Georgia asks…Dimethicone makes my hair too soft; I lose fullness and body, so I’m looking for a shampoo without this ingredient. Any suggestions?
The Right Brain Replies:
Yep. Our suggestion is to use a good website like Drugstore.com to peruse the ingredient lists of shampoos before you traipse down to the store to buy them. If you do, you’ll see a number of products that are missing the offending ingredient. Here are a few examples to get you started; they’re chosen from some of the most popular mass-market brands so they won’t cost you an arm and a leg. You can easily apply the same analysis to any salon brands that you like. But first, a word about silicones…
Not all silicones are heavy
It sounds like you’ve already determined that you don’t like the feel of dimethicone. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll dislike ALL ‘cones. Dimethicone Copolyol, for example, is a water soluble version of dimethicone that won’t weigh down hair at all. Another caveat: other ingredients besides dimethicone may be coating your hair so as always there’s some trial and error involved in picking the best product for you.
Dimethicone-free shampoos
Garnier
Let’s start with a few Garnier Fructis products.
- Fructis Haircare Pure Clean 2 in1 Shampoo + Conditioner for Normal Hair
- Fructis Haircare Pure Clean Fortifying Shampoo
Tresemme
After checking out a couple of Tresemme formulas it became apparent that they use less dimethicone than some of the other big brands. We did notice a modified dimethicone in their smooth and silky product but it’s not the water insoluble gunky one that can give hair a heavy coating.
- Tresemme Moisture Rich
- Tresemme Smooth and Silky
- Tresemme Color Revitalizing
Herbal Essences
Check these products carefully because some, like Herbal Essences Drama Clean Refreshing Shampoo, don’t use dimethicone while others that you THINK wouldn’t have it, actually do, like their Herbal Essence Featherweight shampoo.
- Herbal Essences Drama Clean Refreshing Shampoo
- Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Shampoo
L’Oreal
The “Ever” line from L’Oreal seems to do a good job of avoiding dimethicone. However it does use a functional silicone (Amodimethicone) and some polyquaternium compounds both of which may give you a heavier feel than you care for. Their regular ‘Vive Color Treated shampoo is also dimethicone free.
- L’Oreal EverStrong Bodify Shampoo for Flat, Limp Hair, Rosemary Juniper
- L’Oreal EverStrong Hydrate Shampoo for Normal to Dry Hair, Rosemary Juniper
- L’Oreal Vive Pro Glossy Volume Body Boosting Shampoo, Fine Hair
- L’Oreal Vive Pro Color Vive Shampoo, for Color-Treated Hair That’s Normal
Pantene
Pantene is usually thought of as the worst offender when it comes to “plastic” ingredients that coat your hair but even they have at least one dimethicone free shampoos.
- Pantene Pro-V Fine Hair Solutions Volume Shampoo
Image credit: http://s3.freefoto.com/
What do YOU think? Do you have a favorite dimethicone-free shampoo? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with Georgia.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
As for me, I like dimethecones. Some of them really make my hair so smooth! It’s still good to see your buying guide, I especially enjoy reading about the facts about ingredients.
I also love ‘cones! As someone who colors and uses heat styling tools on my hair, I’ll take all the coating and smoothness I can take. If I notice my hair seems a bit weighed down, I just use Suave’s Clarifying Shampoo and that does the trick!
Thanks for the specifics, Right Brain. I did go to drugstore.com to review ingredients. That became overwhelming, so I’m glad to see some specific recommendations.
Pantene is terrible, so it annoys me it was on here for so many of the options. Its actually a cheap with cheap ingredients. If you really want to preserve your color, and find something that makes your hair look even better, I have tried the Shielo Color Protect Shampoo. I always color my hair just a bit, and this has saved me soooo much money on color jobs at the salon. It keeps the color and you dont see it going down the drain when you shower. The Shielo one is the only one that doesnt bleed color down the drain.