Some people think that silicones are the worst thing you can put on your hair. But
cosmetic chemists know that they can give shine and slickness leading to great hair styles. Here is a press release from silicone manufacturer Dow Corning showing that silicones can actually strengthen hair. So, if you’re tired of having hair break off on your comb, look for something with silicone in it.
How do YOU feel about silicones in your haircare products? Leave a comment and tell the entire Beauty Brains community whether you think silicones are great or awful.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
“According to a press release…”
Is that good science?
I really never thought about it but I always assumed that they were beneficial in hair products.
So why does my hairdresser lecture me when i’ve been using products with silicon? She can tell just by touching it!
Do silicones prevent hair colour from taking properly?
Silicone-based products are the only ones that can possibly keep my hair manageable at all, and I’m pretty religious about using them these days… I tried to go without for awhile after hearing bad things about them, but until 80s-style huge hair comes back, that’s not going to work for me. But I suppose the big caveat is that I don’t think my hair type is especially common (or else so many products wouldn’t tout themselves as ‘volumizing’!) and I don’t do any coloring or chemical processing, so I don’t know how it might affect those things. I don’t even blow dry, since it always seems to make my hair bigger.
I just wish that they could work *and* be easier to wash out. I can’t use as much product as I’d like on a daily basis because I’d never be able to get my hair clean again if I did.
Mid Brain: I know that you’re still new at this, but I agree with Brarian. A press release from a company that makes the chemical is NOT good science reporting. Next time please try to find an article in a peer reviewed journal instead of sales information.
But overall you’re doing a great job with these news stories. Thanks for helping out while we’re taking a break to work on the book!
I also have been told that silicones affect colorations but I don’t think it’s logical. My reason are that all my tints have been done in dirty hair because my hairdresser told my is better for my hair (unwashed hair in my case is usually 4 day old so obviously the dirty and all my hair products doesn’t matter if all my colorations have come fine) And the second is that I have been using Pantene for 20 years (Supposedly the label with most silicones) and my hair color is ok.
I don’t know where all the things against silicones come from. The only thing I know is that I have been using them from to long and work for me. My hair is half my back, and can’t detangle it if I don’t use them. And in the other hand the silicones don’t appear to been drying my hair as so many times I been told, totally the opposite if I don’t use them my hair is so dry that start falling unstop. (Do that since I’m a child somehow this kind of products stops it). I don’t even have problems washing them out. So for me they work, but I guess is a matter of taste and hair type.
It seems to make my hair more slick and it being quite slick already, this cane sometimes make updos difficult, but I sure like the shine. However the shampoos and conditioners with lots of silicone seem to cause me dandruff. Is that common?
I have no problem with silicones, except for the buildup; after a week my hair is limp. I swtiched to a teeny-tiny amount of coconut oil that I emsulify in my hair. It keeps my wavy, fine hair wavy, but not frizzy. If I add Sandalwood Oil I have nicely scented hair all day. There’s no buildup, and no breakouts (I have sensitive skin).
OK….maybe I am a bit naive but what kind of products have the silicone in them?? I have never paid much attention I am afraid……would appreciate knowing now tho…Thank you….
I’d like to know about silicone hair products also! My hair is the unruly curly type, and will get frizzy at the first hint of moisture in the air. I have to put so much of a few different products in my hair everyday just to keep it from getting out of control. Any silicone advice would be great!
Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone are both silicones. You can know if they are in a product for the ingredient list. I think there are more (and probably also ending with –cone) both I don’t know any other names.
My favourite anti-cones saying is “it’s like floor wax on your hair”…floor wax is used to protect floors, dimethicone and other cones are used to protect hair…so…
Silicones definitely saved me from some dreadful hair days when I bleached and dye my hair repeatedly within a small window of time. GO CONES!
I’ve never really understood the hatred for silicones. I think hair stylists were told by Salon brand marketers that silicones were bad and they’ve propagated the myth ever since. I doubt there are many people who could tell a difference whether something has silicones or not.
Before cosmetology school, I spent much of my time learning what I could about the science behind everything. It’s a passion of mine. While in CS, I was told all kinds of bunk about things — diet doesn’t affect hair growth, hair grows after you are dead, straighteners/perms kill hair, color is beneficial — oy. And this was a reputable school affiliated exclusively with a big name brand. Oddly enough, their products made my hair fall out, which they told me wouldn’t happen if I colored it with their soy-based products. I’m allergic to soy LOL!. BTW, perms don’t kill, they are simply more time-consuming and less financially beneficial to the salon than color. None of it made sense and I ended up quitting. Regarding silicone: yes, we were told it was harmful, their reason was that it coated the hairshaft entirely, keeping it from breathing.
Um…hair is dead. It doesn’t breathe. I already knew that cones and polyquats were good for flyaway hair because it smoothed down the cuticle, weighing it down and making the hair smooth, but it didn’t impede oxygen intake and while it didn’t wash off thoroughly, you could switch to a non-polyquat shampoo for a few shampoos and voila, you had your frizzy flyaways back.
LOL! Hair can “breathe”…Kudos for quitting Lauri!
I think its funny that they always say Pantene is the worst, and you are supposed to use the expensive salon brands and then you look at the ingredients there and they also have cones…
why not use natural oils such as olive or safflower to give shine and weigh down hair? Or just shea butter? it actually dries your hair out.