What is this "cone" business....

[WoolSweater]

Okay, ignorant post coming up. Warning you now.

I'm one of those people who do every single thing "all natural", but, well, half the time I don't really understand what I'm avoiding. The label says it's bad, so I say it's bad. Super genius, right? Um...
Anyway, I've always avoided silicones/anything ending with "cones", because the healthy organic stuff says "no silicones" so I always accepted that as, if they're going so far as to print on the label that it's not in there, it must be bad/cancer inducing/will kill me. But I can't really find solid information on cones, and I see some people swearing by them and some banishing them to hell. Since I've always avoided them and my hair is still a flat, dull, boring mess, maybe I could give it a go? But what are they, and since my hair has never really been introduced to them, will my hair freak out? What should I expect? Or is this just a terrible idea? Please say so. And explain your love or hate relationship with cones, please!

(If you're wondering what my hair type is for the cones/no cones debate, it's very fine, silky yet frizzy ((yes, really)), and gets oily within a day.)

[ejking2]

My hair is fine/silky/frizzy like yours and I am firmly in the yes-to-cones camp. They detangle like a charm, and that prevents damage! A good coney conditioner makes tangles just fall out like magic. I don't believe the hype that they seal out moisture or cause damage in some way. I just clarify every month or so to take care of any buildup. I've not heard of anyone claiming cones cause cancer or other health problems with topical use, and I wouldn't believe it for a second if I had.

If you try them, expect slippery hair and pretty shine! Don't necessarily expect any miracles when it comes to frizz. (for me, the ends of my baby hairs curl and wave oddly which causes them to stick out)

[AspenSong]

I don't use cones currently, but I don't think they're bad, by any means. To my knowledge they're just forms of silicones that sort of coat the hair and seal it sort of. I'm sure others will and can explain better. lol.

I personally say, go for it and try some!! I doubt your hair is going to freak out or anything of the like. And it's not like they're permanent or anything! It's a good thing to experiment with IMO. It's silly to say cones are bad or good I think because we ALL have different hair and things our hair likes and doesn't - doesn't mean something is "bad" because one persons hair doesn't like it and so on. My hair likes Coconut oil - some peoples hair hates it. Doesn't make it bad! Just means it works for me and my hair loves the protein right now!
For me personally, I stopped using them because I was persistently getting the "crunchies" from them and didn't like how my hair felt and I didn't know to tie that feeling in my hair to the 'cones and what was in my conditioner, so I always thought my hair was just horrible. Turns out, just did better with less stuff on it. I have very fine and thin hair and I liked the feeling Cone free gave me much better. For my hair, it made it feel softer and silkier and I loved that. I may try something coney again at some point, and if it's working for my hair I'll keep using it.

I say to experiment away. You won't know what reacts well with your hair if you don't give some different products a try!

[ExpectoPatronum]

I use cones. They make my coarse hair nice and soft. They get an unfair rap around here. I'm a firm believer in doing what makes you and your hair happy.

[walterSCAN]

Yeah, I wouldn't say cones are inherently bad in and of themselves. Me and my hair, however, hate them. I never get any slip or detangling out of them, I get sticky/ tangly hair. Also, they tend to weigh my very straight, fine hair down. No fun.

All of that said, some people love cones, and I've noticed quite a few of them are wavies. Give it a try! Like AspenSong said, they aren't permanent and you'll never know if your hair likes them unless you try them.

[Eden Iris]

I've recently been experimenting with cones because I got a sample of Nexxus products to test at home (I do product surveys online, and once in a while I get sent something fun). My prior experience with cones was bad, but now I'm realizing it was because I used a leave-in serum on my ends every day, and it was too much for them: they got all crunchy and strawlike.

My recent experience conditioning once a week or less with a coney product has been great! So great, in fact, I'm considering buying some more and alternating with my kind natural hippie s&c. I did a lot of research on the stuff I was asked to try, and, although sulfate shampoo is not something I want to use regularly because it's harsh on my hair, the particular cones in this conditioner allegedly wash out with a mild, sulfate-free shampoo. Time will tell if I have to clarify.

Give cones a try! You never know.

[AmyBeth]

I tried to go without cones for about a year and was never satisfied. My hair was sticky and gummy and tangly, even with vinegar rinses. I started using again 3 weeks ago. I'm so happy now that I'm using them again! I have hopes that they will help get me to some extent break through this 5 month growth stall! I'm not losing as much hair in my daily comb outs since I started using cones again, and maybe I won't lose as much growth.

[GoddesJourney]

I don't like silicones because they coat my hair and make it feel like plastic. I also found through experimentation that they cause frizziness and dryness on my hair and greasy feeling and shedding from my scalp. However, when my hair was damaged from bleach, dye and abuse, silicones were a miracle cure for stringy hair, Velcro ends and tangles. My hair is much coarser than yours so you may have different results. I have never had my hair very far past waist length so I'm not sure if my ends will need or want them one day in the future.

[WoolSweater]

Okay, next question...questions....

Does anyone know a good /natural/ shampoo that has cones? When I am shampoo shopping, seems all the bottles say "no silicones!".

Should I start out with a cone shampoo, or conditioner?


Thanks for the posts so far.

[heidi w.]

I found out I often used cone products. My hair did fine with them.
heidi w.