Need opinion from the cones to no cones users please!!

[brok3nwings]

Im starting to get worried about my hair...about three weeks ago my hair seams to go dryer..and now i can defenitly see the diference between a month ago and now. It can be just a fase...but i want to know if anyone that has gone to intensive cone user to completly cone free, has felt their hair go diferent only three months after? I started with the cone free thing at the midle of january of this year and now i see my hair diferent. Could it be the hair revielieng itself? Has anyone experienced this? Or is it instantly transformation and reaction? :cool:

[chrissy-b]

It took me a coupla months to notice the difference when I went cone-free (everything I was using prior had loads of cones in them...everything). I did notice my hair seemed to be drier at first, but once I got into regular oiling routine with coconut oil the dryness went away. My hair now has more body and is uber soft. It also tangles a lot less with the use of coconut oil.

[birdiefu]

Did you clarify after going off of cones? Do you use a sulphate shampoo or CO? Has your hair been worse even since you went off cones, or did it get better and is now getting worse again?

For myself, any yucky ends issues with switching to no-cones happened immediately. After clarifying then babying the ends with moisture and oil (and S&Ding too), my hair got much happier from a month or so on. Keep in mind that non-cone products can still have the ability to cause build-up on your hair, and you may need to clarify periodically (though usually less frequently than with cones) to get any residue off that can cause dry, tangly ends.

[eadwine]

I went from cone head to cone free without clarifying, no problem at all. But I DID also start on using coconut oil deep treatments roughly at the same time.

Sometimes my ends will feel a bit coarse, all that is needed is a bit of oil on them and the problem is gone the next day.

Could be that your answer is oil as well :)

[Alaskanheart]

Maybe try using a heavier no cone conditioner on the ends?I noticed a big difference in my hair immediatly after switching, but my hair never seemed to get drier like you are describing.Do you like Coing compared to cone poo/cond.?If you do just try to do deep conditioning treatments before your wash, try another conditioner, condition the ends with heavier Cond., try misting and light oiling etc... If you like cone poo/cond. better, then theres no reason to stick with CO.

[CurlyOne]

My hair became a lot better. I figured out that the cones were drying my hair out and making it very brittle. When I did quit using cones my hair stopped breaking about 1 inch from the bottom. It wouldn't just split but it would just snap off at random places. Dropping the cones has really helped, and I think my hair has more body to it.

[brok3nwings]

chrissy-b and eadwine that is great! im glad it worked for you...i actually dont have coconut oil (and never have seen it around here) so i use jojoba oil

birdiefu that is a good question as it actually did get better for the first two months and i was so much happyer with my new rotine, that was a no sulfates shampoo with Aubrey Organics conditioner, a light conditioner from the health store and jojoba oil. The thing is...i think my hair could have gone to this because of some things...

trying new things, for example...the shampoo bars! the first time it was a terrible experience...it seamed that my hair had a lot of glue and gel ! then i realized that maybe i could try with a more intensive vinegar rinse (i mean...really strong about 1 part to 10 parts three times!) and my hair was incredible on that day but then i think it started to dry on the second time i tried it...so i instantly changed to the first rotine...




going to the USA that had a very extreme weather for me and made my skin instantly itchy and extremly dry...it sure happened the same to my hair but i couldnt know because i was too thrilled with the new hairtoys and products (a lot of them) that i bought and i was too confused to know where to start with... I tryed : VO5 that was terrible to my hair because it made it greasy. I tryed the Natures Gate that i just used it once but it made my hair wierd. I then tryed the Jason shampoo and it gave me a lot of volume (that i like). I actually ended up using Jason shampoo as a regular shampoo and the Honeysuckle conditioner from Aubrey Organics (that i knew already before going to the USA)

I also heard about clarifying so i did the baking soda thing with the JASON shampoo and i think it just made my hair dry (so if people swear about baking soda as clarifying i shouldnt have build up...)

I also did a quick treatment with a protein conditioner also from Aubrey Organics and yogurt to see if it was a protein problem. Then tryed again the Shampoo bar and ended up with the feeling that my hair was again with a lot of waxy....so as i thought that the waxy couldt go out just with water or vinegar i just used my sulfates shampoo three times and then put a lot of conditioner. I think the worst isnt the dryness but the tangles itself...and it seams my hair has a lot of "things" i cant feel it clean even when i used the sulfates shampoo!!!

I dont know how to clearify ...im here only since January but the baking soda didnt work out very well so im thinking of using a cleasing shampoo i have from Redken (that is a bit strong but it cleans) and then a strong conditioning. Im only afraid that this is not a build up problem and so it will do even worst...i am also afraid that this is my hair reacting badly to no cones ( afraid because i was really loving the volume and diference from all this new experience!)

I know this is a LOT LOT LOT confusing (as i am when explaining something) but anyone concluded anything from all of this ?

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

[Faepirate]

It sounds like you're still settling into a routine, like me. I haven't found out exactly what my hairs needs and when, either - I've been at LHC since January as well.

I'm not the most knowledgable person when it comes to identifying problems in hair but if no cone products are really causing you lots of trouble, there's no harm in going back to cones for a little while to see if it helps, if you're getting too fed up! Some people just don't seem to get on with cone-free routines. Different hair has different needs. :) Sounds like yours is quite fussy like mine. It can be terribly frustrating ;)

If dryness is a major problem with your hair have you tried some really deep conditioning treatments? I did a couple of SMT treatments a while back and they really helped my hair a lot. I think I'm about due for another because even with CO washing and everyday oiling my hair gets a little dry at the ends. I think with all those years of cones my hair has been a lttle starved of nourishment and moisture and it isn't a problem that can be instantly fixed but it definitely can be worked on as I have discovered...

I've been cone free since January when I joined here and yes I do think that my hair's "true nature" came out when I stopped using cones! For better or for worse, LOL.
Coneless products combined with oiling and moisturising treatments have really brought out my curls and made my hair feel sleeker and lighter. It used to have a tendency to feel very heavy and coated and looked kind of rough and dull even though it wasn't in a terrible condition at all. I blame the cones for that :P I do think that over time my hair has improved. I seem to get fewer really bad hair days (though I do still get them! Grrrr.).

[lacereza]

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[Niphredil]

For me, cones add protection to my naturally dry and brittle hair. But because the drying effects of cones, I have to strip the cones and replenish the moisture regularly. I wash at least ever other day when using cones. When I'm not using them, I can stretch washing to twice a week (or longer) but I have to oil my hair to help it seal in the moisture and protecting the cortex.

If your hair is damaged from previous abuse and the silicones used to cover that damage, you may notice that damage now that you are no longer covering it with cones.
If your hair is healthy, then you might just need to tweak your new cone-free routine.

I second the oiling suggestions and the heavier conditioner/leave-ins. Also pre-wash (oil) treatments are really good.

[birdiefu]

If your hair was happy for 2 months without cones, I wouldn't say that the lack of cones is the culprit right now. Sounds like to you moved (different water?) and also tried a different washing technique (poo bars) in the meantime. If you have hard water at your new location, poo bars (and even BS, which is also alkaline) can cause problems. The minerals in the water react with the soap, causing 'soap scum' to form on your hair as well as possible mineral build-up. I had a similar issue when I moved to the States in Nov and it took a while before I could troubleshoot my hair.

First off, what I did when I realized the problem was use a clarifying and chelating (removes excess mineral deposits) shampoo. I really like Nexxus Aloe Rid since it's very gentle for this purpose. Then deeeeep conditioned with a SMT with heavy cone-free condish. I follow about half of my washes now with a citric acid rinse (studies have shown that citric acid has more mild chelating properties than acetic acid, which is vinegar). I noticed quick improvement after that, even though I had tried a non-sulphate and then full-sulphate regular shampoo before the Aloe Rid to try to get the build-up off (that didn't work).

However, that is what worked for *my* hair, I am only suggesting it as it sounds like you may have similar water problems. Also for me, CO doesn't work too well for me anymore with this water, my scalp gets gunky. I usually CWC with an occasional CO, and even sometimes full WC to make sure my ends get any build-up removed.

[Elfling]

I went completely cone-free for over three months. Shine and general healthiness seemed the same; but I went back to cones because my hair tangles like crazy without them, I just need more slip than the no-cones can provide. So I wash my hair every other day and clarify once a week- seems to be working pretty well for me.

[lacereza]

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[angelthadiva]

brok3nwings: Can you update your user profile, so it reflects your hair type...That helps a lot when you ask for advice...It looks like you already got tons of good advice...

I guess for me when I see a curly girl try to go cone free and she asks why it's not working we know why. Same goes in reverse for people w/really fine, thin straight hair who use cones--It's too weighty in their hair.

I'm a wurly/curly girl who uses cones; I couldn't detangle my hair w/o it!:shocked:

Many happy hair day wishes from me to you! :flower:

[brok3nwings]

Faepirate yes i agree that the coneless products has improved a lot my waves! That combined with no combing with my hair wet...yes i believe that all of us that are "starting" in LHC need some time to see whats the best...i just want to find it out quickly before damaging my hair eheh

lacereza i think that maybe because of your hairtype. My roommate has the same type as you do and she has a lot of split ends, white spots and tangles a lot! But her hair has a lot of shine!

Niphredil thats a very interesting way of looking for cones and nocones products! I think that with that method you can take the best from both! I think i would get a bit confused...as i often dont really understand my hair, but for those who do its a great way i think

birdifue thank you for your help!! I havent changed location...i just went to USA for 2 weeks in vacation but it made a lot of diference for my skin at least...thats why i bought i lot of products, its because here in Portugal it aint many...just Logona that i hate. So about the shampoo your talking about...no way (i would have to order it somehow) so i think i will try the redken one, it doenst have cones but im pretty sure it has a lot of hard stuff for hair so im doing it with a lot of water and heavy conditioning afterwards. I didnt know that about citric rinse...i will try it and maybe the lemon will also help to light a bit my hair :)

Elfling thats the important. To work well for you! Im glad you found your rotine...

lacereza i see a lot of people saying that the no cones causing tangles and so ...split ends..but i really think that my hair has a problem of a bit of dryness and a bit of tangles BUT gladly it is pretty strong and the split ends are almost none..(after 6 months of growth without trim)

angelthadiva yes i have to put my hair type. thank you for reminding me :P i didnt know it very well but now i think it is 2a 2b/ M / ii iii
i knew that my hair wasnt a fine hair...and not straight straight...but i did not realized that fine hair tangled more than others until i tried to comb my sisters hair! IT WAS TERRIBLE!!! lol my hair is soooo much easier to comb and it has been damaged before and my sisters not, her hair is healthy and completly natural but it is a hell to detangle! eheh

I will consider all of this great sugesttions but for now i think i will keep trying with nocones as ive loved them before and i will clarify cause maybe thats what my hair needs. Another thing tha i´ve noticed is that my hair is fuller now that it has grown so it is bigger so there are more problems in dry and tangles...i havent dealed with this problem for a long long time...(5 years) eheh but i remember having it when my hair was long before...i just have to minimize it. I will tell you later how it goes with the clarifying and conditioning :P

[missy60]

It was hard for me to go coneless because for me some of the natural product my hair just didnt like. BS drys my hair out like nothing else I have ever used I had straw for hair. My hair didnt like the shampoo bars and I had to clarify 2 times after using them to get the waxy build up off.

When I was using cones I really didnt notice that much difference in them I could use just about anything. The main thing for me is the cleansing with non sulfates it seems like some of those natural products dry my hair out worse then sulfates. If it was me I would go back to the products you first started out with that worked in your hair, and go from there. I would only try one new thing at a time, then you will know whats causing the problems.

[zelah]

I noticed a difference right away, switching from cones to no-cones. With cones, my hair was awful and super tangly. I was contemplating just cutting off about 6-8 inches because I couldn't even get a wide tooth comb through it. I then started using a no-cone conditioner. I didn't clarify or anything first, but the difference was huge. The amount of tangles has gone down dramatically, and my hair feels and looks much much nicer.

[Riot Crrl]

Now that you are without a synthetic coating on your hair, it is likely to demand more moisture. But the good news is, it is also likely to willingly accept and respond to the moisture you put on it.

With silicone no deep treatments ever seemed to do anything for me, and the only thing that appeared to have any effect was adding more silicone. Now my hair actually drinks the food that I give it.

You might need to use a heavier cone-free regular conditioner, and step up the DTs.

[brok3nwings]

Oh im so sad about my hair right now...it seams that nothing that i do is really working well. I know that the conditioner stoped working...i know it, i can feel it. It seams that it is the texture of my hair has changed but for worst...if it was split ends i wouldnt feel this until my roots almost! So what do you think i should do? try silicones again or do you have any natural sugestion for my problem?

[mommy2one05]

hi! everybody is different but when i went cone free ... the longer I was without cones the worse my hair got so I went back to cones. What was your reason for trying non cones? If your hair was fine with cones then go back to those.

[brok3nwings]

i went to no cones because i wanted to see how my hair reacted, because it is more natural and healthyer for your scalp !! And my hair was loving it ...for about two months but now it is feeling really wierd but i wish i could know if it is because of cones i will have to buy them again and i will go for Redken All Soft that is my favourite!! And it is expensive.... and worst...i bought a LOT of non cone conditioners and shampoos when i went to USA in vacations...but anyway, my question is, could this dry feeling be because of having no cones??? I feel it mostly on my damaged hair from dyes

[paper]

My hair was dry and frizzy from using cones. Once, I stopped my hair was soft and shiny.

[Delenn]

Without cones I have to do deep oil treatments. Before that I didn't need to do that, I guess cause the cones had my hair sealed up. The difference didn't happen right away, took a few months for me to realize that the hair was clean and now it needed to be moisturized and taken care of.

Since starting henna I haven't really had to do oil treatments. I haven't experienced henna with cone-products though.

[GlassEyes]

The effect of switching to no cones was instantaneous for me. Maybe you need to clarifiy?

ON cones, I use them sometimes, and after a while they make my hair cruddy, but on first to maybe third use they're great!

[brok3nwings]

I am going to my gym today...(finally!! Lol) and i will only wash my hair with water and i will take my cone leave in (that infortunatly doenst exist anymore on the market...that is All Soft from Redken...i mean for those who use cones this was fantastic!) and see how my hair reacts...

Delenn i understand it, and it makes sence...but for example, the shampoo is drying my hair so much that even with the condition after my hair looks really dry, it only stays soft again when i put oil, leave ins...but more than i wish to because then my hair stays shiny but with no volume! And i love my hair with volume :( maybe i should try again the CO or just use a bit bit bit of shampoo (i only use it on my roots..but for now my lengh is near my roots so its almost the same)

GlassEyes i already clarified some few times so it isnt that...i will have to see if my rotine isnt the right one for me, it can be that. For that i need time..hope my hair recovers ;)

[justgreen]

First off, what I did when I realized the problem was use a clarifying and chelating (removes excess mineral deposits) shampoo. I really like Nexxus Aloe Rid since it's very gentle for this purpose. Then deeeeep conditioned with a SMT with heavy cone-free condish. I follow about half of my washes now with a citric acid rinse (studies have shown that citric acid has more mild chelating properties than acetic acid, which is vinegar). I noticed quick improvement after that, even though I had tried a non-sulphate and then full-sulphate regular shampoo before the Aloe Rid to try to get the build-up off (that didn't work).

.

I second this wholeheartedly. I also use distilled water as a final quick rinse, which removes the minerals before they have time to bind to your hair as the water evaporates. I use a 12 ounce bottle of DW (distilled water). I can buy it by the gallon for $.64 at walmart, so a gallon goes a long way. Sometimes I add 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid powder to the distilled water.

I've been cone-free for over two years and do not regret it one bit. I just learned that my ends needed more pampering and once I gave in, they rewarded me.

Everyone is different, you just have to find what works for you.

[Niphredil]

For me, cones add protection to my naturally dry and brittle hair. But because the drying effects of cones, I have to strip the cones and replenish the moisture regularly. I wash at least ever other day when using cones. When I'm not using them, I can stretch washing to twice a week (or longer) but I have to oil my hair to help it seal in the moisture and protecting the cortex.

If your hair is damaged from previous abuse and the silicones used to cover that damage, you may notice that damage now that you are no longer covering it with cones.
If your hair is healthy, then you might just need to tweak your new cone-free routine.

I second the oiling suggestions and the heavier conditioner/leave-ins. Also pre-wash (oil) treatments are really good.

I wanted to add that I now have successfully transitioned to non-cone (CO even) again. I like the way my hair looks with silicones when at shoulder-ish length, but now that it is getting longer (BSL) it doesn't need that 'oomph' the silicones give my hair. Now that I no longer use silicones, I find I have to oil my length regularly since I decreased my washing frequency.

[BeatlesFanGirl]

I've been cone-free for a while (even if my hair is very dry) and I'd never use cones again. Remember that cones don't really moisturize hair they only cover it. Try oiling your hair before washing it, (nut oil, coconut oil, amla oil are really good) and don't rinse the cone-free conditioner that much. You can try leave-in conditioners too.

[Renbirde]

i went to no cones because i wanted to see how my hair reacted, because it is more natural and healthyer for your scalp !! And my hair was loving it ...for about two months but now it is feeling really wierd but i wish i could know if it is because of cones i will have to buy them again and i will go for Redken All Soft that is my favourite!! And it is expensive.... and worst...i bought a LOT of non cone conditioners and shampoos when i went to USA in vacations...but anyway, my question is, could this dry feeling be because of having no cones??? I feel it mostly on my damaged hair from dyes

I think you need some moisture. To check, find a shed hair and pull on it-- hair with the correct moisture amount should strech about 20% before it breaks. If your hair breaks almost immediately, moisturise.

[GlennaGirl]

I CO, and my hair reacts wonderfully to it, except for...once in a blue moon. Have NO clue why it suddenly, out of nowhere, decides to go dry, but bang, all of a sudden, I wake up one morning and it's just like that.

When that happens, I do my usual CO, but I follow with a coney-conditioner.

And voila! (Sorry, I don't know how to do Key Caps on MS to get that little accent mark.) Slippery, moisturized hair for another few months!

[bakertwins2004]

I am noticing I need to do a combo cones/no cones thing. I went no cones for 2 months then This week I washed with cones and gave my ends the extra something they wanted. I will do no cones for a bit and then do the same. I think my hair likes both.

[xovictoryxo]

i am so up in the air, for past two weeks i have gone to coneless, and my hair feels dryer at bottom and greasier at roots :(

[Fiferstone]

Yes, there's definitely an adjustment period as you see what your hair is really like without the silicone masking the roughened cuticle. The oiliness should also diminish, as the skin on your scalp gets used to not being stripped by harsh detergents every time you wash. It takes a while. I went from dedicated Pantene user (shampoo and conditioner) washing every other day (without fail) and having the greasies on day 2 no matter what, to being able to go 3 days between shampoos. Now, if I can only find something SLS-free that I like...

[Tangles]

Another vote for switching back and forth and doing deep oil treatments in between. I feel like THIS is the reason so many people say it works best to change shampoos and conditioners.

[Proginoskes]

I agree there's an adjustment period, and it can get better before it seems to get temporarily worse.

I used to use ALL silicones, all the time. Silicone shampoo, conditioner, balm, shine spray, you name it. But I cut out SLS shampoo at the same time as silicones, and I think that played a big part in the initial good results I saw. My hair was so parched by the SLS and the silicones that eliminating the SLS alone was a huge step in giving my hair the moisture it needed, and it showed immediately.

Then after a couple of months, the silicone buildup gradually wore completely off (even though I initially clarified, I'm sure there was too much silicone in my hair to be gotten out with one clarifying shampoo) and the true damage to my hair was revealing itself. It was really not so great(!), and it seemed like a step backwards. But from there it got gradually better again as I continued to treat my hair well.

Hang in there! :)