>What’s the Deal? Are Silicones Good or Bad for your hair??

>

Hello Blog Lovers! During the short life of my blog and youtube channel, I’m always hearing new information that I’ve never heard before or theories that seem to be correct and some that seem to be a little far fetched. I’ve always been the type to dig deeper whenever I hear something that’s new to me. So amongst all of the things that I’ve heard I’ve only discussed  a few starting with my thoughts on Co-washing which stirred up a lot of controversy; the next was the theory about sulfate based shampoos and recently the theory  that relaxers contain Sodium Hydroxide along with No-lye relaxers are harsher than lye relaxers, so the next thing on my list of things to research was the Silicone theory. That theory is that silicone’s are bad for the hair and keep your hair from getting moisture. In the past I’ve used products that seemed to leave what felt like a “waxy film” on my hair but I never knew exactly what it was that was doing it so of course I didn’t like it so I stopped using it. Recently when I used my Paul Mitchell’s Super Skinny Serum and it did the same thing, I noticed that it contained Silicone’s. I didn’t notice it at first until I obviously applied more than what the directions suggested (Always follow directions). It said to use a dime size and I think I just got excited that particular day, my hair was no where being as damp as it usually is when I use it. I was fresh out of the shower which was my fault. So after I dried my hair I noticed that my hair felt “waxy” so I looked at the bottle and I saw that it contained silicone’s so I knew that was the “waxy film.” I knew I used to much but I didn’t bother to wash my hair again I just moistureized and went from there. I know someone is screaming NOOOOOOOOOO!!! but I did. It wasn’t that I was afraid of what  was going to happen I just knew better to not do it again. Have I done away with my Skinny Serum?? No I haven’t and I don’t intend to. Before the excessive application I loved the product! I loved that my hair felt soft and shiny.


So what is a silicone and what does it do to your hair? Well the theory is as stated before that a silicone based product locks out moisture from the hair and keeps you from putting moisture into the hair. I was watching Kim on Youtube. Kimmaytube is the name of her channel. She was saying that Silicones mannually close the hair cuticle of the hair shaft which is true and they were not necessarily bad for the hair but she was neither pro silicone or anti silicone. So….What is a Silicone??? A silicone is a inert compound meaning it doesn’t react easily with other compounds. Even thou it’s been stated that silicones lock out moisture they are used to protect the hair from heat damage, sunlight exposure, and to retain moisture in hair. A silicone prevents what’s put in your hair from going out and to keep what’s outside from going in. Silicones actually protect the hair. The molecules of the silicones are too large to be absorbed into the hair shaft which allows them to  provide a protective coating. Silicones are great for making the hair resistant from outside influences (sun UV rays and heat damage).  Here are the Benefits of using products that contain silicones: Adds shine, adds softness, reduces frizz, heat protectant, helps with detangling the hair, protects hair from UV rays, Retains moisture, Provides strengthing properties for the hair, and aids in color retention.  Silicones are usually found in conditioners and hair serums.


Through my research I found that they are very useful for ethnic hair care products and are designed for weakened or damaged hair. The silicones offer a conditioning effect to the hair. Silicones can enhance hair strengthening making the hair less prone to damage and breakage. Because Silicones have a good thermodynamic property they can help to maintain the moisture of the hair.  It’s kind of like putting a sealant on your hair shaft to keep everthing that you’ve put in your hair from conditioners and keep it in there and to keep harmful things from the environment and heat styling products out of the hair shaft to keep it from being damaged and dried out. I would suggest finding a product that has a silicone in it and figuring out what works best for your hair and to not just clear your hair cabinet out because of what you may have heard. I’m researching everything that I hear and I think that everyone should with a fine tooth comb. I guess you can think of a silicone like this…The hair contains water so think of your hair strand as water bottle and cover it with silicone…that silicone is going to keep the water and nutrients in the hair and keep everything else out. I would also suggest to not over use your silicone based products because too much will make the hair feel “waxy” or “weighted down.” Through my experience with just  using my SSS (super skinny serum) I’ve never felt that my hair was dry two or three days later, it always felt soft and I loved that. I wash my hair once a week so I don’t have that problem. I’m also sure that’s another reason why sulfate based shampoos were created to break though dirt, oils, and build up. Like I always say use everything that contains chemicals (all hair products are chemically based) with care and to not over do it.

Hair exposed to UV sun rays with no silicone protection. (Click on images to make them larger)

Hair before it’s been shampooed using a silicone based treatement on the hair. (click on images to make them larger)

(The last three images were re-created in photoshop using charts and graphs from Dow Corning, Seneffe Belgium). Click on them to make them larger.

Thanks for reading! Tell a Friend and Leave Comments! ~♥ Miss Nic ♥~