What do cones do to your hair that's so "bad" ?

[Pandora.]

I see so many people on LHC that call themselves "cone free".

Just curious as to what is so bad about cones? I have no idea. For instance, if I quit using cones on my hair, what will I gain from it?

[JenniferNoel]

Silicones coat the hair and are said to "lock out" moisture, and they build up after a while, making the hair appear limp/greasy, therefor requiring a clarifying wash. To some, cones benefit, as they ca give hair a great slip and shine, and to others, like me, they just mean flatness. :)

[spidermom]

Cones build up on the hair of people who don't use shampoo, and over time the hair gets brittle. I use shampoo, but I've noticed that I have to be careful about cones. I avoid it in shampoo and conditioner, but I have CHI Silk Infusion coney serum. That way, I can control the amount of cones that goes onto my hair. Just the right amount and my hair is soft, silky, and easy to comb. Too much and it gets snarly, which makes no sense in my mind.

[HintOfMint]

While there are silicones that evaporate or rinse off easily (I do not remember their names off the top of my head), when people talk about avoiding cones, they are usually referring to the heavier kind such as dimethicone.

When people refuse to use cones, it is not the silicone itself but the process used to remove it. Dimethicone, the heaviest silicone, can only be removed using a sulfate shampoo and many people have noticed damage at their ends from using such a harsh detergent, or they don't want to use sulfates in the first place (sensitive scalp for instance).

Another related reason is, as you have seen, many people on this site, if they do use a sulfate shampoo, they tend to use it only on the scalp, and not so much on the rest of the hair. The silicone, thus, never gets washed off the ends and builds up. Much like any build up, silicone build up on the ends causes the ends to be dry, rough, and prone to tangles, and blocks out moisturizing or protein treatments. This can happen with many hair routines, not just ones with cones, however, silicone build up occurs far more quickly.

Yet another reason that was briefly mentioned above, is that silicone, if it is heavy enough, will block out moisture, moisturizing treatments, protein treatments or oilings (if one is using an oil such as coconut oil which purportedly penetrates the cortex). One could argue that oil functions the same way as silicone, to seal in moisture, however, the response is that generally, oils are easier to remove and are more compatible with hair routines that involve limited sulfates.

I apologize for the long response, but I hope this was helpful. If I was inaccurate on any account, please let me know.

Cheers!

[Honey39]

I avoid cones because I condition-wash only my hair, and so in order to avoid shampoo, I need to avoid cones which can cause build up and can't be easily removed by conditioner only washes.

I'm not sure if cones are 'good' or 'bad' otherwise, for me it's just about my overall hair routine. After two years of being cone-free, I have hunted down the best/cheapest conditioners that work for my hair that are available in the UK!

[breezefaerie]

Cones work for some people, like me. I use them in moderation about 1 or 2 times a week. For my fine, thin tangley hair, cones keep it basically tangle free and smooth.
I would say if they work for you keep using them!

[Cholera]

When I use cones, unless I straighten my hair, it's super frizzy. My normally smooth wavy hair is a frizzball with no definition.. I really don't like it. It's why I thought I had to straighten my hair for years.

I do have a curl scrunching gel that has a water soluble cone in it, and it works just fine for me without building up.

[GoddesJourney]

Well, there are various types of silicones used in hair products. Usually, they give you slip and shine but they eventually cause more damage to the hair by leaving buildup and causing the hair to be dry and brittle and the scalp to feel greasy. Also, the sulfate shampoos used to remove this buildup causes drying and frizziness. One thing I've noticed on myself is that both silicones and heavy shampoos cause me to shed a lot more. So, for some it is simply a bad idea to put "cones" on the head. Others find that the benefits far outweigh any negative side effects because their hair is prone to breakage, tangles or roughness and the silicones provide essentially a lube.

[naereid]

Here are two articles about cones:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=151
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=13

As far as I can tell, there are two reasons why people don't use cones. One, they make their hair look bad. Two, removing them requires harsh sulfates, and you must remove them because they build up, and buildup can cause damage.

[serious]

For me, cones= flat, lifeless hair.

[Sammich]

Cones also weigh down your hair and prevents waves/curlies from really showing their full glory. :) Since I quit cones, more waves have started appearing in my hair, plus I'm getting tons more volume!

[trillcat]

All good responses I can't add much, except to tell the story of my own hair.
I was a cone gal, my hair loved them, so I thought.
They did a very good job of masking the damage I had done to my hair. That nice silicone coating on my hair hid a lot. Without the cones my hair was a dried out mess. Crunchy, frizzy, just nasty. I also thought having to wash it every day was just normal, flat limp greasy, yet now dry again hair. I never though the product that helped my hair was really hurting it.
No moisture could get through, my own oils that we all produce for a reason, to keep hair healthy, were not getting into the hair, blocked by the silicone. That is why the flat limp greasy dry hair, all that was sitting on top, not sinking in.
Once I went cone free, it was like my hair started to breathe again. Yes, the damage was unmasked, and had to be dealt with, but my hair is now so much more healthy and happy.
For those who have nice healthy good hair, I don't see cones as a problem, but those of us with damage, it is just a bandaid on the real problem.

[virgo75]

Honestly, I think what you may or may not gain from going 'cone free' varies drastically from head to head.

I've done the 'cone free' thing(12-18 months), and while I had a bit more moisture, I got buildup using cone-free conditioners and my hair became drier. I also got buildup from other natural products like oils, shea butter, and AO Honeysuckle Rose. I can use all of them, but after a while if I don't shampoo my hair is rubbery and coated feeling. I also end up with breakage and tangles when I don't use cones. No matter how many SMT's I do, my hair would end up tangled after drying completely.

However, I've *never* had a problem with cones building up. :shrug:
And if my hair feels dry I do what I have to do whether using cones or not: clarify and deep condition.

Good luck on whatever you try. :flower:

[Debra83]

Thanks for the explanations, everyone. I didn't know either.

[clichepithet]

Cones, especially those in 'poo (since it hits the scalp) make my hair look dirty, dank and limp. Sometimes I get a wild hair (haha!) and use a coney conditioner, but very rarely and only from the ears down.

[May]

In my experience there isn't anything "bad" about them except that they can weigh hair down if you have thin or flat hair.

I started using a sulfate free 'poo/no cone conditioner and I find I get more volume and curls. If I lived in a humid climate I'd probably be totally frizzy as well but luckily I live in Calgary and we have perfect hair weather lol.

I actually think there's a lot of hype against "cones" as "bad stuff". I find that sillicones can be quite protective of the hair which can come in handy when you grow to great lengths.

[*Aoife*]

They make my length all un-curly. My hair turns straightish but with a wannabe wave which I think looks awful given how nice my hair can look on its own.
I CO which I find makes my hair very slippery. I don't like to think of how much more slippery it would be if I used cones.

[Athena's Owl]

My hair is curly, and so I avoid products with silicones in them.

But the reason why is kind of indirect. My own hair reacts well to silicone laden products, on a single application. But it starts a vicious cycle I don't want to perpetuate.

My hair is curly. Among other things, this means that my hair's natural oils have trouble traveling down the length of my hair, so my hair ends up dry.

When my hair is dry, the curls don't form well.
When my hair is dry, it doesn't shine.
When my hair is dry, it's prone to tangling and the subsequent breakage makes it look worse.
When my hair is dry, it frizzes like mad.

I don't want dry hair, so I don't use shampoo to clean my scalp.

Why don't I use shampoo to clean my scalp? Because the most popular shampoos use surfactants that lather up a lot (because advertising has taught us that lather = cleaning) and remove grease.

You know how your hands feel after washing dishes? Would you use your dish detergent on your hair? Well guess what. You already kinda do. Sodium laureth sulfate, the most popular surfactant used in shampoos today does this so well that it's not just in your shampoo, it's also in your dish-washing detergent.

So I don't use Sodium laureth sulfate or any of its grease stripping cousins to clean my scalp. I use milder surfactants - when I need a serious cleaning I will use diluted coco betaine from a soapmaker's shop, but generally I just use a light cheap conditioner.

conditioners have surfactants too, but they're very gentle ones, so you have to let the conditioner sit on your scalp for a minute, massage your scalp thoroughly (I do a routine that takes about four minutes to do,) and rinse your hair out very well to clean it. clean scalp, clean hair, well moisturized, hooray!

but these mild surfactants aren't powerful enough to get serious business silicones out of your hair. to do that, you need a powerful detergent to get them out, and so while you're getting this silicone on your hair for the cosmetic effect, you're still drying your (curly) hair out to do it.

Vicious cycle, engaged. Your hair is dry but silicone makes it look good but you need drying degreasers to get it out of your hair so your hair is dry - but silicone makes it look good! so what's the answer? MORE SILICONES!
:crazyq:

[x0h_bother]

I see you are a 2b and I think I remember you having had some heat damage? I am a 2a with heat damage and in my experience, quitting cones did not give me enough slip for detangling, so I did a lot of "mechanical" damage to my hair during that time when detangling and finger combing. While I have been heat free for a while my hair still has damage and needs cones for help. I think if I can get a years growth without heat styling I might try to lay off the cones again. Conditioner cones actually make my hair look curlier (see my album verus sig pic.)