I was forced to use cones today........and my hair actually loved it

[ericthegreat]

So this afternoon, I went out to the Rockaways where my good friend Jason lives. His house is just two blocks away from the beach so of course we just had to go. While he was tanning on the sand, I of course jumped into the ocean for a long swim. We left at about 3:50 almost 4, and then we walked back to his house where I went to take a shower to wash off the salt. Well of course I didn't bring my own coneless Suave Naturals conditioner with me to his place, and the only conditioner that Jason's mom uses is Pantene's Volume Conditioner. This conditioner does contain quite a high amount of dimethicone, so I stood there in the bathtub debating if I should just water rinse my hair without conditioning it or should I take the plunge and use the coney Pantene just this one time. Of course, I choose to use the Pantene, even a conditioner loaded with cones is better than no conditioner at all, my hair is simply too coarse I HAVE TO use conditioner. So I poured a big dab full of the Pantene Volume conditioner and ran it thro my hair, and rinsed it out after a few minutes. As I was rinsing it out, I could actually feel my hair getting silkier and softer. After I finished showering, I combed out my hair with my wide tooth and was amazed how tangle free and shiny my locks became.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=3325&pictureid=45066

So I've learned that maybe just once in a very long time, its actually okay if not actually a good idea to use a conditioner loaded with cones just to see what you're missing.

[spidermom]

I'm not surprised. I love the way cones make my tangles almost fall out by themselves, as long as I don't use too much. It seems that one application of a coney serum lasts me about a week (and 2 more washings). If I use it with every wash, my hair gets like Velcro. Weird!

[SimplyViki]

Yup! Haha... I'm still experimenting with cones vs. no cones... but leaning towards cones up the wazoo, really, since I'm way too cheap (and broke!) to go and replace all my dozen or so coney conditioners and shampoos. Plus I like how cones make my hair behave more straight than wavy (easier for me to detangle and stuff).

I get Velcro every so often, too. But it's not too difficult to solve that - just a really good wash with a clarifying shampoo, and maybe a little break from the cones (I have a bottle of Suave Naturals, too, to use in between using up the coney stuff).

[LittleOrca]

I love cones. I tried to go cone free and while my hair was doing okay without them for a while, it soon lost it's luster and the ends hated each other and caused problems. Now that I am back on cones and making sure other cruds don't get in my hair (like alcohol denat) I am doing good, especially for a frequent swimmer.

[Speckla]

I've ran back to 'cones with open arms! There's nothing like them to combat humidity and tangles!

[Coriander]

Nothing wrong with a little cone in your life once in awhile.

Personally, a trial run of cone-free was a disaster for my hair.

[shadowclaw]

I'm currently experimenting with no-cones, but I never had a problem with cones in all the years I used them. In fact, they make my hair feel very nice. Nicer than with no cones. I may return to cones at the end of my experiment. I'm not sure. Cheap coneless conditioners don't work that well for me (like V05 or Suave), but while my hair does enjoy organic conditioners like Nature's Gate and Kiss My Face, $5.99 for a little bottle is quite expensive.

Not to mention that my non-SLS experiment is also expensive, because the only non-SLS shampoos I can find are expensive organic ones.

[teela1978]

Cones in moderation can be a wonderful thing :)

[RavennaNight]

See custom user title.

[Rentlle]

My hair does loove cones.
It's the same experience: when I wash the co. out, I can feel it getting silky-er ^^

[GlassEyes]

Different people have different experiences with cones. They aren't the devil, so there's no reason to avoid them if your hair likes them. A lot of people seem to think that, but there are still plenty of not-cone-free members here with perfectly healthy hair.

[CestMadeleine]

In my experience no cones for my hair is really bad. I went cone free for a couple of months and my hair was frizzy, tangled, which in the end caused more damage because of all that detangling. Resulting in a 4 inch trim few months back.

I still go cone free for a few days but have to use a cone conditioner at least once a week.

[BlackfootHair]

I've been thinking about Pantene again. I think I just miss the smell. lol It's what I used all the time when I was a kid. :)

[Chrissy]

Different people have different experiences with cones. They aren't the devil, so there's no reason to avoid them if your hair likes them. A lot of people seem to think that, but there are still plenty of not-cone-free members here with perfectly healthy hair.



I completely agree with you GlassEyes. It all depends on what your hair likes. Why torture yourself if your hair hates no cones? Why torture yourself if your hair loves no cones. We do not have a cone users jail here. :D

[LutraLutra]

I find that I can use cones for one wash and get great hair. But use them for two washes and I get greasy scalp and crispy ends. My cone tollerance is pretty low. :D

[cuddledumplin]

I don't think I could function without cones here in rainy England without cones. I went cone free for a long time, but it didn't seem to improve my hair at all, so I went back to cones.

[teela1978]

I was thinking about this... I wonder if it was really cones that made that big of a difference, or using a thicker/richer conditioner than you usually do. For me there's not a huge difference between a rich coney conditioner and a rich cone-free conditioner, but there's a huge difference between using suave conditioner and a richer one. Maybe getting one of the cheaper thick cone-free conditioners would help your hair a bit (assuming you still want to stay cone-free).

[Honestwitness]

I've just started trying the NO-cone route the past two weeks, and my hair really loves it. I'm using expensive shampoo and very cheap conditioner. The shampoo is Dessert Essence Red Grape Shampoo (heavenly fragrance), which was about $8 for the tube, purchased at a Whole Foods store. I took half and shared the other half with my DDIL. The cheap contioner I've been ising is White Rain Lavendar Vanilla (also a heavenly fragrance).

I must have been over-coned, because this new strategy has made my wispies lie down and my hair is more "swingy" now, instead of "bunchy."

My DDIL is going to buy the Dessert Essence Red Grape Conditioner and give me half of it. So we each get to try both the shampoo and the conditioner.

[juliaxena]

I was thinking about this... I wonder if it was really cones that made that big of a difference, or using a thicker/richer conditioner than you usually do. For me there's not a huge difference between a rich coney conditioner and a rich cone-free conditioner, but there's a huge difference between using suave conditioner and a richer one. Maybe getting one of the cheaper thick cone-free conditioners would help your hair a bit (assuming you still want to stay cone-free).


I think it is about how rich the conditioner is too. It can be cone one or cone free one, I don't mind either sort Except that non cone ones that are equally rich tend to be more expencive in my experience. I have quilty conscience about using cones sometimes too though, because you just keep hearing bad things about them, which is not fair.

[Tangles]

I'm not surprised. I love the way cones make my tangles almost fall out by themselves, as long as I don't use too much. It seems that one application of a coney serum lasts me about a week (and 2 more washings). If I use it with every wash, my hair gets like Velcro. Weird!

I'm the same way.

[melrose1985]

I went back to using cones after a long run with none and i must say too my hair is like SILK!!!

i think for me on and off is good.

[Roseate]

It's funny, we have several threads like this up right now. Cones: actually not the devil after all.

My hair can take them or leave them, but my scalp hates detergent with a burning fiery passion, so it's simpler for me just to avoid the cones, then I don't have to worry about buildup.

[Renbirde]

I'm cone-free ATM, not so much because cones are evil but because sulfates are. I haven't found any conditioners with water-soluble 'cones yet, and I've had some bad experiences with build-up. So no sulfates leads to no cones for the Bird. :D

[templeofvenus]

have been trying the no sulfate no cone route last week but gone back to cones for a bit as my hair was a bit too lightweight without the cones! odd but true it seems to have more body with the cones! oh its all so confusing lol :confused:

[Sheltie_Momma]

I had a very similar experience (yawn. too lazy to look up the thread.) recently. I have come to the conclusion that a little bit of coney Pantene now and then makes my hair very happy. In general my hair is responding great to CWC with VO5 and then Suave coconut (at the OP's reccomendation BTW, because my hair is also so very coarse).

[Seraphina]

I've been thinking about Pantene again. I think I just miss the smell. lol It's what I used all the time when I was a kid. :)
Haha,same here.Good (or bad ? ) ol' Pantene ! :)

[Loviatar]

It seems that one application of a coney serum lasts me about a week (and 2 more washings). If I use it with every wash, my hair gets like Velcro. Weird!

Spidermom, we are cone-twins. :lol: I can use a coney serum (L'Oreal night repair with royal jelly) maybe once a week, but not more or I get Velcro. It has water soluble cones.

[JamieLeigh]

Some people love cones. Me, I don't because I love my waves, and cones weigh my hair down until it's straight, which I don't always love. Plus, I CO which is harder with cones than without. I tried it with Aussie and my scalp got greasy afterwards much quicker.

[Naamah]

The past two days I used no cones, and today I used cones. My hair feels amazing today. I think I'm just going to switch between the two, that seems to be working well.

[rwinksters]

I just started the whole CO and almost no cones wash a few weeks ago and I really like it. I haven't had nearly as many problems with little annoying frizzies and my hair feels so soft. I do use a tiny bit of shampoo if I've been out riding horses and cleaning stalls just because I feel that my hair could use it. I think the little bit of cones is actually a nice change of pace for me. :)

[eadwine]

It's funny, we have several threads like this up right now. Cones: actually not the devil after all.
It's about time.

It is all about what your hair likes, and if it likes cones, so what? We put this on ourselves, no-cones isn't law ;)

[hydrangea]

I had tried the all natural shampoo bar/ACV rinse deal for a couple weeks. NO SHINE. none. Apparently shampoo bars do not "conceal" damage like cones do...needless to say I had no idea that I had THAT many split ends. I knew it was damaged, hence the reason I tried switching to a more natural routine. I think it would have worked fine if I had virgin healthy hair. But I just don't. It's been around a few times. It requires being covered up with cones or else it just doesn't look right.