I grew out my hair a bit. Hairdresser added a few lowlights maybe 5 pieces total and I've been highlighting the top half only. It's still super blonde but less yellow and the roots are better. Plus I notice less breakage now.
Anyhow I still have dry hair and some of the deep conditioners I've seen are very greasy and loaded with cones. I use a protecting serum that has silicones. If I pair the serum with a silicone free conditioner will my hair still be protected? I know cones protect but leave a gross buildup. It seems like my hair is a lot softer and less greasy when I use the no cone conditioner paired with the cone serum, compared to using a cone loaded conditioner instead.
If the no cone conditioner and serum is working for you , then i would stick with that.
What do you mean by your hair being protected? From what, heat or something else?
Silicones don't protect from anything really, all they do is coat the hair to prevent breakages.
If you mean heat protection, you can get cone free and low-cone heat protection creams, but if you use the serum to de-frizz, you could try some 100% pure argan oil instead. I don't really see the point of going cone-free with your conditioner if you're then just going to load on a serum packed with cones. Seems counter-productive to me. But, if you do this just because you like the way it makes your hair feel, and not because you actually want to avoid cones, then go for it!