To silcone or not? SILICONE DAMAGE!

[LadyHazel]

I wash my hair every 2-3 days, sometimes I break from shampoo for a week. My question: why does my hair feel frazzled after 3 months of continously using silicone based serums ? My deep conditioner has them- everything does! I clarifty once a week, so why does my hair feel so dry after washing them out completely? Thanks

[Alvrodul]

It sounds as if you clarify at every wash - this far too much! I do so when I feel that my hair needs it, which is at most once a month.
when you clarify you strip your hair and scalp completely of everything - including the oils that keep your hair protected and healthy.
I would suggest that you at least start with some SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128)s to gife your hair back the moisture it has lost. I will also suggest that you look into trying oils, but finding the right oils to use, and how, can be a slow process.
In the meantime, try to be kinder to your hair!

[LadyHazel]

No I use organic shampoo which is sulphate free more than ANY other shampoo and I have been using it for ages- I clarify if I've used too much serum itd be twice a week mainly at the most once, I have gone 3 months organix only before now. I am fully aware of sulphate damage and I know that considering how little clarifying I do, I cannot depict my damage through this, my shampoo is not the problem and I need more info on silicones instead. Thank you

[LadyHazel]

I also do not see how I could be any kinder to my hair considering I only use a wide tooth comb, I do use natural oils (love my jojoba oil), I haven't blowdried or straightened my hair in one year and I haven't dyed it in 9 months.

[Alvrodul]

I did not mean to imply that you don't take good care of your hair - it is just that a clarifying shampoo can be very drying, and can IMO be worse than any cones would be.
Cones aren't automatically evil. There are many coneheads on LHC, and though I don't use cones myself, my hair don't have a problem with them.
Cones are mainly there to provide slip, and will also help to cover up damage to the hair. Oils can be used instead of cones to provide slip - your hair evidently likes jojoba, and I use that myself at times. I do need to clarify from the buildup from the oils from time to time, though.
I'd like to recommend the SMT again since you have described your hair as being dry. And old damage can be a cause of your problems with dryness - when hair is damaged from chemicals, heat or other things, that damage is there to stay until it is trimmed away. My own ends improved a lot when I had the last of the chemical damage trimmed away last year.

[Bagginslover]

I wash my hair every 2-3 days,


I clarify if I've used too much serum itd be twice a week mainly at the most once,

You seem to be saying you clarify once a week, sometimes twice here, as you actually say you do it every week, and washing every 2-3 days means washing twice a week...

If you are needing to clarify this often, there is something in your routine your hair doesn't like. The clarifying will make your hair much dryer doing it this often, 'cones or no-'cones.

I cannot offer you advice on 'cones, as I don't know enough about them, but I don't think they are the crux of your problem.

[Mirsha]

I can think of two things:

* Do you oil/use serum every day? It could build up and be difficult to remove. It looks like your hair is dry and tangles like velcro. see: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=95179
This is difficult to remove and requires multiple washes

*It could be old damage that's finally cracking.

[Amber_Maiden]

Cones give the illusion of healthy hair- they basically make it look not as damaged as it is, they make hair look healthy, but again- this is an illusion, because underneath the cones you can have damaged hair. I'm guessing that when you shampoo, you remove all the cones and see what is really underneath them- which may be damaged hair.

[StormVixen]

All of the sulphate free shampoos I've ever tried have seemed to dry out my hair more than regular sulphate shampoo, I've also found that some tend to leave some kind of waxy coating... so it possibly could be something to do with the shampoo you use rather than the cones, going from my personal experience.

I avoid cones 99% of the time, I would suggest either switching to cone free products and/or switching to a shampoo which contains sulphates, and then after a while maybe try the other too.

[ktani]

Silicone serums can be harder to remove than silicone in shampoo for example because of the emulsion used, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1910087&postcount=22

Different silicones can need different cleansers
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1910354&postcount=25

The extra cleansing to "wash them out completely" I believe is the problem. That can be drying and result in your current hair problem.

[mzBANGBANG]

Cones give the illusion of healthy hair- they basically make it look not as damaged as it is, they make hair look healthy, but again- this is an illusion, because underneath the cones you can have damaged hair. I'm guessing that when you shampoo, you remove all the cones and see what is really underneath them- which may be damaged hair.

This^^^. I am a conehead! I clarify twice a month which I admit is a bit overkill but using cones so often and CO adds a lot of build up for me. My hair loves cones for this very reason -- my ends are bleach damaged and the cones make them look maintained and allow me to keep my length. Whenever I clarify I immediately see a tone of white dots on my ends that for the most part are masked for the rest of the month.

If your hair is feeling dry you can add a boar bristle brush to your routine to help spread the natural oils from the scalp to the length. Just a thought!