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HOW ARE SILICONE-BASED HAIR PRODUCTS ARE FURTHER DAMAGING YOUR HAIR:
BodySense products are natural and 100% Sulfates, Parabens, Silicones/PEG, Mineral Oil, Color FREE. Here we tell you about these chemicals that are widely present in almost all personal care products that you may be using currently.
Most people use Silicone based hair care products like SHAMPOO, CONDITIONER, SERUMS, HAIR MASKS AND EVEN OIL for taking care of their hair. Although these products may make your hair/skin smooth and shiny but they have some major downsides as well. Silicones are used by the most popular hair brand as they rely heavily on them to meet the promises they make on their labelling.
WHAT ARE SILICONES:
Silicones are synthetic (aka manmade) polymers that have hydrophobic properties, which means that they help retain moisture by creating an impenetrable seal. In addition to shampoos, conditioners, and styling products, they’re popular ingredients in makeup and skin care, as they help keep the complexion soft and smooth. They are also used in cosmetics like lipstick and foundation to keep them from drying out. Silicones form a thin, waterproof coating around your hair cuticle and so are used to make dry and damaged hair look smooth, silky and frizz-free
THE NEGATIVES-
Silicone is almost like rubber and/or plastic. It is used as a sealant against water and even air. It is not a natural ingredient, and its side effects are bad for our hair. It gives the hair the illusion of shine, but it is not the shine we want—it is a fake shine from the plastic.
Silicone will weigh the hair down, making it limp, lifeless, and, with time, very dull. It prevents moisture from penetrating the hair shaft and becomes like a magnet for dirt and other ingredients. So in essence, we get a good shine for a couple of days, but over time it will attract more buildup on the hair. With time it will dry the hair out because it won’t allow in the conditioner and it ends up sitting on the surface. Due to lack of moisture, the hair will become very brittle and could lead to frizz and breakage.
The silicone coating on the hair which makes the hair feel soft and smooth is actually “suffocating” the hair and blocking moisture , protein & nutrients from penetrating the hair shaft, therefore depriving it of water and nourishment and causing it to become dry and brittle. overuse of silicone based styling products combined with heated styling tools can cause “silicone burn” which makes your hair hard to detangle and leads to breakage.
Also Silicone is really bad for curly hair because most curly hair is on the dry side. Silicones can slide off straight hair more than they can on curly hair. The silicone buildup will get stuck on the curls, weighing the hair down and causing more damage in the long run.
SOME SILICONES TO LOOK OUT FOR IN HAIR PRODUCTS:
Silicones come in many different forms, some of which you would never put near your hair. As a basic rule – any ingredient listed on a product that ends in ‘cone or ‘one’ is a non water soluble silicone which can damage your hair.
● Dimethicone
● Cyclomethicone
● Amodimethicone
● Pheryl Trimethicone
● Ceteraryl Methicone
● Dimethiconol
● Stearyl Dimethicone
● Amodimethicone
However these days many Cosmetic brands may label their products SILICONE-FREE and still include PEG abbreviation for POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, a mixture of compounds bonded together. Polyethylene is the most common form of plastic, and when combined with glycol, it becomes a thick and sticky liquid. It is a type of Silicone.
Found in many hair and skin products, PEGs are petroleum-based compounds that function as emollients to help soften and lubricate skin, and as emulsifiers to help water-based and oil-based ingredients mix properly. However, impurities such as ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen that also may interfere with human development, and 1-4-dioxane, a carcinogen known to affect liver and kidneys, have been found in various PEG compounds.
So make sure to check your product ingredient are both SILICONES and PEG free.
REMOVING THE SILICON BUILDUP:
Now if you feel that your has become more gressy, brittle and dull prior to what they were before – you can thank your Silicone-based serum, shampoo, conditioner, hair mask for that.
But there is a way to remove all the choked up Silicone build-up from hair.The best way to remove silicone buildup from hair is through shampoos with surfactants. It is recommended to use SULFATE-FREE clarifying shampoo to remove the silicone build-up as shampoos containing heavy surfactants such as SLS (SODIUM LAUREL SULFATE) are known to be highly irritating to the skin. Moreover, they strip away essential moisture and oil from hair and makes them dull and dry. They are even worse for color-treated hair as they can easily strip away the pigmentation from the dye. They are also a major reason for hairfall. To know more about harms of SLS (SODIUM LAUREL SULFATE) shampoo and why you should switch to SULPHATE FREE Shampoo Read here.
Another option for removing sillicone build-up is:
Apple Cider Vinegar: You can use apple cider vinegar to eliminate the buildup. It can be mixed with 2 parts of water and rinsed.
So Wash your hair regularly with any of the SULFATE FREE shampoo and you won’t have to worry about silicones (or any other) buildup on your hair!
BOTTOM LINE:
You can’t nourish your hair from the outside, you can treat it and help it along, but hair is dead. Once it leaves the hair follicle which is just under the scalp, hair dies, so when applying any product to the hair you are just coating it for pure cosmetic reasons. A diet rich in Omegas 3-6-9, good quality protein and leafy greens will help you to grow healthy hair, so it will look better once it’s dead! The irony!!
It is important to be your own INGREDIENT DETECTIVE and to spend a couple of minutes looking at the ingredients on the bottles of the products you are about to buy.
To repair damage resulting from silicone-based products and nourish the hair shaft, consider using suitable natural oils, instead of serums, conditioners and masks that contain silicones.
Although the silicone temporarily gives shine and smoothness, it makes hair greasy, lackluster, dry and dull overtime. To remove it, surfactants are very effective, the best is to opt for sulfate free shampoos as to protect your hair from further damage.
About The Author
Nutritionist & Cosmetic Technologist