Moisturising products rather than protein filled

If it were up to me i would dump the 3 minute miracle (chock full of silicones) and use some natural oils. Coconut, argan and to a lesser degree olive oil can all penetrate the hair once there isn't a silicone barrier. Overnight oil soaks on damp hair are very moisturising. I would also recommend pure argan oil as a leave in.

I'm really scared to go silicone free. Perhaps it's just all in my head! Do you mean use this in place of conditioner (once I've got the previous rubbish out of course)

You don't have to go silicone free, but 3 minute miracle is (or was, i haven't looked at it in a long time) very silicone heavy. It may even be silicone overload that is making your hair drier, so cutting down is definitely worth a go. Is the Tresemme conditioner silicone heavy too? You could always give the silicone free route a try and see if it makes a difference (Tresemme naturals conditioners are the closest to silicone based in terms of hair feel IME)
The oils will definitely help to add and keep moisture in the hair, but i don't know how well they will work on heavily silicone coated hair. (I only started using natural oils after i went sulphate/silicone free.)

Sorry you must feel like you are repeating yourself sometimes because I know you are really good at all this!

You might be right at the silicone thing. I've been using Absolut repair as well and it's full of cones and wax! Ain't no moisture gonna get through that I guess!

I'm going to give it a go at the weekend. Do a good clarifying wash and try some coconut/argan oil. Thank you so much.

No problem 😀 I was just as skeptical as you a few years back, I was a regular shampooer, used a shed load of silicone conditioners and serums, (huge fan of Aussie 3 min Miracle) and had to straighten my dry frizzy mess several times a week. There was no way i could let it dry naturally lol I looked like a haystack. (My daughter even invented a word to describe my hair: cloudular lol)
Since going 'natural' (not really natural since i still bleach and dye it) my hair is so much better. I have never had it this long and this bleached at the same time before. Even without bleaching my ends would be pretty frazzled by this length. I always had random areas of breakage when I had it bleached, even when it was shorter. So it has worked for me, I no longer have to run and hide if it starts raining lol.

Get rid of all those cones and let your hair drink up some moisture!  Co-wash is where it's at.  I was also very hesitant to give them up(although I still do use them minimally on occasion) because my hair was so frizzy and I thought I needed them.  What my hair really needed was moisture, and the cones were blocking my hair from absorbing any!

It all makes perfect sense. I'm actually excited to try. What shampoos and conditioned do you recommend if any to this newbie?

also is parabens a silicone, or a form of sulphate? as i see a lot saying paraben free.  I think im off to go google everything... Never realised how much crap goes into shampoo and conditioner, tempted to check out body shop/lush and then just stick there :p

Parabens are preservatives. They are, completely incorrectly, linked to causing cancer. This was based on some really bad science. Unfortunately it's now all over the internet and people believe it. This then puts pressure on cosmetics companies to remove it, even though there's nothing wrong with it. Or, it's a cynical thing and they take it out (or it was never there in the first place) and label it as paraben free because it'll sell more to people that believe parabens are bad.

Lush and Body Shop have many of the same ingredients as 'normal' shampoos and conditioner. That doesn't mean they're bad. Though some people do appear to have allergies, or something, to sulphates in shampoos and they are quite harsh. But many Lush and Body Shop products have sulphates etc.

I don't have time to find the best articles about parabens, but here's one

http://acsh.org/2014/02/behind-times-perpetuate-one-ridiculous-chemical-scares-youll-ever-see-parabens/

Cool thanks for the info! I think for me its just about avoiding silicone and sulphates. I don't seem to have a problem with either, my hair seems to stay shiny and full of life regardless what I throw at it, but my partners hair is a little more fragile. So either way will be fun playing with new products!

Products found so far!
Bodyshop Rainforest selection and coconut oil are all everything bad free! Woot. Hair serums etc and normal range if hair products are not though.

Even bigger bonus body shop have 30% off if you buy any 3 products, or 40% off 5. There website has the vouchers, just click download, no need to sign up for anything.

I bought Rainforest shampoo moisture, rainforest hair butter for coloured hair and coconut oil. So in a few weeks can let you know how there working 🙂 specially on my partners hair, which is dry, has curls and frizzy

I've been using the loreal everpure range which is sls / silicone free. I've got the intensive treatment mask and its doing amazing things for my super dry hair. I'd recommend it over the miracle stuff (which I used to use). I haven't gone as far as co washing (can't bring myself to ditch the shampoo!) but this range seems to work well.

Is the whole Everpure range silicone free now? i tried the sulphate free shampoo a while ago, but the conditioners were all quite cone heavy or had mineral oil.

i suspect theres something in the shampoo, it makes my hair colour bleed more than most sulphate free shampoos but i do like it.

Ive been using Happy Hair Days shampoo the last few days, and asdas 90p conditioner and some coconut oil lol

I don't rate the Bodyshop stuff.  I tried it, and honestly, Happy Hair Days and Osmo are much better.

My current selection is Happy Hair Days shampoo with Garnier Ultimate Blends Sleek Restorer conditioner.  SLS-free and silicone-free; my hair and scalp love it!