Silicone leave-in recommendations

[sarana]

I was bummed to notice that my hero product, Schwarzkopf Bonacure Sealed Ends leave-in cream, has been reformulated into unusable junk.



It has been the only thing ever to prevent tangles and add slip on my super tangly hair.

I need to find a replacement, so please give me recommendations

-must have lots of silicones
-cream formula

[sarana]

L'Oreal dream lengths no haircut cream looks promising

[Nefcerka]

Hi sarana! I think you and I may have very similar hair and I´d be happy to hear how silicones work for you, please. Which products and how do you use them? What kind of cones do you look for and what shampoo do you use to get rid of possible build-up effectively? Do you use also a coney conditioner?

I´m asking, because leave-ins are surprisingly hard to come by in my country, and from very small number of options I have not been able to choose (but I am still in Europe, like you, and e.g. that Loreal dream lengths is sold here too). Most of them contain silicones, which I have been avoiding, but now that my hair is getting longer, I am thinking of giving them a try. I will be grateful for any answer.

[sarana]

Hi Nefcerka! I have experimented with products with and without silicone, and here's what I do.

I try to avoid silicones in my shampoo, imo it flattens my hair and makes it look greasy faster. I use Herbina clarifying shampoo and alternate that with whatever. (Still haven't found an ideal non-clarifying shampoo.)

Then I use conditioner. It may contain silicones, and I have used silicone ones successfully, but right now I use a silicone-free one: By Veira volume conditioner from Normal (I think they have shops in scandinavia). It's really good. I use it from the ears down.

After coming out of the shower I have put this Schwarzkopf leave-in cream on damp hair from ears down, concentrating on the ends.
I have really noticed a difference in tangles and combability when I use it. But now I need to find a replacement :')

I don't quite know which silicones are good and which are not And I have to be a bit careful when using both coney conditioner and leave-in, it can get heavy sometimes

[sarana]

Oh and with these leave-in creams it's key to put it on damp/wet hair and a little goes a long way

[Nefcerka]

Thank you very much, sarana, for your reply I already figured out that using a silicone shampoo for my hair type makes no sense. Currently I am looking at coney conditioner, specifically two from L’Oréal Paris Elseve - Dream long and Total repair. I am going to give them a try before I try a silicone leave-in. They sell it in two sizes: 200 and 400 ml, and on the page of the drugstore there is a list of ingredients, and it´s really confusing that the list for the same product in different size is not the same. I will have to look in the actual store when I go shopping. E.g. the smaller bottle of Dream Long lists both Amodimethicone and Dimethicone, while the larger one lists only Amodimethicone. Same with the Total repair conditioner - smaller bottle has a very different list of ingredients, while the larger contains coconut oil, some herbal extracts and only one silicone.
About silicones - I know there are many threads here about them for sure, but I only consider these two now, since they are in the products I am interested in: dimethicone and amodimethicone. I have heard/read not very nice things about dimethicone, but amodimethicone is supposed to be better - as in, it has all the benefits of silicones, but does not build up on itself - although not a water soluble kind, it should be milder and easier to remove with regular SLS/SLES shampoo or a SLS-free shampoo which contains cocamidopropyl betaine.
As for the leave-in cream from L’Oréal Paris Elseve, I too am looking at the No Haircut Cream, and if you buy and try it, I would love to hear your review, sarana. There is also a similar, but heavier leave-in cream from the same company, the Total Repair 5 Stop Damage, which has silicones higher on the list of ingredients. If I try and have a positive experience with the No Haircut Cream, I might try the other one as well.


I apologize if I derailed this thread a bit, though I hope not. I am just as interested in any silicone leave-in tips now from anyone who might want to share Preferably available in Europe, either cream, lotion or spray form.

[sipnsun]

My favorite silicone leave-in has always been Biolage Hydra Source Leave In Tonic. I believe it comes in a cream also but I use the spray since my hair is fine. Even though I don't use silicones regularly I keep this in my stash for days when I heat style and/or need extra detangling.

[Jovana]

Kerastase magistral and Redken one-united 25 benefits. I like local brands leave-ins, but I don't think it fits here.

[renia22]

Have you tried Herbal Essences? I haven’t tried this cream formula, but I love the detangling spray:

[clairenewcastle]

I am going through a phase of not using cones but when I did I found that using Kérastase Elixir Ultime L'Original Hair Oil on my dry, newly-washed hair done wonders in terms of making my hair soft and free of tangles.