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View Full Version : 2 week cone comparison ^.^



xoxophelia
February 1st, 2010, 10:10 PM
After two weeks on my no cone challenge, I took pics of my hair without braid waves. I am pretty sure about my hair texture classification because it is wavier on the bottom (and some days more than others). I am starting a "2 week cone comparison challenge" for myself and for anybody else if they want to join in on the experiment. :)



Here are the pics:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=62468

This was a pleasent accident :
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=62469

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=62470

Haha still coudn't get this photo of the back of your head thing to work quite yet.. XD

SonofaGun
February 1st, 2010, 10:35 PM
I have also been using no-cone conditioners for a while, and I have to say that I quite like it. I have fine, wavy hair and I find that a no-cone CO wash greatly reduces the amount of frizz and really brings out the curls in my hair, which I like.

xoxophelia
February 2nd, 2010, 01:56 AM
I have also been using no-cone conditioners for a while, and I have to say that I quite like it. I have fine, wavy hair and I find that a no-cone CO wash greatly reduces the amount of frizz and really brings out the curls in my hair, which I like.

I only started doing CO this past week when I realized my hair didn't need as much shampoo. It was "pure" CO though because as I rinsed out the conditioner, I took maybe a dime size amount of shampoo on my head for a short period of time. It worked wonders after first (NO FRIZZ!! :D).. but then suddenly my hair went poof. :shrug:

AprilElf
February 2nd, 2010, 02:55 AM
Your hair looks lovely! :)

Looking forward to seeing the 'cone' pictures for comparison. How many washes will it be, over two weeks?

Tangerine
February 2nd, 2010, 04:13 AM
Lovely! I am also looking forward to seeing how you get on with the 2 week cone usage. We have the same hair stats! :)

JamieLeigh
February 2nd, 2010, 07:46 AM
Lovely hair! And awesome action shot. :D I wouldn't be surprised if you end up being a 2a/2b like me when you gain more length. I never even knew I was wavy at all until I stopped the cone usage. I think I even hairtyped in as 1b when I first joined lol. But your hair looks a lot like mine did at that length! I'll be keeping an eye on your cone-no cone experiment. This kind of thing greatly interests me. :)

xoxophelia
February 2nd, 2010, 10:10 AM
Thanks for the compliments :)

I wish I had pictures of my hair on "wavy" days. Oddly enough, I thought no cone would make my hair wavier. But, it actually made it straighter. Oo.... I'm not sure if this is from the *small* amount of oil I was using after the shower a majority of the days or from starting CO. However, in the pictures here I had done my leave in oil/honey treatment the night before and then shampooed and really got in there.

AprilElf: I will be trying CO probably about twice in the two weeks. And then for the sake of the trial run and trying to pull some of the color out of my hair, I will try to shampoo three times per week. I will list the products I am using as well.

Tangerine: I was thinking about changing my stats to ii/iii as I am juuuust at the 4" mark. My hair has extreme taper from growing out scissor happy layers which I have been slowly working on for some time now (the sides used to be above my eyebrows Oo). The 4" includes all of my hair at the base of my neck and then it slowly gets "thinner".. your hair is lovely!

Jamie: I would love it if my hair got more wave. I am curious if the thing that is going to do it will be that I have stopped heat styling (because my hair is currently damaged from color, a whole lot of heat, and chlorine :/)

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 01:00 AM
One week of using cones. This is not a length shot but it shows my hair texture. With and without flash in my sleeping pants haha

This is after showering, not brushing, no product, no styling

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=63116

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=63117

Tangerine
February 7th, 2010, 02:42 AM
Cute, perching on the sink :D
It sure looks shiny with the cones! It looks very healthy. How do you feel about it?

I've changed my stats now by the way ...

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 02:59 AM
Haha I changed mine as well :)

This day I actually used a no cone conditioner and shampoo but I have been really loading up on it this week (even leave in cone things).

I am not sure why my wave is showing up more.. that seems to be the only difference I really see. My hair didn't tangle either way. In another week we will see how it is doing. That is when we can tell if it gets crunchy, build up.. and if it is even worth using cones. I think my waves look pretty nice today .. I just wish they were more defined on more parts of my head.

Sammich
February 7th, 2010, 03:03 AM
Your hair looks a tiny bit wavier at the bottom. I love your hair swishyness photo. :p
I've been doing the no cone route too, for about 3 weeks but... I'll give the 2 weeks pics. :)


Cones and before clarifying:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4527&pictureid=59602


Damp hair after washing no cones. (Clarified a week before)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4527&pictureid=62335

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 12:39 PM
Sammy- I don't actually see too much of a different between your cone and no cone as far as shine goes but I'm thinking your hair is naturally shiny. It is a little hard to tell about texture as your hair is wet in the other.

Are you getting more tangles than before?

Sammich
February 7th, 2010, 01:12 PM
Sammy- I don't actually see too much of a different between your cone and no cone as far as shine goes but I'm thinking your hair is naturally shiny. It is a little hard to tell about texture as your hair is wet in the other.

Are you getting more tangles than before?

Less tangles than before, my texture is actually damp in both. ^_^
The texture seems so much more wavier in the no cone route though and way softer. *Shrug* :p

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 01:21 PM
Interesting. Maybe the cone build up was making your hair stiff? Sounds like you are a good track :D

Sammich
February 7th, 2010, 01:32 PM
Interesting. Maybe the cone build up was making your hair stiff? Sounds like you are a good track :D

Possibly, my hair tangled like hell and was so stiff and crunchy on the ends... yet the top was quite soft and all I do is shampoo the top! :p My ends are still pretty crunchy untill I put my cone free condish on my ends as a sort of leave in.

YesitsReal
February 7th, 2010, 01:36 PM
Lol...I was doing the same thing: an experiment to determine whether or not my hair likes cones. But after the first month (the cone-free month), I decided not to go back! :D I felt like the cones were hiding damage (which is indeed part of their job), so I use a cone-free conditioner for slip when I need it.

Sissy
February 7th, 2010, 01:40 PM
Oddly enough, I thought no cone would make my hair wavier. But, it actually made it straighter. Oo.... I'm not sure if this is from the *small* amount of oil I was using after the shower a majority of the days or from starting CO.

I find this to be true for some of my no-cone products as well. I don't know why it is... I have also wondered if it could be the leave-ins I use but it seems no matter what I try my hair is just drying straighter. I think it might be that my hair became healthier since I joined LHC so is now air drying better in general. When I first joined LHC it air dried very frizzy and wavy and looked horrid (this is evidenced in my LHC hair photo album) but long-time members encouraged me to keep letting it air dry. I did and now it hardly bothers me at all to let it air dry as it dries pretty much straight cone or no-cone. I think my hair is thanking me for laying off the heat styling and blow drier on high heat. This is fantastic because I've always been about quick and easy routine (I've never been one to curl my hair or such).

Your hair is looking great and seems to like both cones and cone free. Keep on growing!

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 02:00 PM
Thanks sissy :D

I found the same thing as you actually. When I first came here I had slowly been coming off the heat but not totally at all (maybe 1-2 times a week vs 5-7). When getting ready until I styled my hair I looked.. awful. Pretty much a bunch of fried puff. I didn't even realize how damaged my hair was honestly.

I still don't get many splits at all (no idea why as I DESERVE them haha). I'm hoping my texture continues to improve. I would like more wave all over.

Now *your* hair is beautiful. Looks like a glass veil :)

rach
February 7th, 2010, 02:08 PM
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=4575&pictureid=62469

awesome action shot :D

dagny
February 7th, 2010, 03:01 PM
For those of us who cannot see album photos, could you please give a brief summary of what you found cones/vs no cones to do to your hair?

I know that some talk of the "evils" of cones, but some of the most beautiful long (classic +) hair is nice and healthy by cone products.

I can't figure out if cones are really that bad, or if it just depends on the hair type.

Any thoughts?

Also, were you a cone user before but then you stopped? Or were you a no-cone user and then switched to cones?

Thanks!

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 03:15 PM
thank you rach! Now if only I could see me head banging at a concert :)

dagny: I don't think cones are evil but I don't really know enough to be sure. If you are undecided just make other changes first to improve your hair's health and slowly change your routine and try stuff out.

with no cones, I think my hair was a bit frizzier and the wave pattern less defined. With them, my hair is actually wavier it seems perhaps because it cuts down on frizz. This could probably be changed if I used some hair products which I don't. This seems to be the opposite of what many here see though.

Before, I was using a glaze that had cones and sometimes conditioner that did as well but not every time. Not on purpose though.

I am only 1 week into cone use so we'll see how it looks in another.

Yozhik
February 7th, 2010, 03:24 PM
Great experiment -- your hair is so pretty, regardless!
I've been no cones for a while now, and I've definitely noticed that it brings out my curls :)
Can't wait for week 2!

shadowclaw
February 7th, 2010, 03:32 PM
Your hair looks good! I think I like it better with cones, just because I adore wavy hair. I always had stick straight hair and longed for curls and waves... the best I can do are braid waves in the morning, but they tend to look messy :p

Making curls and such with heat works for about 1/2 an hour and then they disappear, and hairspray makes them linger for maybe 15 minutes more, unless I use a lot, in which case I have stiff, itchy, loose curls that eventually fall out by the end of the day.

From my own experiments with cones and no cones, I prefer cones, at least for the last 12 inches of hair. It dries out so easily down there, and oil just doesn't seem to cut it. I've decided that I'm going to give grapeseed oil a whirl, as it's supposed to be the kind of oil that just stays on the hair's surface, which should help hold in the moisture. Coconut oil just seems to get absorbed, and jojoba doesn't seem heavy enough.

Bellona
February 7th, 2010, 04:31 PM
I like it both ways! You have very pretty hair.

To everyone talking about straightening when going no-cone, my hair straightened when I went no-cone, too. I posted a thread about it, even. Should be a few pages back. I got a lot of good advice, and ended up having to clarify with baking soda and ACV instead of a SLS shampoo, using a conditioner with protein, and oiling a bit more to bring the curl back to life.

xoxophelia
February 7th, 2010, 04:35 PM
Thanks everyone. Ever since coming off heat, I have been trying to embrace the wave I do have. But my hair is currently mixed from damage or just naturally (no idea).

shadow: I always wanted straighter hair as my natural texture has often been difficult to manage.. but then, I have been heat styling it since middle school.

I'm curious and excited to see where all these changes lead :)

Sissy
February 7th, 2010, 05:16 PM
Thanks sissy :D

I found the same thing as you actually. When I first came here I had slowly been coming off the heat but not totally at all (maybe 1-2 times a week vs 5-7). When getting ready until I styled my hair I looked.. awful. Pretty much a bunch of fried puff. I didn't even realize how damaged my hair was honestly.

I still don't get many splits at all (no idea why as I DESERVE them haha). I'm hoping my texture continues to improve. I would like more wave all over.

Now *your* hair is beautiful. Looks like a glass veil :)

yeah, isn't it funny how a few of us have found the no-cone to make us straighter. It would be interesting if it was because our hair had started to repair from us laying off the heat styling! Thank you for the lovely compliment as well :o


For those of us who cannot see album photos, could you please give a brief summary of what you found cones/vs no cones to do to your hair?

I know that some talk of the "evils" of cones, but some of the most beautiful long (classic +) hair is nice and healthy by cone products.

I can't figure out if cones are really that bad, or if it just depends on the hair type.

Any thoughts?

Also, were you a cone user before but then you stopped? Or were you a no-cone user and then switched to cones?

Thanks!

I was traditionally, pre-LHC, a cone user because I mainly used Paul Mitchell, Redken, and some department store brands like Pantene and Brilliant Brunette. I had never heard of the term cone-free or of things like protein treatments vs. oiling vs moisture treatements. I have really been so well educated since joining here :D Once I joined LHC I decided to commit to stop using heat styling and try cone-free products. I went back and forth between cone and cone-free as my hair seems to like both equally, depending on the type of cone (some coney products leave my hair feeling too built up and not easy to detangle, some cone-free products aka Burt's Bees conditioner make my hair feel crap as well). So, I just kept trying new things and stuck with conditioners that rinsed out well and left my hair feeling very slippery. At first I couldn't totally stop using heat styling because like the OP said, my hair just looked so crap air dried. However, I decreased the heat and eventually dried on cool, then eventually stopped blow drying all together. It's a miracle, I can't explain how my hair changed so nicely. Prior to LHC I heat styled and flat ironed pretty much daily and I always panicked if it was a high humidity day or if I got caught out in the rain becaues my sleek, straight style would NEVER hold and I would get matted, frizzy hair which was disastrous. Now, my hair does much better out in the elements, thankfully.

Anyhow, I do not think cones are evil and in some ways I think they can seal in moisture and protect damaged ends. However, I don't think they're a miracle either. I tend to switch on and off but lately have been going pretty much cone free. A leave-in that works well for me is GVP Sebastian Potion 9. It does have a cone but it's way down the ingredient line (meaning not much cone in it) and it's full of healthy oils and extracts. You might like to try it, you can find it pretty cheap at Sally Beauty Supply. I also many times use an organic conditioner which has a cone way down the ingredient line. My favorites are Yes To Carrots Pampering Mud Conditioner and JASON conditioners. So, I realize I am probably not very helpful to you in answering your question because I simply find both cone and cone-free to be fine for my hair. Lately, I have been sticking to either cone free or small amounts of cone. I've been using cone free leave ins more (Camellia Oil, Nightbloomings Hair Salve). I have CO washing a lot with V05 conditioners, which are cone free and then doing a catnip tea soak and applying cone free leave-ins. This is giving my hair a lot of slip but it's too soon to tell if it is relieving my split end problems.

Oh, another observation is that no matter how many times I've used cones and cone free I cannot notice a difference in my number of split ends. I always have numerous split ends. This could be because the hair is old damaged hair from prior heat styling, it could be because I wear my hair down all the time, who knows. But unfortunately, I was not able to find a solution to my split end problem by using cones as I had hoped I would.

Just try conditioning your hair both with cone-free and coney products and then go with whichever product gives you more slip, ease to detangle, and the air dried effect you prefer.

morguebabe
February 8th, 2010, 06:32 AM
Love the action shot, and LOVE the found waves!

xoxophelia
February 8th, 2010, 01:38 PM
Thanks :).. I always battled them with heat. Hopefully as the damage grows out, they will be more predictable. I have started to think of waves as "romantic" (not the challenging in the middle)

little_cherry
February 8th, 2010, 02:01 PM
You hair looks lovely! I really like that action shot...just the right shutter speed to freeze the moment (sorry, that's the photography geek in moi!)

xoxophelia
February 9th, 2010, 02:12 PM
Cute little cherry camera nerd :) (I know nothing in that regard)

I wanted to include what products I am using:

Dove Shine Therapy poo/condish- When using both at first I was getting some itching. This might be from the perfume? The conditioner has dimethicone and later in the list amodimethicone :/

one time: Biolage shampoo (no cone) and the balm condition (no cone)

Fekkai Salon Glaze about 3 times (not sure what is in this, but it has to have cones.. ) I am bothered that this is the most I could find on it:
"
-Silicones and Pearl Protein: Add reflective shine.
-Grape Seed Extract, Sweet Almond Protein, and Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5): Provide conditioning.
"

I don't even know what pearl protein is. I got this as a gift btw.

I also sometimes use a tiny amount of jojoba oil after washing.