Cone dilemma?

[Long_hair_bear]

Has anyone else ever had to make the descion as to whether or not to ditch cones that you loved? Before I knew about cone build up, I used Sebastian drench's deep treatment conditioner. When I found out about cones and build up, I of course had to make a choice. Stay with what i already knew my hair liked or delve blindly into the world of cone free? Now, I'm cone free for the most part, only using my cone products once in a blue moon. Did anyone else go through this? I know a lot of us here use cones, and I may go back to them someday if my hair starts to tangle a lot. They were great for slip. But if you are cone free, did you have a hard descion to give them up or was it easy?

[islandboo]

I used cones pretty consistently before I came here and my hair did fine with them but I decided to try going cone free last spring and see how my hair liked it. My hair is fine either way. When I gave up the cones I did catnip treatments which gave me great shine and detangling. But I went back to cones a few months ago simply because I don't mind standing the shower pouring room temperature tea over my head over and over again in the summer when my bathroom is toasty but once the weather started cooling down it became not fun (I don't handle the cold very well). So now I have shine and slip from cones instead. The only slight downside with the cones is that my hair gets even more slippery than normal and updos take a little more fussing than otherwise.

[Vanille_]

I don't want to give up my cones and at least for now, I'm not going to. My hair is shedding less. It is so soft that I constantly want to touch it. It looks vibrant and shiny. I need to do more research, but unless I'm seriously damaging my hair, I'm sticking with my cones.

[spidermom]

I tried cone free but like cones. No problem - they come off with shampoo.

[Mairéad]

My hair had the texture of hay until I went cone free. When I decided to stop at that point, what was the worst that could happen?

[Vanille_]

So cones make some people's hair feel worse? I didn't know that.

[battles]

I went cone free after signing up here and couldn't figure out why my hair was so dry and tangly. Recently, I decided to give cones a try again. Shiny, soft hair. Minimal tangles.

Give the hair what it wants. It will make you miserable if it doesn't get what it wants. :bigeyes:

[Carissamarie08]

My hair feels like hay without cones ha, that's weird.

[ladonna]

My hair is frizzy and tangly with cones, but I love the way my Coney s&c smells so I use them often.

[shikara]

Sice going cone free, my hair has had a beautiful transformation! Less tangles, more vollume, nicer texture, more body. A lot probably also rides on other ingredients too. I use Mill Creek Keratin shampoo and condish because I wanted to incorporate a little bit of protein without full blown treatments. I dont think I will ever return to cones. My hair is wonderfully soft and shiny now, unlike the slipoery but lifeless hair I had with cones.

[blondie9912]

I tried cone free but like cones. No problem - they come off with shampoo.

Very chill outlook, kudos to you spidermom! Some people freak out if cones so much as touch their head, I admire those who has a more laid-back approach while still maintaining beautiful hair :)

[manderly]

Buildup is nothing - you simply wash with a clarifying shampoo (usually a regular shampoo will suffice).

I personally don't like cones, my curls fall out, but lots of people do.

LHC doesn't have to be an all or nothing. If you and your hair like cones, USE them. Just understand that you may have to deal with the occasional bout of buildup, which again, is quite easily remedied.

There really shouldn't be a dilemma, its just about trying new things, learning, and finding what works for you.

ETA: I'll tell you a secret. I occasionally use Chi Silk Infusion and *gasp* a flat iron. And by occasionally, I mean once every couple of weeks. It doesn't mean that every other day I don't use my cone-free Deva products and wear my hair curly. I wear my hair based on my mood, because I grew my hair to make me happy.

[sfgirl]

Currently my hair loves cones. Whenever I bought a cone free conditioner (and I didn't know what that was back than) I noticed my hair was more tangled, dry, brittle, and dull. Than I'd buy a new conditioner after a while and BAM, happy hair. Now I know why. I want to try going cone free and find a natural alternative, but cones fit my lifestyle right now. :)

[Long_hair_bear]

My hair seems happy either way but I wanted to get away from the build up of cones. I'm not a fan of clarifying. I now use toadstools condish and am next trying nightblooming's panacea, which I read can either be a leave in or deep treatment. I'll pry use it as a deep treatment and her oil as a leave in. :D

[hellucy]

My hair doesn't mind cones & its fine cone free so I have a huge collection of S&C's depending on what I feel my hair needs I sometimes change S&C everytime I wash.
The problem I have is with sulphate free shampoo my hair hates it - sulphate free seems to turn my hair into straw after 1 wash even if I conditioned!

[Long_hair_bear]

Ok, update everyone! Last night, I used my Sls shampoo last night (cringe) to help get the waxy feeling out of my hair that I wrote about in a previous thread. It worked thank God. :D I used my cone condish afterward because they were in the same line (Sebastian drench) so I figured, heck, why not? I wanted to see if after 8 months of being cone free if my hair would still like my old cone condish it used to love. Fast forward to this morning now that my hair is dry, and apparently my hair is telling me, "No!" my hair is now more tangly, though it is shiny. I'd sacrifice less shine for less shine for less tangle though. I'm glad cones work for some, but I guess not for my hair. :D

[Kapri]

Which of you cone lovers have chemically dyed hair and which don't?

I am chemically dyed and beginning to wonder whether cones beckon me back. I get good results from the mineral oil drops and equally from the (now occasional) oiling/protein treatment but I would actually like to return to the ways of old and see my hair more consistently shiny and soft...

[duchesswannabe]

My hair doesn't mind cones & its fine cone free so I have a huge collection of S&C's depending on what I feel my hair needs I sometimes change S&C everytime I wash.
The problem I have is with sulphate free shampoo my hair hates it - sulphate free seems to turn my hair into straw after 1 wash even if I conditioned!

This is interesting; this is now the second time I have read about someone not liking sulphate-free shampoo.

[door72067]

This is interesting; this is now the second time I have read about someone not liking sulphate-free shampoo.

when I first went sulfate-free I thought I'd made a big mistake, but since I loved the scent of the products (the Renpure Organics in the red bottle) and the fact that it happened to be the only s&c I had at the time, I stuck with it (and bought Avalon Organics Lavender on my next shopping trip--also a story) and found that after about 4 shampoos my hair was much Much happier

same thing with the Avalon Organics...I have read that the lavender (or maybe AO in general) is protein-heavy and at first my hair seemed to hateHateHATE protein, but again, I stuck it out and now I have happy, bouncy curls that are sulfate-free

[Diamond.Eyes]

I gave up cones about a year and a half ago and it was a tough obstacle to have nice hair again without them. I used to use the Dove Daily Moisture shampoo and conditioner followed by the Biosilk serum as my leave in. While they made my hair very shiny, I couldn't help but notice how dry my hair was. That's when I decided I wanted to take the natural route. I clarified my hair that night and haven't considered using cones since. It is now some time later and my hair is in the best condition it has ever been in. Moisture can now actually penetrate my hair. While my hair probably isn't as shiny as it was with the cones, it now has a natural, healthy shine to it. The end. :flower:

[Lucky]

I've done both, my hair is OK cone-free, but, I've recently come to realize that my hair seems to overall do better with cones. That's fine by me (it makes trying new conditioners a lot easier since they're in a lot of brands!), I just make sure that I clarify regularly.

[dwell_in_safety]

Whether or not someone uses cones, to me, is completely up to him or her and what his or her hair likes and how often clarifying is desired.

I don't like clarifying that much because of how drying it is, and in fact I've not had to clarify at all since going cone-free, and I think that since going cone-free and trimming off a small bit I've isolated the cause of the dreaded white dots of damage that were omnipresent near my ends to use of 'cones combined with harsh brushing. For some, cones are like magic miracle workers; for others, like me, they can cause damage due to locking out moisture.

I love my hair now (minus the dye damage). :D

[lapushka]

I don't notice a difference either way. :shrug: I do need a pretty moisturizing conditioner when it doesn't have cones, though, which makes it more difficult as the conditioner can't be too heavy or else it might weigh my hair down. Cones are easier to deal with, for some reason. I just can't have them in shampoo as my hair gets greasier a lot faster. And of course they're in serums; love those!

[DancingQueen]

I just washed my hair with cones after being cone-free for a few months, and my hair feels super-soft. I think I will stick with my cones for now, because my hair is so much easier to comb through, it was getting impossible before (and I am only at apl!) I wish no cones worked for my hair, but it seems I am not that lucky. :)

[Oksana]

I can easily go cone free during the summer months but my hair really needs cones during the winter as it seems to get especially dry and I get awful tangles.

[rock007junkie]

My hair has changed drastically since I stopped using cones. Before i couldn't moisturize my hair enough. No matter what I would put on my hair I felt like it just wouldn't penetrate (I'm guessing now because the silicones were coating my hair). Now my hair feels more alive. There's definitely a difference in the rate of absoption of the products I put on my hair.

[turtlelover]

My hair seems to like to alternate between cones and no cones every other wash. No cones at all makes it too poofy and more tangle prone. If I use too many cones, and I lose volume at the roots and it gets a bit limp. A 50/50 split seems to make my hair happiest.

[naturally yours]

I was on the no cone bandwagon, but then I asked myself why give up cones If my hair likes it? Whats the point? I use whatever products my hair likes. You have to do whats best for you hair. Everyone hair is different. You dont need sulfates to remove cones. cocamidopropyl bentaine which is in sulfate free shampoo removes cones.

[ludwig20]

My only problem with no cones is how tangled my hair becomes. But I think a vinegar rinse could help as an alternative....

[Shebelina]

Which of you cone lovers have chemically dyed hair and which don't?

I have chemically dyed hair, I hadn't made a connection between that and tangley cone free hair, but I guess it makes sense. I'm no expert though.

I tried going cone free very briefly, and tangles became a major issue. I'm now back to my coney products and my hair loves me better for it. The downside, however, is that I have a feeling my hair is curlier/wurlier than it appears. I think the cones weigh it down a fair bit.

[luxepiggy]

There is way too much misinformation floating around about cones. Some of the criticism doesn't even make logical sense. For example, the idea that cones "suffocate" hair. First of all, hair is dead. It doesn't need to "breathe". Furthermore, silicone films on hair surfaces are water vapor permeable. So saying that they "lock out" moisture is ridiculous.

It particularly amuses me when people say "cones are bad, because they're not water soluble," then suggest oiling. Because oils are so water-soluble . . .? :confused:

Another thing that really irks me is how people lump all cones into the same category, when they all have vastly different properties. Nobody writes off oils altogether just because they tried one or two that didn't work. They just move on and try the others. So why is it that people swear off cones altogether just because their hair hates dimethicone? Why not move on and try something else like cyclopentasiloxane or amodimethicone?

So, yeah . . . . amodimethicone FTW! \(^(oo)^)/ Oh, and phenyl trimethicone. That one is awesome too.

[Littlewing13]

Im just trying cone free now. I recently bought Bod ecology's shamp & cond. I love it it smells amazing! like ylang ylang. They are also free from sulphates, parabens & any chemicals or unnatural nasties. Also made in australia :) Oh & the huge bottles are only $15AUD each!
Best of all my hair seems happy

[Moonlake]

**********

[Shebelina]

The Aussie Luscious Long leave in conditioner uses amodimethicone, and my hair loves it! I can only assume the shampoo and conditioner are the same, I've yet to try them.

[Lilli]

I think too much stock is put in cones or no cones. They are useful for certain things: making my hair very slick, shiny, combable, and straighter. No cones gives me more volume and wave, but more broken hairs sticking out. I just decide based on what I want that day. I do prefer amodimethicone and bisaminopropyl dimethicone. Cyclopentasiloxane is usually too heavy for my fine hair.

[Maelyssa]

Going cone-free was not easy for me at all. In fact, I personally knew someone with tailbone length silky, straight hair that used sulfates and cones daily then blow dried it.
I'm forever tempted to go back to cones, especially Herbal Essences and Victoria's Secret So Sexy line but here's the dilemma...

If I don't use sulfates to wash off the cones regularly my ends become brittle and crunchy from build up. Sulfates absolutely dry up my scalp like you wouldnt believe. So I've spent tons of time and money trying to find the right products to fix all the flakes and itches from sulfates.

My resolve? I went sulfate and cone free. I do like that any treatments I apply are properly absorbed when I don't use cones but who knows, maybe one day I'll try using them again. For now, though, they're out of the routine.

You're definitely not alone in your struggle.

[Maelyssa]

There is way too much misinformation floating around about cones. Some of the criticism doesn't even make logical sense. For example, the idea that cones "suffocate" hair. First of all, hair is dead. It doesn't need to "breathe". Furthermore, silicone films on hair surfaces are water vapor permeable. So saying that they "lock out" moisture is ridiculous.

It particularly amuses me when people say "cones are bad, because they're not water soluble," then suggest oiling. Because oils are so water-soluble . . .? :confused:

Another thing that really irks me is how people lump all cones into the same category, when they all have vastly different properties. Nobody writes off oils altogether just because they tried one or two that didn't work. They just move on and try the others. So why is it that people swear off cones altogether just because their hair hates dimethicone? Why not move on and try something else like cyclopentasiloxane or amodimethicone?

So, yeah . . . . amodimethicone FTW! \(^(oo)^)/ Oh, and phenyl trimethicone. That one is awesome too.

Oh Piggy this is such a cone-enabling statement. Lol What you're saying is definitely true and in the ong run it may indeed influence whether I continue being cone free in the long run. I can honestly say that I look at old pictures of myself and I had waist length bleached blond hair that looks 10 times healthier and more beautiful than it has in a really long time even though I've gone back to my natural darker hair and use gentler products. Ironic, right?!

[Vanille_]

I don't like how my hair looks and feels without cones. I want long hair. If I want long hair, why would I want something I don't actually like looking at and feeling?

The same can be said for heat styling. I like how my hair looks with it, but with cones, the difference is much less drastic. So I choose cones over heat styling. But everyone can make the choice on whether they want to think long term or short term in terms of how they treat their hair.

[Kristin]

I think that my hair is better moisturized when I'm cone-free, but it tangles like crazy. So I use cones when I feel like it, which is often in the winter.

[Kizuna]

I did not have a hard decision to give them up. Last winter I used schampoo only, which left my hair static and very tangly (not a good period for my hair, but I didn't really care about my hair back then). After that I started to use a cone-conditioner and my hair felt better. In the beginning of summer (june) I found out about Conditioner Only and cones and things and I decided to skip all the cones and try out CO. My hair was only feeling OK with the cone-conditioner and I wanted to have really healthy hair. Hair that felt smooth and good without cones. So for me it was a easy choice to give up cones. I'm still cone-free though when I went to the hairdresser in november I let her put in some cone-things, I wanted to know how it felt. And sure it was smooth but the feeling was "plastic" (probably because I knew it had cones in it). My hair turned greasier (is that a word?) faster than normally and so I went back to no-cones and i'm still loving it :)