Silicones and curly hair – Why I love them

Once you start reading more and more about curly hair, one of the prevalent curl care methods you will come across is to avoid silicones completely. They are considered taboo in the curl community.

Update : 23 Jan, 2018 – I no longer use silicones because I figured they weigh my hair down.

In the days when I was trying to make sense out of my unruly frizzy hair, I sure did give this method a try, no doubt. I mean I was willing to try anything under the sun to tame my hair! So I went silicone free – which means you should avoid any product which contains silicones – CG Method and CG Friendly Products in India (Intermediate and Advanced Curly Hair Care). I tried the silicone free method for about a month or two before giving up. My current HG serum, conditioner and mask all contain silicones and I love them to bits! So what’s the deal really?

What are silicones?

Silicones are ingredients used in hair care products(mainly conditioners, serums and leave ins) that add shine to hair, provide slip during detangling, combat frizz by making the cuticle lay flat and condition the hair by forming a film on hair strands. They are the ingredients that end in “cone,” “col,” “conol” or “ane” for e.g.:- Trimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, dimethiconol.

Then why do curly girls avoid silicones?

Most silicones are not water-soluble and so they cause build-up on your hair. This build up may cause your hair to look dull and cause your curls to weigh down and lose definition.

How can silicone buildup be removed?

Use shampoos that have sulphates. Woopsie. Harsh sulphates dry out your poor curls and the curl community considers this ingredient more taboo than silicones. That’s a dreadful circle. But I use shampoos with sulphates in them *gasp* Yes I am guilty *hands on mouth*. Why I got back to sulphates – Curly hair. Because I use sulphates, I don’t have any issue of silicone build up.

Why wasn’t I happy with the silicone free method?

• Detangling in the shower was a nightmare without the silicones. Silicones provide slip (i.e. they reduce the friction) which makes removing the knots and tangles very easy. And of course the buttery feeling when you touch your hair after rinsing off the conditioner 😀
• After drying, my hair looked greasy not shiny. It looked like there was oil on it. That is not the look you want on your hair. I want my hair to look moisturized and glossy not greasy. Without silicones, sadly my hair did look oily.
• Frizz and fly aways weren’t controlled at all. Silicones tame your hair’s cuticle and help hair strands clump together. In the absence of silicones my hair looked like an unruly mess.
• Silicones protect my hair from humidity and prevent them from poofing up and frizzing.
• They retain the moisturized look from wash day for a longer time.

Why didn’t the silicone free method work for me?

I mean it is THE curly girl method and apparently should have worked right?

Not all curly hair is the same – pattern, structure, porosity, thickness, health all vary from head to head. There are also external factors like your location, climate, working environment, humidity that determine your hair’s behaviour… or even your zodiac sign (just kidding :P).

You have got to experiment till you find what suits you the best. If you use a product with silicone and you are happy with the way your hair looks, don’t feel guilty that some people have labelled it a no-no ingredient. All my favourite curl care products have silicones! On the other hand if your hair doesn’t like silicones, listen to it.

I will continue experimenting with silicones, lighter silicones, no silicones, sulphates, less harsher ingredients, no sulphates and all other weird permutations & combinations and probably find something better later. Who knows?

You know your hair better than anyone. At the end of the day, YOU should be happy about YOUR hair.