7 important points about silicones in hair cosmetics

Silicones are frequently found in a wide range of hair care products, including styling creams and shampoos. They’re so well-liked in cosmetics because they’re known to give hair a sleek, glossy appearance. There are a few things to understand about silicones and their impact on hair, though.

Not all silicones are created equal, even though they can give your hair a glossy appearance. While some may eventually cause build-up or weigh down your hair, others may be advantageous. It’s critical to comprehend the functions of the various silicones used in products.

Making better decisions when choosing hair products that meet your needs will be made easier if you understand how silicones function. Let’s examine seven important things to think about when incorporating silicones into your hair care regimen.

Point 1: the principle of action

Because silicones create a thin, multipurpose film on the hair’s surface, many products containing silicones can produce a "wow effect." The silicone film that covers the hair facilitates combing by smoothing the cuticle scales and adding shine and smoothness. It can repair damage to the hair, such as voids. Depending on the kind of silicone used, different things can happen. Some can mask the split (temporarily adhering it), settle on damaged areas specifically, and serve protective and heat-protective purposes.

The range of activities exhibited by silicones is highly diverse. Silicones are the exact elements that can produce an instantaneous, transient visual effect in the least amount of time. They can conceal hair issues and give the appearance of healthy hair. However, by doing so, they only serve to conceal the issue rather than offering a cure. Products containing silicones will instantly revert to their original state as soon as you stop using them.

Point 2: benefit or harm

Silicones provide an instant visual impact.

Although they don’t directly affect hair health, there are instances in which they can act both good and bad. For instance, silicone films can act as if they are "locking" other ingredients in the composition—a hair mask with silicones and good active ingredients, for instance—by retaining moisture.

Additionally, silicones’ naturally beneficial qualities of conditioning, protection, and heat protection benefit hair. For instance, silicones serve the primary purpose of shielding hair from extreme heat when it comes to thermal protection, so they are definitely beneficial in this regard.

There are various kinds of silicones, though. There are viscous formulas that dissolve in fat and water. In other words, silicone varies. Typically, lighter and more volatile silicones are used to dilute the viscous types of silicones. Furthermore, based on my observations, several silicones have the potential to damage delicate or damaged hair.

Smooth, glossy hair is largely achieved by silicones found in hair cosmetics, but it’s crucial to comprehend their effects. Silicones have the ability to instantly make hair appear healthy, but they can also accumulate over time and make hair appear dull or weighed down. You can choose more wisely if you are aware of the kinds of silicones in your products and how they work with your hair. While some silicones are easily removed, others need to be cleaned with clarifying shampoo. You can enjoy the benefits without long-term drawbacks if you understand these points.

Point 3: observations

My experience and observations have led me to this conclusion. I doubt that I would have found this information if it weren’t for it, as I haven’t found anything comparable to what I’m about to share with you online.

Dimethicone and Dimethiconol are the protagonists of the tale.

This is the cheapest silicone group, and in fact, I consider them first-generation silicones. These are exactly the silicones that are abundant in mass-market products and in cheap professional. Why? They are the most common and cheapest.

By the way, if a product costs more than average and contains these silicones in its composition, my perception of a professional brand instantly shifts. Upon closer inspection, you will see that some companies have rebranded themselves and no longer use these silicones in the formulation of their products; instead, they now use amomethicone.

Silicones such as dimethicone and dimeconol cause my hair to break horribly.

I avoided silicone products for a long time, because I mistakenly believed that all silicones act on my hair in the same way – they provoke breakage. But it turned out that only these two silicones do this (without modifications. Versions with the prefixes peg and copopyl do not have these properties).
If my hair had not been killed by bleaching, I would hardly have been able to conduct this study. But when I started looking for the culprits of breakage, by isolating assets, I found the culprits. Cosmetics (and it doesn’t matter what segment), pseudo-organic, mass, professional of various levels, containing these components absolutely always made my damaged hair start to break.

On extremely thin and damaged hair, this pair’s property (not always when present together in a product, even when present separately in the composition) causes brittleness. They don’t have as much of an adverse effect on strong, less prone to damage hair or hair that has not sustained much damage.

I can advise you to use these silicones with extreme caution based on my observations and testing conducted over the course of five years on my hair, which was under quite different conditions. It is best to completely avoid using products that contain them if you have extremely delicate, damaged, or bleached hair.

After making another attempt to use products containing these silicones on a regular basis—as long as I used deep cleansing shampoo on time—this is what happened to my hair. My hair went from being evenly cut to a broken object.

Point 4: accumulation and washability

Hair has a tendency to accumulate silicones. To get the best visual effect, many people intentionally use multi-layered care, layering and thickening the silicone film on their hair.

Yes, the appearance may be lovely, but layering like this may also be detrimental if we consider the hair’s actual state, which may be thin, fragile, and damaged. Silicones can have the opposite effect when they build up—they can become dry and cause brittleness.

Because of this, there’s a crucial guideline when it comes to using silicone products: use deep cleansing shampoos on a regular basis (one to two times per month) to wash out silicones and stop them from building up too much. The silicones’ accumulation process restarts once they are cleaned off. This cycle is unfavorable.

Point 5: silicones and natural oils

I’ve already covered this in a different post, but to recap, oils are classified as either penetrating or enveloping. Let me reiterate their mode of action briefly. It is possible for penetrating oils to restore the lipid structure by penetrating the hair structure. Enveloping oils have a similar effect to silicones in that they create a film on the hair’s surface that serves the same purposes as silicones in terms of smoothing and retaining moisture.

In terms of care, oils and silicones are still in competition. Generally speaking, the purpose of using silicones is to build up the film they form on the hair’s surface, or to "strengthen" it. Oils have the ability to dissolve fat-soluble silicones, negating the impact of silicones.

Prior to: damaged hair, silicone-based professional care Following: the same damaged hair, but with care that relies mostly on oil application rather than silicone.

Is it possible to combine oils and silicones in care

It is feasible in theory. All of this, though, is dependent upon your objectives.

• If you have very frizzy hair, and you diligently weigh it down with silicone cosmetics, then using oils in this case is not the best idea. The oil will wash away your care. But at the same time, before using a deep cleansing shampoo, you can make an oil mask.
• If you do not pursue special goals in care, your hair is not demanding and you equally like the effect of both silicones and oils, and their combination in care does not cause any dissonance at all – combine to your health and be glad that your hair is unpretentious.

In my case, I use cosmetics containing silicones not because I care about their presence in the product but rather because the cosmetics I want to try contain them. I also place a lot of money on the effects of oils and silicone-free products. They are merely here in my care; I don’t stake anything on them or draw attention to them.

Excellent expert silicone care can be seen on the left. Oils and silicone-free care are on the right.

You can therefore mix everything together. However, I would suggest that you consider the exact look and feel you want for your hair before proceeding. The response to this query will indicate which way you should proceed.

Point 6: how to recognize silicones in cosmetics

The majority of them end in -thicone, -thiconol, or -siloxane.

The most widely used silicones are:

The silicones fall into the following groups:

LIPOPHILIC polymers.

Please refer to silicone oils. They produce a protective layer, restore damaged sections of hair, and smooth out hair. When these silicone-containing conditioners are used frequently, hair can get overly greasy and heavy very quickly. Not advised for people with oily hair. extracted from hair using shampoos that have anionic surfactants in them. Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, and Amodimethicone are the most widely used.

Silicones with high polymer content.

The silicone group that is most enduring. frequently utilized in compounds to glue split ends together. They are tough to get rid of from hair; deep cleaning shampoos are required. Most well-liked: Polyoktaniya-10 and Polykwaternium-10

Silicones with amino functions.

Soluble in cleaning agents. Used to fill and envelop the cuticle’s cavities and preserve the brightness of color in colored hair. Aminofunctional silicones and aminopropyl dimethicone are popular.

Silicones that fly.

Safe for hair during heat treatments and wintertime temperature fluctuations. faded away from the hair. Among them are phenyltriemeticon and cyclometicon derivatives. In style: Dimethiconol, Cyclopentasiloxane, and Polydimethylsiloxane

Polyoldicemeticons

They are ascribed to silicones that are hydrophilic, or soluble in water. frequently found in shampoos. Boost the production of foam. thoroughly cleaned with water so they don’t build up in the hair. In style: Dimethicone Trirnethylsilyamodimethicone, copolyol

For your hair care regimen, silicones in hair products can present both advantages and disadvantages. They can offer protection, shine, and smoothness, but it’s crucial to select products that work for your hair type and requirements.

Certain silicones are more lightweight and easily wash out, but others can accumulate over time and make hair feel weighed down. Making better choices for healthier hair is made easier when you are aware of the kind of silicones used in your products.

In the end, knowing how silicones function in your hair care products enables you to weigh their benefits against any potential downsides, preserving the vibrancy and health of your hair.

Video on the topic

Silicones in cream – are they harmful?

About silicones in hair cosmetics

The whole truth about silicones