Question For Cone Users

[Dragon]

Why do you use cones?
How does your hair feel if you dont use them?
Do you find you get less split ends when using them?

[veggielocks]

What are "cones" used for? I've never heard of something like that for hair.

[Henrietta]

What are "cones" used for? I've never heard of something like that for hair.

Silicones. It's late at night and I am not good at chemical English language... There is an article somewhere...

First of all: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=13
And also:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=151


As a former cones addict I can tell you that I used them because I had no idea they exist and they are bad. I dropped them as far as I could, though it took me few weeks to decide and I was afraid about how my hair would behave without them.

Without them my hair feels... normal. Since I CWC and always leave a conditioner for 30+ minutes it's even better than it was when I used cones. It is finally healthy. Before it just looked healthy.

I didn't get more split ends when I used them than I get now. But when I went back to cones once, to use up a serum it was a disaster- I had totally dry-looking and dry-feeling hair.

[SpinDance]

"Cones" stand for silicone varieties of which are in many hair products for slip and shine. As with everything, some peoples hair loves them and needs them, others do not. There is a lot of information about them and the various alternatives here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=151).

[veggielocks]

Ah ha...dimethicone and the like. I read something about that sometime ago on here. Excuse the lack of knowledge of hair lingo here on the forums. :)

[Henrietta]

Ah ha...dimethicone and the like. I read something about that sometime ago on here. Excuse the lack of knowledge of hair lingo here on the forums. :)

Don't worry. I still have problems with the abbreviations of length names:o

[swivelhop]

It will make me a jerk again, but here is my answer.
Why do you use cones?
I use them cause they give me what I want in a conditioner.
1 A coating that just doesn't rinse down the drain. (why else would I use it?) That is noticeable and effective after my hair dries. My hair needs a coating to weight it down and protect it from the environment.
2. No tangles when hair is worn down even in wind, and mild sports.
3. Wash day hair isn't intolerable. I can wash more often which my scalp loves, and I'm sure I smell better. :D

How does your hair feel if you don't use them?
Version 1, no conditioner at all. Hair feels like a little kids, light, puffy. Looks okay for "casual weekend" stuff, but not good.
Version 2, conditioner w/o cones, unholy mess of flyaway fuzz. Looks... like its time to buy more hats.

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?
MUCH LESS. Fewer tangles to comb out means less damage to my hair. Hair that is slippery and coated doesn't tangle on me. (note my splits always occur at my nape or other tangle areas, no where near the ends of hair)

Edit: I should add not just any 'cone condish works this magic for me. It has to be one that leaves a good coating behind.

[Chestershire]

I use silicone free everything, but do use a serum, because I like having a small amount of silicones in my hair, because they do protect the hair from damaging. Be carefull you don't smother your hair with them, you will find out yourself how much silicone your hair needs. Because of the serum, my hair feels smoother, softer en looks better. And I've never seen a split end in my life. (On my hair)

[virgo75]

I wouldn't call myself a cone user, I just don't avoid them.

Why do you use cones?

I use them if they happen to be in a product(shampoo/conditioner/leave-in) that I like.


How does your hair feel if you don't use cones?

My hair feels fine while it's still damp, but once it's dry it feels dryyyyyy. lol With some coney conditioners, the moisture stays in my hair longer.


Do you find you get less split ends when using them?

Yes. I also seem to get less tangles. Probably from the slipperyness of the sillicones. The added moisture + slipperyness + less tangles = better hair for me. My hair is extremely fine and curly so it tangles and can break easily.

I don't buy that cones just cover up damage and that the reason some peoples' hair breaks after they stop is because the sillicones were just covering that up. :rolleyes: My hair isn't heat styled, dyed, chemically treated, nothing. I henna once in a while, but that's it. My hair is very healthy and I do a lot of deep treatments + SMTs. However, when I go 100% cone free I get tangles and breakage.

My hair is only a bit past shoulder length, so it's not because my hair is long & the ends are old. And again, it's not from heat or chemical damage. It's because I have yet to find a cone free conditioner that conditions my hair as well as the cone variety(and I've tried most of them - AOHSR, Biolage Conditioning Balm, Garnier Triple Nutrition, etc.) I've had hair down past my waist with all sorts of chemical & heat damage while using coney products(Pantene of all things). However, my hair completely free of all damage will still break if I don't use shampoo & conditioner - some with cones.

I don't buy into the internet hair myths anymore and my hair is happier for it. :cheese:


Hope that helps. :flower:

[Rivanariko]

Why do you use cones?
Because my hair likes them. The slip helps cut down on my already unimaginable tangles. And I like that it looks shiny and and feels really soft and slippery.
How does your hair feel if you dont use them?
Like I just ran it through a cheese grater. Seriously. Not only is it frizzy and impossibly tangled, it falls out in chunks. Granted, I haven't tried any of the more expensive cone-free products, just the cheap ones like Suave and VO5. Higher end might be different, but I didn't try it more than once, I didn't want to be bald by the time the two-week rule was up!
Do you find you get less split ends when using them?
Yes, partially because the cones allow more slip to keep the tangles down and prevent damage, partially because they coat the hair shaft and protect it from damage, and partially because I can't find them if the cones glue them together.

I'd be really curious what kind of correlation there is between hair type and whether your hair likes cones or now? It seems like more of us fineys like cones because of how prone to tangles our hair is and how easily it breaks, but maybe it's people with courser hair that do better cone-free? I don't know.

[Charlotte:)]

My hair likes cones (possibly because I have hard water). Shampoo without cones leaves a waxy residue in my hair and makes it super tangly,frizzy and impossible to brush.

[SurprisingWoman]

I like my hair on cones.

I don't like my hair as much if I use a less coney/no cone condish.

Why not use what I like? I think people over think things sometimes.

[shawty]

I was cone-free for a while many years ago. I can't remember if it had any discernable effect on my hair, but I hated the conditioner - it contained wax and didn't feel good when I put it on my hair, and at the time I hadn't yet found out oil was a conditioning possibility. So I quit using it and returned to a conventional conditioner.

[luxepiggy]

Why do you use cones?
Because I've been doing it for 20+ years and my hair has always been and continues to be shiny, soft & manageable. I see no reason to drastically alter my routine as long as my hair remains happy. Plus, I'm lazy and I like being able to order my haircare products from my SA at Neiman's so he has them ready for me whenever I'm in the area. Saves time for one errand = more time to shop! (^(oo)^)v

How does your hair feel if you don't use them?
I only washed my hair once without cones (clarifying shampoo, no conditioner) - it felt almost the same, a little less silky. No tangle issues or anything.

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?
I rarely get split ends - not sure if it's b/c of the cones, or just the way my hair grows :confused:

[templeofvenus]

Why do I use cones?

I always have apart from a few no cone trials and my hair feels better when I use them

How does my hair feel without cones?

Not right bit fuzzy and just not really like my hair!


Do I get less split ends when using them?

Yes I think it helps

[Dolly]

I use cones! Every day.....I have fine, fragile hair, and I wear it down most of the time. When I did a cone free experiment, I found that without cones my hair splits, breaks, and is one big dry nasty mess. With cones, it is smooth and silky and I have greatly reduced splits and breakage.

Cones are not evil, as long as you keep an eye open and look for buildup, clarifying when necessary. Every head of hair is different, as is every person.

[aenflex]

To help level my coarse-ness. To help minimize frizz, or define would-be curls posing as frizz. I believe that they help my hair experience a little less breakage, but that's debatable. Oh, and to prevent tangles.
Clarifying, for the inevitable times of build up, always seems to do the trick for me.

[sarahbrownie]

Why do you use cones?
I was all herbal for around a year or so. No SLS and no cones. While I had a lot of damage before I went no cones/SLS I think it made my damage worse or made them seem worse.

How does your hair feel if you don't use them?
When I used shampoo bars I got this waxy limp hair (ACV wash included). With CO it was nice for a while and then it went downhill very quickly. Organics were very nice, left my hair squeaky clean, but the texture changed, it felt coarse and getting a brush through it was a nightmare. I loved it because I thought it felt clean but in the end produced a lot of breakage.

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?
I went back because I needed the coating of the ends of my hair. Honestly my hair feels better. I've tried everything, shampoo bars, conditioner only, organic shampoo but cones are the only thing that makes my hair seem shiny and silky. My ends feel improvement just from having some coating, they don't tangle that badly anymore and I don't pull my hair from just running my fingers through. I don't think SLS and cones are bad if they work for you.

[boomygrrl]

My hair likes cones...well, particular cones. I've tried without cones, with certain cones, with other cones, etc.
I find that cones provide shine and helps to smooth down the cuticle (which reduces frizzies). I have curly hair and am very prone to dull (no shine) hair with frizzies.
Some cones build up too much on me (dimethicone) and others actually cause frizz (cyclopentasiloxane). But some are just right (amodimethicone and the water solubles).
My hair without cones are okay, I guess. I just like it better with.
I haven't noticed a difference in whether it helps prevent splits. My hair isn't prone to splitting. I think just good treatment of your hair (with or without cones) helps prevent splitting. If you need cones to detangle, then by all means do so. I don't easily tangle, so that's not why I use cones.

[redfox78]

For me, I've found that for now at least, I seem to be dependent upon cones. :(

I have tried homemade shampoo, and cone free shampoo, no shampoo, baking soda and cider vinegar.... it makes my hair all funky. When I use regular shampoo and conditioner, especially with the cwc method, and an occasional application of coconut oil, I am finding that I do pretty good. As for split ends, after I had my 5th kid, they seem to have become a permanent fixture... for now. I am trying to find ways to reduce them, but haven't gotten that far yet. With the cone free methods leaving my hair greasy and creepy feeling, I haven't been experimenting as much lately.

[Danaus plexippu]

I use a coney leave-in because my chemically damaged ends need them for slip. Otherwise, they just tangle together and do more damage. I'm not using cones in my shampoos and conditioners anymore, which has made my hair more shiney (build-up/hard water problems). I don't think my hair will need them after the damage is trimmed off, but I'm not ready to do that yet. I say my ends are "faking it" until I'm at goal length.

[Alix]

I have fine hair of steel. I comb it maybe twice a week and I rarely get tangles or split ends. That being said my hair doesn't need cones and since dropping them not much has changed. It's a bit lighter and my wave has increased significantly though.

The actual texture of the hair? Not so much.

[Lianna]

I use cones because:
1. the only coneless conditioner that really works on my hair is in a pot (it's a DC), I like bottles and it's a trip to go buy, coney conditioners I can buy near my house.
2. I don't like to have a separate conditioner from my family, we can all use the same, since they work fine for all of us.
3. I use heat on my bangs.
4. I tried CO for several months, my hair builds up really fast on protein, so I had to clarify at least once a week, so I'm back to shampoo and cones every other day, in the end I found that wasn't much of a difference for all the work I had to do (like read all bottles to find coneless things, travel more to buy). Now it just isn't something I have to worry about.

My hair felt the same, as long I used the right brands for me. It was really nice specially with the conditioner I talked about on number one above. My hair is short, so no split ends, never really saw one. I do dye my hair a shade lighter.

My hair was really dry, that's why I even tried CO a while, but oiling has helped with that. I oiled a lot in the beginning, I don't need so much anymore, maybe once or twice a week. Also had bleached ends, today isn't possible to tell them apart from the rest, a little trimming was done though.

[beez1717]

cones. I have found that my hair seems to like them for the first month or so and then my hair just seems to then get oily REAL easy and it's no fun like that. Heh. Maybe i'm seeing the cone build up?

[buzzlegum]

I haven't used any cones for about 3 months, but I have for many years, so I'll answer these questions:

Why do you use cones?

They make my hair shiny, silky smooth, and easy to comb. My boyfriend obsesses with the way my hair feels.

How does your hair feel if you dont use them?

Pretty meh by comparison and a LOT harder to detangle.

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?

Ever since I dumped cones, I got so many split ends that it's ridiculous. :(

[hmmm]

I've been thinking about going back to cones too. I've been avoiding them for about a year now. It doesn't make much difference to me either way because my hair is up most of the time, though.

What coney conditioners are you all using? I'd appreciate it if you posted that as well. TIA.

[redfox78]

Lately I've been using a Suave conditioner that has almonds (supposedly) in it. I haven't decided if I like it. I like how my hair feels, but I'm not too thrilled about the smell. That might get worse now that I'm pregnant too :)

I liked the Garnier Fructis conditioner, Length & Strength, but I didn't feel like it helped with the strength part, and I'm liking the Suave better at the moment.

I also love 3 Minute Miracle by Aussie.

[Othala]

Why do you use cones?

I use cones to smooth, moisturise, lubricate and protect my hair.

How does your hair feel if you don't use them?

Dry, rough, porous, brittle and pouffy.

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?

Definitely.

[Jessica Trapp]

I tried going without cones when I first joined LHC but it didn't work out. The mop is tangly without them and when it is tangly, it breaks. I do CWC once or twice a week. The first conditioner doesn't have cones but the second one does. I also use a leave in conditioner that has cones.

[leslissocool]

Why do you use cones?
The products i use have them, they also have sulfur. I feel like my hair reacts better with them.

How does your hair feel if you don't use them?
dry, brittle... estreamly coarse! and I have puffy hair if I don't.My hair cannot be combed without them!

Do you find you get less split ends when using them?

I use conditioning poo with CO ( I use the Paul Mitchell stuff, my hair loves how gentle it is).
Then I use a serum.
But I clarify when it starts to look dull, and I use hot oil treatments often too... I even use them after I clarify and it makes a big difference...But I have to use a serum to control the frizz still...