To -Cone or not? that is the question...

I'm writing this up fairly quick, since I'm on a lunch break at work, but on an earlier blog post, I was asked about silicone and just how damaging is it to hair? The question was in reference to my review of Yes to Tomatoes Mud Mask conditioner that contains dimethicone. Not everyone wants a product that has cones in it, and here is why:

Disclaimer: Thanks to the ladies at NaturallyCurly.com and CurlyNikki, I was able to learn the following:

First what are silicones:
Silicones are inorganic molecules used to coat the hair to provide a smoothing effect. The majority of silicones, such as dimethicone are non-water soluble, which means they don't allow water to penetrate the hair shaft. They can also suck out the moisture from inside the hair and create dehydration. Because they can't simply be rinsed away with water, they often times require a "detergent"-based shampoo to remove.

However, there are some water-soluble silicones like PEG-modified dimethicone or  dimethicone copolyol. These silicones provide a "breathable" film on the hair surface to allow water penetration and they don't create build-up, so you can rinse it off.

A third type of silicone is amine-functionalized silicones, like amodimethicone, which are not water soluble, but have chemical properties to prevent buildup. Although they do lock out moisture and require a shampoo to remove.
 
Silicones in Shampoos:
Silicones are used in shampoos for conditioning purposes, because they form a film on the hair shaft to avoid being completely rinsed away with water. The cones help the hair by replacing oils that were stripped away by using the shampoo.

Silicones in Conditioners:
Used in conditioners like leave-ins, intensive treatments or rinse offs, they reduce combing friction, provide an emollient effect, impart gloss and reduce static charge between hair strands.


Using a silicone product is really up to you and what your hair needs. For me, because I only deep condition once a month (maybe twice), as well as shampoo once a month, the threat of a little dimethicone doesn't bother me. There are a few different types of ingredients in shampoos that help erase the dimethicone, which you can check out here.