Do I have to choose?

[Winnie!]

Hello everyone! :waving:

I'm here to ask for help. I have 2a hair and I wanted to perhaps bring out and enhance the waves, so I went conefree. However, that has left my hair very tangly (my hair is pretty tangly even with coney products) and not slippy. So I thought about going back to cones but then my waves will disappear. I have tried olive oil and mineral oil. Olive oil just left me greasy and weighed down and with mineral oil I really didn't notice a difference.

So I was wondering if I can have both slippy and wavy hair or do I have to choose? :confused:

[torrilin]

Sounds to me like the silicone free conditioner you're using isn't a very good match for your hair. Which one is it?

While oils *can* help detangle, for a lot of us they're not enough on their own. So I tend to buy conditioner based on the detangling ingredients.

[CurlySasha]

I have 3a curls, and I went cone-free to define them more and keep my hair super healthy, and I was also worried about slip, but if you get a very thick, creamy conditioned you can have both slip and wurls! My personal favorite is Matrix Biolage Deep Conditioning Balm! Good luck :)

[Gillian]

I'm also 2a and have the same problem. the top layer of my hair is straighter than the bottom and its really annoying, i also have unbelievably tangly hair. i'll be keeping an eye on this thread :)

[RitaPG]

I could be wrong (and I'm sure someone with the same hairtype will help you soon) but I believe that potent, moisturizing conditioners, even if they are conefree, can help enhance curls, as opposed to a weak conditioner that can make hair tangley and straw like because it's not nourishing the hair strands properly.
On the other hand, I read many, many comments on people that say that heavier conditioners weight their hair down. I guess that in a way you just have to compromise, always rinse it well, and use shampoo when you start noticing buildup.

There's a technique called plopping that helps a lot http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/to-plop-or-not-to-plop this would definitely be the first thing to try ^^

[lapushka]

My solution to this is to have my hair conditioned twice after shampooing. Same effects as a deep nourishing masque. Currently using the Hello Hydrating one from Herbal Essences. It's amazing (no cones, I don't think).

[Winnie!]

Thank you everyone for the advice! :blossom:

I have been using calming chamomile tea conditioner from V05. I suppose it is time to find a better one. Although I will definitely try the condition twice thing. Especially until this bottle is gone.

Also, I had heard of plopping but thought that that would only work for those that are super curly. I might have to give it a go though. :D

Thanks again everyone!

[afu]

I find that the best way to add slip while maintaining curls is to use the CO washing method, followed my some normal conditioner and some sweet almond oil as leave in. Almond oil gives intense shine (which can be boosted again by adding some sweet orange EO) without being heavy, I also find that is is very easy to wash out

[lmfbs]

I went CO, cone free for 8 months and this last month have gone back to cones because my hair just likes it better. I wash with cones about once every 10-12 days, then cowash with cone free conditioner in between. I clarify once a month. It's working well so far, no buildup and it's helping keep my hair slippery.

However, I agree that using a thick moisturising conditioner will help. Do some DTs and use your conditioner as a leave in also.

[Winnie!]

I have been wary of trying the CO washing method. Eh, I'm on summer break no one would have to see if it ended horribly :D Thanks for the replies

[brave]

Maybe look for a conditioner with glycerin? That is supposed to be fairly slippery. I would also suggest trying CO, step over to the thread and see what other folks are using.

Hello Hydration does have one cone in it, but I believe it doesn't build up. So maybe try the lighter range of cones?

[lmfbs]

I didn't have any transition period shifting to cowashing. I washed (CO) when my hair was looking like it needed a wash. Over time, I've been able to stretch washes to 10-12 days.

[Anje]

For my hair, conditioners that contain proteins tend to leave my hair tangly with a few uses, and my hairtype is similar to yours, OP. Certainly, not everyone has that effect, but it's another instance where not all cone-free conditioners are created equal.

[torrilin]

I have been using calming chamomile tea conditioner from V05. I suppose it is time to find a better one. Although I will definitely try the condition twice thing. Especially until this bottle is gone.

I haven't managed to dig out ingredients on it, but VO5 conditioners tend to be fairly thin/liquidy from what I understand. They're cheap, which makes them popular for conditioner only wash methods, but... They also tend to be pretty high in fragrance (and my partner and I react to a lot of fragrances... thus the not trying 'em), and they don't necessarily give a lot of slip.

I tend to use fragrance free stuff, so I usually have a giant vat of Everyday Shea conditioner on hand. It's cone-free, comes in a fragrance free option, has pretty simple ingredients, and provides decent slip. The other conditioner I lean really hard on is Alba Botanica's leave-in, which has better slip and combs more easily into my hair.

If you don't have a handy compounding pharmacy with a whole shelf of fragrance free products... Target and Walgreens sell the Shea Moisture line, which looks to have several conditioners with more slip than VO5 while still being cone-free.

Garnier's Triple Nutrition 3 minute moisture treatment is also cone-free. The plain triple nutrition conditioners used to be cone-free, but recently had a formula change so they might not be anymore. Label reading for the win! Their Pure Clean conditioner is also cone-free, but I have yet to hear anyone say good things about it. I'm sure there are other drugstore brand cone-free products, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Another thing to keep in mind is cone-free is not necessarily the way to go to preserve curl. Some curlies and wavies are rabid about it, but others love their cones. I know the woman who writes tightlycurly.com is a huge fan of a number of cone laden conditioners, including Aussie Moist which is pretty easy to get. I'm largely cone-free, but that's not because I think silicones are evil... it's because most fragrance free stuff also doesn't have silicones :).

[jojo]

Cones straighten my waves out but I am using cones as they help keep my hair healthy and get rid of the frizzies. My hair is up all the time so my waves are not on show anyway, so for me cones all the way!

[HintOfMint]

Thank you everyone for the advice! :blossom:

I have been using calming chamomile tea conditioner from V05. I suppose it is time to find a better one. Although I will definitely try the condition twice thing. Especially until this bottle is gone.

Also, I had heard of plopping but thought that that would only work for those that are super curly. I might have to give it a go though. :D

Thanks again everyone!

EEh, that's your problem right there. V05 is great for CO washing, the first leg of CWC, and deep conditioning recipes where you add a bunch of other stuff. On it's own, it is worse than useless.

I use Tresemme Naturals (cone and protein free) and I'm quite happy with it. It is thick and slippy, just right really.

Cones straighten my hair as well, but I've found that some products that are light in cones do not have that effect. Shampoos with cones, for instance, do not straighten my hair, and Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly conditioner kept my waves intact as well.

[Quixii]

I know so many LHCers love V05 conditioners, but for my curly hair, they just aren't thick enough. I use (cone-free) Tresemme Naturals as my conditioner, and my hair seems to like it a lot, even more than when I was using cone conditioners.

[Eniratak]

We seem to have a similar hair type, and honestly, my hair hated cone free. I didn't have more curls, I had more tangles.
Now, however, I use Herbal Essences. There was one that I tried that was in a purple bottle that made my waves stand out a lot more than the red bottles I use now. It was called Totally Twisted.

You could try that out.

[Katze]

We have similar hair and I have similar issues to those you describe. :) Fine and wavy - sometimes the worst of two worlds!

WO has been a real help this year (but I am pregnant, so your mileage may vary) in making my hair hang and have slip - be smooth - but still show off its varying waves. I spend a lot of time massaging my scalp and physically moving the sebum down the length while under the shower, doing this in two to three stages in between doing other shower things.

CO works too but seems to weigh my hair down faster and also my scalp doesn't like it, so I have to wash more often.

My hair is much straighter and finer on top, coarser and wavier at the nape. The waves only really start coming out at about ear. I seem to have a short terminal length on both nape and crown hair - it is really only the in between hairs that actually seem to want to grow - and WO really does seem to help protect my hair and keep it hydrated.

I also use leave-in, though more sparingly since I've been WOing - either a normal conditioner or Fox's shea butter conditioning cream. Oils never worked very well for my hair.