gross, thick, gummy, gray buildup coating my hair. I was still using conventional sulfate shampoos at that point, although rarely, and even one supposedly for clarifying wouldn’t remove it after several washes. I could scrape my fingernail down any given strand and remove enough of this substance to roll it into a ball a couple millimeters in diameter, and the strand would still have a coating on it. Pretty sure it was a mix of cones and hard water minerals. I’d never even noticed it before because I would literally burn it off with my flatiron. I burned it off again and began only using oils as leave ins. I have not seen the gross, gummy buildup since then.

Giving up cones has been a real blessing for my scalp and hands too. For many years I thought I had to use conventional products and suffer through eczema flare ups every wash day. I thought the problem was me, not the products. Sulfates always trigger flare ups for me, even the “gentler” ones. I recently gave cocamidopropyl betaine another try, and my scalp wasn’t too happy about it. Sodium C14-16 sulfonate seems to be too harsh for regular use too; it’s something I’ll only use for clarifying on very rare occasions. Basically I can’t use anything that would remove cones without trouble. Now that I know that, I don’t hate wash day anymore and can wash/co-wash more often, which is nice because I like DC-ing. Giving up the problem cleansers also fixed my dandruff issue and hair has thickened up a bit since then too :)

Perhaps they benefit people who can use harsher cleansers and don’t have horrible water, but I don’t think it’s quite true that cones benefit everyone.

[Ligeia Noire]

Love them. I have more than 5 ft of virgin hair and never had a problem with them and i use stuff with dimethicone too. If my conditioners have no silicones than that's the problem. Try and error is the key.

[EdG]

Silicones are only one way to condition the hair. Other methods are to apply oils or to use the body's natural conditioner (sebum). Everyone has to determine what works best for them.
Ed

[Dee94]

I think silicones are good for sealing moisture in. I have curly hair and I use a hair serum everyday. I think silicone only becomes harmful to your hair if you don’t use sulfate shampoo or clarifying shampoo to remove them every once in a while. You just have to be cognizant to avoid getting buildup if you use silicone, that’s all. I shampoo every three days with sulfate shampoo and have no buildup issues at all.


Hi, RottenMango.
What serum are you using?

[LittleHealthy]

Perhaps you mean when companies tell us that sulphates and silicones are bad (for our health etc)? Science tells us the small amounts are just fine, but there are much more harmful chemicals in some shampoos and conditioners that we should be wary of (parabens etc).
As far as personal preference goes, I agree with everyone else!

[Dark40]

I love silicones. I also absolutely adore them too. I've been using them for 3 years now, and haven't had any issues with build-up or anything. I was still able to lock in the moisture while I had them in there. But everything doesn't work for everyone. But it definitely works for my chemically-treated hair!

[Ylva]

Perhaps you mean when companies tell us that sulphates and silicones are bad (for our health etc)? Science tells us the small amounts are just fine, but there are much more harmful chemicals in some shampoos and conditioners that we should be wary of (parabens etc).
As far as personal preference goes, I agree with everyone else!

I think the stuff about parabens is total fear mongering. I welcome them in my products and would swap all methylisothiazolinone for parabens any day. :D

[Groovy Granny]

My hair loves them :love:
I use sulfates so there is no build up, but I also enjoy a clarifying shampoo and do a hair mask once a month.

[lapushka]

Perhaps you mean when companies tell us that sulphates and silicones are bad (for our health etc)? Science tells us the small amounts are just fine, but there are much more harmful chemicals in some shampoos and conditioners that we should be wary of (parabens etc).
As far as personal preference goes, I agree with everyone else!

As far as I know the parabens is also a "scare". Because they have been extensively tested. And it doesn't mean that if the product is without parabens that it is going to be suddenly free of preservatives, which is what parabens are. It just means the parabens have now been replaced with something else, something that hasn't been that extensively tested (and what is that going to do, nobody knows). With Ylva on this!

So give me the parabens any day, I've said it more than once! :)

[hayheadsbird]

I’m not a fan of silicones on my hair. They build up really quickly, then to remove the build up ends up stripping my hair. So its a SLS and silicone free routine that works best for me. I don’t think they are evil though, and I would love to give a water soluble one a try tbh, but I’ve never really taken the time to do the research to find potential products to test out and see how they work. Easier just to stick with what I’m doing.

[milosmomma]

I used silicones frequently when I had bleach and heat damage. Once I made the transition to virgin hair I found them heavy and I could use products without and have been cone-free since. I agree that it's an individual thing and even now if I felt I had split ends out of control or ends felt extremely dry, I would probably give cones a go before trimming. I think they have a time and place and have served me well in the past and I wouldn't be opposed to introducing them back into my routine if my hair asked for them with more length.

[Joules]

Perhaps you mean when companies tell us that sulphates and silicones are bad (for our health etc)? Science tells us the small amounts are just fine, but there are much more harmful chemicals in some shampoos and conditioners that we should be wary of (parabens etc).
As far as personal preference goes, I agree with everyone else!

Parabens are the most extensively studied preservatives out there. They are very safe. That study about parabens being found in breast tumors is bogus and was busted days after publishing back in 2004. Besides, some berries contain parabens in small amounts, so when you're eating them you're literally eating parabens. No one's dying because of it. Please stop the paraben-o-phobia.

[RottenMango]

Hi, RottenMango.
What serum are you using?

The Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment. I use it everyday as part of my LCO routine.