Are those silicones?

I am finding it so difficult to find any product without silicones! If you look at the ingredients list and see words ending in -cone, -conal, or -xane, those are silicones. They're not horrible for the hair but they do mask any real damage and, because they attach to your hair and don't do anything to improve its condition, they block the good ingredients in conditioners from doing their job.

There is a selection of water-soluble silicones, and I posted a list and link in (I think) a thread called "Silicones" under General Hair Chat. But a good clarifying shampoo will remove any stubborn silicones so you can reveal your hair's real state.

The worst thing about silicones is that - if your hair is laden with them and looks super healthy - and you go to use a bleach, the bleach will eat through the fake silicones and you will be left with much more damaged and less healthy-looking hair than you would have expected.

I am yet to find a serum that is silicone-free! But I've found several conditioners and reconstructors without,  so if you keep searching, they do exist!

Thanks. Guess I need to search all through the drug store and hope I can find something... Seeing how bad my hair is now right after 12 hours of colour + lots of conditioner in, it can only be worse after a normal wash. Seeing I only wash my roots with shampoo and the rest only with conditioner I'd be totally vulnerable to silicone building up :/

I personally would stay away from Cyclopentasiloxane it is water repellent and one of the biggest culprits for coating hair into looking shiny. Some people like it as it evaporates from the hair and isnt as viscous as dimethicone and therefore causes no buildup ( or so they claim) but the masking of effect of damage is the same.  It is also used in make up and creams to create the plumped up skin look for anti wrinkle treatments, etc...and to make things more spreadable.
It can also cause skin irritation in people with sensitive skin. It is being increasingly used in conditioners and serums as it provides easy combing without breakage.

I bought the serum from L'Oréal Everpure, couldn't find anything sounding like a silicone in there, hope I didn't miss anything.
And I got another one from Alverde that sounds like it is just a mixture of different oils (almond, argan), curious how that stuff behaves in my hair..

I would get a hold of a good clarifying shampoo, then follow with a reconstructor and finally a nourishing, moisturising conditioner. I've recently gone silicone-free and notice a difference.

First off, my hair dries more quickly than it did before after washing it. But it also doesn't feel as durable, though it must be okay because there is no breakage at the ends. So although it feels different, at least I know its true condition and won't expect any surprises when it comes to bleaching. Plus, realising the only reason it was so shiny and healthy-looking was because of silicone build-up...  it does feel much better to face the actual state of your hair and continue to feed it good ingredients!

Seeing I just did a full BB yesterday and coloured over night, I don't wanna use clarifying shampoo, don't wanna lose so much colour already^^ but the silicones should be all out from the BB anyways, right?
So now I just need to watch the products i use from now on?
My conditioner is silicone-free and with argan oil 🙂

yeah that's right the be will have stripped them out 🙂

It's very difficult to find any hair conditioning product on the market today that doesn't contain silicones, however not all silicones are bad.  Some are very good for the hair.

When I'm giving advice and answering questions (within my work), the biggest thing I discover is the misconception with regards to silicones and how whilst some are good, the damage they can cause if you are not clued up on them can be huge.  Here is the problem:-

Most people cherry pick products from varying brands, so shampoos and conditioners from one manufacturer, leave in's from another, styling products from yet another.  All these companies are using silicone bases.  When in the same range, most of the silicones will work in harmony - however as soon as you start layering the hair up with differing formulations the problem starts.  Quite often because some brands use non water soluable silicones and others water soluable, so you are layering these silicones onto the hair.  The most horrific thing happens when you then take your straightening irons and at a high temperature flat iron (or curl) the hair.  Whilst many silicones have a boiling point over 220 degrees a lot don't.  Therefore, some of these silicone molecules will start to melt.  It makes no difference to the molecules that haven't melted, because the ones that have will still mould onto them - forming a plastic seal on the hair.

Now with this plastic seal on the hair (and as Alexia quite rightly pointed out), the true texture of the hair isn't felt.  It can often feel strong and shiny - but this is fools gold.  Few things can cut through melted silicone barriers, but strong alkaline ammonia (found in bleach) is one of them.  However, what happens (if it gets through) is it turns the hair to pulp, as this hair has been encased and continually subjected to high heats from irons without being able to release the steam inside the cortex.  When the hair fills with steam (that cannot be released) it will split apart.  Other people have noted the hair (when the bleach is applied) starts to become hot and steam.  This is because the bleach cannot get into the hair and is reacting with the barriers.

This issue is becoming widespread and has caused more damage to hair health than seen with combined perming and bleaching (as was popular in the 1980's).  The negative is, few people realise it - as the hair continues to looks shiny and healthy.  However from the trained eye - you don't see shine and health, but a synthetic 'wig hair' texture that can often be fluffy on the ends.  I know under that faux shine is very damaged hair, that if it were exposed would feel dry, brittle and pulpy.  However, the only way to save it - is to get the barriers off and start building the internal hair strength up again with varying treatments.  What eventually starts to happen to the faux shiny hair (if it isn't treated) is it starts snapping off and people think they are suddenly suffering hair loss.

The issue has been made more complex - because now some colourant manufacturers have taken to using quite a seasoned technology of using silicones to encase colour and prevent them from fading.  This type of colourant was first introduced into the salon market over a decade ago and many salons hated it, simply because they couldn't get the shade out (if the client got bored of it).    So (just as above) the same issues can happen here.

The key to preventing silicone build up and damage is to use a clarifier every few washes.  Whilst this might fade your fashion shade, it's better to reapply than to start sealing the colour into the hair. 

Also, be mindful of how your hair is behaving.  A good clue can be it's total inability to create or hold curls, the hair just flops out.  Other signs can be colours no longer working or the hair having a stange faux shine with colours developing more intensely at the roots (where there tends to be less build up).

Silicones (alone) aren't bad.  A lot of them will bring hydration into the hair, strengthen the cuticle and make the hair manageable - however, not all hair types are suited to them and everyone is using them, creating cocktails of all types of silicones on the surface of their hair without knowing how each silicone will react with the other.

Kind Regards

Scott

Wow, thanks for all this insight!

I'm glad I don't use any heat styling 🙂
I will remember to use a clarifying shampoo right before reapplying colour so that's every 2-3 weeks and then I should be fine with my leave-ins I guess