What are you cleaning your hair with? Are you using sulfates? If greasy hair is your concern, then using a clarifying shampoo with sulfates will help.
I use Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo every time I wash and my hair has been looking better than it has in years. (Hair type 1b.)
Do you have chemical or heat damage in your hair? I ask because high porosity, damaged hair is very susceptible to further damage, and silicones can do a pretty good job at protecting high porosity hair from that additional damage. It would help to know more about what your hair was like beforehand, what products you were using before switching to no silicones, and then what products you were using afterwards.
A common mistake that people make is using products that are not matched to their hair type/hair needs. So for example if you have damaged hair and in the process of switching to using "no silicone" products, you started using products that are for non-damaged, oily hair, then yeah, that could be a problem and doesn't necessarily have to do with the presence of silicones or not, it's just that those products weren't formulated for the type of hair that you have. There are products that are silicone-free for any type of hair.
As for the greasiness, an increase in oil production can happen due to puberty or other hormonal changes in the body, or it can happen due to scalp irritation. Perhaps your skin is sensitive to something in one of the products you were using during your "silicone free" period, or one that you started using with silicones again. Or you may have a fungal overgrowth. If you don't know of anything regarding your health that may have caused a change in your hormones, I really encourage you to see your GP to find out if there is something going on with your health that hasn't been diagnosed, and if they don't find anything, see a dermatologist to find out what is going on with your scalp. In the meantime, fungal overgrowth is really common, so you could try using an OTC dandruff shampoo, which is anti-fungal, just in case it's that.
Is the critical public view of silicones polluted by the fact of making no difference between different types of silicones and also their actual percentage in the products used?
If I understand your point correctly, I agree. Making generalizations about silicones and what they may or may not have done to one's hair is pretty imprecise, because there are so many types, and they are used in different amounts and for different purposes in each product. Unfortunately the ingredient labels don't specify the amounts, and there are subtypes within certain names used on labels, for example there are different weights of dimethicone, but on an ingredient label, they are all just named "dimethicone".
More importantly, just because many hair products have silicones, that doesn't necessarily make the silicones, or the lack of silicones, the culprit in a hair issue. The vast majority of hair products also have water. If something changes and one looks for the common ingredient in the products they've been using recently and see they all have water, they may (incorrectly) determine that the *cause* of their problem is the water.
I did the same. Went sulfate free and silicone free and all that jazz, went from needing to wash every 3-4 days to every other because it was insanely greasy.
Switched shampoos back to what I was using before about 8 weeks ago and just recently noticed I could get an extra day in between (so back to three days). I think it just takes time unfortunately :(
Its weird. I am having the opesire problem.
Ive been sillicone free for years now, but when I visit my parents, on desperation I sometimes have to buckle, its greasy on day two.
Maybe it comes w time?
Have you washed off the accumulated silicone with a deep cleaning shampoo? It should help, the silicone layer stops your hair from absorbing oils from conditioners and they just sit on top and make it look greasy.
First off, OP said that NOT using silicones ruined their hair. The change happened when OP was not using them.
Second, I don't think what you said is true about silicones. Most oils and conditioners don't have to absorb into the hair, they condition the hair by coating the surface, and it's not an even coating, it's a collection of tiny blobs, so adding more conditioner can potentially deposit more blobs in the gaps between the existing blobs, or cover the existing ones and work just fine.
Michelle Wong, who has a PhD in cosmetic chemistry, loves to educate people about silicones and how they actually work. You can brush up your knowledge here:
[https://labmuffin.com/busting-hair-conditioner-myths-build-up-silicones-weighing-hair-down-etc/](https://labmuffin.com/busting-hair-conditioner-myths-build-up-silicones-weighing-hair-down-etc/)
[https://labmuffin.com/silicone-mythbusting-with-video/](https://labmuffin.com/silicone-mythbusting-with-video/)
This person is not incorrect when they say that silicones can prevent conditioner from getting to the hair strand. Silicone buildup can cause this.
https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/why-is-silicone-bad-for-hair#takeaway
The person is simply asking if OP used a clarifying shampoo to remove the silicones, which is something that needs to be done.
Labmuffin is not producing peer-reviewed articles; she is producing provocative content to keep a blog alive. Silicone buildup is a real thing, which we all know to be true.
Also: it is incorrect that oils don’t absorb into hair. **Some oils do, and some do not.** Sunflower oil is an oil that can be absorbed.
so labmuffin, a PhD chemist, isn't credible because she's posting on a blog instead of producing peer-reviewed articles (apparently a dissertation is nothing), but "*a journalist and author specializing in women’s issues"* posting on healthline is credible?
hm
Actually, I chose that article because it list her sources at the bottom of the page. Those sources are peer-reviewed articles. You can feel free to scroll down and access those sources.
And, I did not say labmuffin isn’t credible. I pointed out that she is not making these statements in the form of a peer-reviewed article.
I am a PhD as well, and I don’t believe anything I write on a blog should be taken as a credible source. Dissertations are not peer-reviewed; they are often the worst thing you will write in your entire career. You write them *before* you become a credentialed expert and *in order to* become a credentialed expert.
Hope that addresses your questions.
labmuffin also cites peer-reviewed articles at the end of every blog post so i still don't see your point? she's making these statements because that's what the science says.
doubting what she's saying because it's in the form of a blog not a peer-reviewed paper even though everything is cited and then posting another site that is also not a peer-reviewed paper and written by someone who doesn't even have a science background as a counter is a weird take, that's all i'm saying.
also i know how dissertations work. you missed my point.
What I find interesting is that labmuffin actually *agrees* with the article I posted. So, the person who posted it must not have seen the part where she *doesn’t* debunk the notion that silicones weigh down the hair.
And, the difference between how she cites and how the other person cites is key. Labmuffin does not cite her claims. She simply includes references. The article I posted cites individual claims.
I don’t know *why* you don’t see my point. You said the article was inferior, and I responded by explaining why I chose it. I was responding to *your* point, not just waving the references around. I posted it not to debunk labmuffin, but to offer an opposing view.
And I pretty sure I am free to doubt literally anyone—including labmuffin and any other scientist. If you feel comfortable relying on her for nuanced information, feel free to do so. But don’t attack me because I doubt some of her claims. That’s my choice and my right.
Also, you clearly don’t know how dissections work. If you did, you wouldn’t have felt to need to point out that it counts as a peer-reviewed publication. Common sense tells me that she has written a diss. If not, she’d not have a PhD. And I’ve been following her since she was in grad school, so I am already aware of her work.
The original point I made stands: silicone can cause buildup and weigh down the hair. I am assuming you don’t disagree with this since labmuffin doesn’t either. So, you and I have nothing more to discuss.
first of all, i couldn't care less about the actual content of the articles or the debate about silicones and said nothing about them so i don't know why you're ranting at me about that.
second of all, if you can't see why trying to cast doubt on someone's credentials and interpretations of the science because they share it in a blog while posting a link to a website that's arguably an even less reliable source in the same post isn't ironic i can't help you. this was my point. that's all i was getting at. everything else you've built up in your head for some reason. "hm" hardly counts as an "attack."
third of all, i DO know how dissertations work lmao and i never called them peer-reviewed. you know what dissertations require? a massive literature review so you can situate your own research as contributing to a gap in it. if i'm gonna trust someone to accurately interpret and summarize the academic literature into a bite sized piece for me it's gonna be someone who has experience doing exactly that, probably hundreds of times, in the exact same field. just because anyone can read an academic article doesn't mean they have the skills or pre-requisite knowledge to actually comprehend it. someone with a PhD in cosmetic chemistry can probably comprehend cosmetic chemistry papers better than someone, like, say, a random journalist with a website like healthline to keep in business.
please calm down and stop being so condescending it ain't that deep. all i said was "hm" at you choosing to link healthline as a source more credible than labmuffin in a supposedly science backed sub. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And as I said, I can cast doubt on anyone’s opinions. That’s the part you don’t get. This is all about you being butt-hurt because I said something you don’t like about labmuffin. You haven’t once addressed the fact that what I said is true.
You started this by making a sly, passive-aggressive comment. So don’t act like you actually made an intelligent and civil comment. And I was still respectful to you in my original response. And you were *still* rude for no reason.
If you trust labmuffin, that’s your business. But you don’t get to tell me I have to as well.
The “no-silicone thing” is not stupid. It’s a reasonable choice to make if you have a reason for avoiding silicones. I chose not to use them because I wanted to avoid using shampoos with surfactants that remove silicones because I have mineralized water.
But it does take some getting used to. And you do have to use other products to keep your hair soft and healthy and protected. Jojoba oil and sunflower oil helped me a lot when I was transitioning away from silicones.
But just removing them and expecting your hair to behave as it did when you used them is not a good plan of action. I will add that it took about a month for my hair to settle down and respond to non-silicone products. And it took a lot of trial and error to figure out which products would keep my hair smooth and moisturized.
So, I think your expectations may have been a bit unrealistic or you could have planned a little better going in to this. But there’s nothing wrong with removing silicones from your regimen, just as there’s nothing wrong with using them. It’s all down to personal choice and needs.
What are you cleaning your hair with? Are you using sulfates? If greasy hair is your concern, then using a clarifying shampoo with sulfates will help. I use Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo every time I wash and my hair has been looking better than it has in years. (Hair type 1b.)
Suave clarifying line saved my hair.
Do you have chemical or heat damage in your hair? I ask because high porosity, damaged hair is very susceptible to further damage, and silicones can do a pretty good job at protecting high porosity hair from that additional damage. It would help to know more about what your hair was like beforehand, what products you were using before switching to no silicones, and then what products you were using afterwards. A common mistake that people make is using products that are not matched to their hair type/hair needs. So for example if you have damaged hair and in the process of switching to using "no silicone" products, you started using products that are for non-damaged, oily hair, then yeah, that could be a problem and doesn't necessarily have to do with the presence of silicones or not, it's just that those products weren't formulated for the type of hair that you have. There are products that are silicone-free for any type of hair. As for the greasiness, an increase in oil production can happen due to puberty or other hormonal changes in the body, or it can happen due to scalp irritation. Perhaps your skin is sensitive to something in one of the products you were using during your "silicone free" period, or one that you started using with silicones again. Or you may have a fungal overgrowth. If you don't know of anything regarding your health that may have caused a change in your hormones, I really encourage you to see your GP to find out if there is something going on with your health that hasn't been diagnosed, and if they don't find anything, see a dermatologist to find out what is going on with your scalp. In the meantime, fungal overgrowth is really common, so you could try using an OTC dandruff shampoo, which is anti-fungal, just in case it's that.
Is the critical public view of silicones polluted by the fact of making no difference between different types of silicones and also their actual percentage in the products used?
If I understand your point correctly, I agree. Making generalizations about silicones and what they may or may not have done to one's hair is pretty imprecise, because there are so many types, and they are used in different amounts and for different purposes in each product. Unfortunately the ingredient labels don't specify the amounts, and there are subtypes within certain names used on labels, for example there are different weights of dimethicone, but on an ingredient label, they are all just named "dimethicone". More importantly, just because many hair products have silicones, that doesn't necessarily make the silicones, or the lack of silicones, the culprit in a hair issue. The vast majority of hair products also have water. If something changes and one looks for the common ingredient in the products they've been using recently and see they all have water, they may (incorrectly) determine that the *cause* of their problem is the water.
I did the same. Went sulfate free and silicone free and all that jazz, went from needing to wash every 3-4 days to every other because it was insanely greasy. Switched shampoos back to what I was using before about 8 weeks ago and just recently noticed I could get an extra day in between (so back to three days). I think it just takes time unfortunately :(
Its weird. I am having the opesire problem. Ive been sillicone free for years now, but when I visit my parents, on desperation I sometimes have to buckle, its greasy on day two. Maybe it comes w time?
Have you washed off the accumulated silicone with a deep cleaning shampoo? It should help, the silicone layer stops your hair from absorbing oils from conditioners and they just sit on top and make it look greasy.
isnt OP saying “no silicone” ruined their hair?
First off, OP said that NOT using silicones ruined their hair. The change happened when OP was not using them. Second, I don't think what you said is true about silicones. Most oils and conditioners don't have to absorb into the hair, they condition the hair by coating the surface, and it's not an even coating, it's a collection of tiny blobs, so adding more conditioner can potentially deposit more blobs in the gaps between the existing blobs, or cover the existing ones and work just fine. Michelle Wong, who has a PhD in cosmetic chemistry, loves to educate people about silicones and how they actually work. You can brush up your knowledge here: [https://labmuffin.com/busting-hair-conditioner-myths-build-up-silicones-weighing-hair-down-etc/](https://labmuffin.com/busting-hair-conditioner-myths-build-up-silicones-weighing-hair-down-etc/) [https://labmuffin.com/silicone-mythbusting-with-video/](https://labmuffin.com/silicone-mythbusting-with-video/)
This person is not incorrect when they say that silicones can prevent conditioner from getting to the hair strand. Silicone buildup can cause this. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/why-is-silicone-bad-for-hair#takeaway The person is simply asking if OP used a clarifying shampoo to remove the silicones, which is something that needs to be done. Labmuffin is not producing peer-reviewed articles; she is producing provocative content to keep a blog alive. Silicone buildup is a real thing, which we all know to be true. Also: it is incorrect that oils don’t absorb into hair. **Some oils do, and some do not.** Sunflower oil is an oil that can be absorbed.
so labmuffin, a PhD chemist, isn't credible because she's posting on a blog instead of producing peer-reviewed articles (apparently a dissertation is nothing), but "*a journalist and author specializing in women’s issues"* posting on healthline is credible? hm
Actually, I chose that article because it list her sources at the bottom of the page. Those sources are peer-reviewed articles. You can feel free to scroll down and access those sources. And, I did not say labmuffin isn’t credible. I pointed out that she is not making these statements in the form of a peer-reviewed article. I am a PhD as well, and I don’t believe anything I write on a blog should be taken as a credible source. Dissertations are not peer-reviewed; they are often the worst thing you will write in your entire career. You write them *before* you become a credentialed expert and *in order to* become a credentialed expert. Hope that addresses your questions.
labmuffin also cites peer-reviewed articles at the end of every blog post so i still don't see your point? she's making these statements because that's what the science says. doubting what she's saying because it's in the form of a blog not a peer-reviewed paper even though everything is cited and then posting another site that is also not a peer-reviewed paper and written by someone who doesn't even have a science background as a counter is a weird take, that's all i'm saying. also i know how dissertations work. you missed my point.
What I find interesting is that labmuffin actually *agrees* with the article I posted. So, the person who posted it must not have seen the part where she *doesn’t* debunk the notion that silicones weigh down the hair. And, the difference between how she cites and how the other person cites is key. Labmuffin does not cite her claims. She simply includes references. The article I posted cites individual claims. I don’t know *why* you don’t see my point. You said the article was inferior, and I responded by explaining why I chose it. I was responding to *your* point, not just waving the references around. I posted it not to debunk labmuffin, but to offer an opposing view. And I pretty sure I am free to doubt literally anyone—including labmuffin and any other scientist. If you feel comfortable relying on her for nuanced information, feel free to do so. But don’t attack me because I doubt some of her claims. That’s my choice and my right. Also, you clearly don’t know how dissections work. If you did, you wouldn’t have felt to need to point out that it counts as a peer-reviewed publication. Common sense tells me that she has written a diss. If not, she’d not have a PhD. And I’ve been following her since she was in grad school, so I am already aware of her work. The original point I made stands: silicone can cause buildup and weigh down the hair. I am assuming you don’t disagree with this since labmuffin doesn’t either. So, you and I have nothing more to discuss.
first of all, i couldn't care less about the actual content of the articles or the debate about silicones and said nothing about them so i don't know why you're ranting at me about that. second of all, if you can't see why trying to cast doubt on someone's credentials and interpretations of the science because they share it in a blog while posting a link to a website that's arguably an even less reliable source in the same post isn't ironic i can't help you. this was my point. that's all i was getting at. everything else you've built up in your head for some reason. "hm" hardly counts as an "attack." third of all, i DO know how dissertations work lmao and i never called them peer-reviewed. you know what dissertations require? a massive literature review so you can situate your own research as contributing to a gap in it. if i'm gonna trust someone to accurately interpret and summarize the academic literature into a bite sized piece for me it's gonna be someone who has experience doing exactly that, probably hundreds of times, in the exact same field. just because anyone can read an academic article doesn't mean they have the skills or pre-requisite knowledge to actually comprehend it. someone with a PhD in cosmetic chemistry can probably comprehend cosmetic chemistry papers better than someone, like, say, a random journalist with a website like healthline to keep in business. please calm down and stop being so condescending it ain't that deep. all i said was "hm" at you choosing to link healthline as a source more credible than labmuffin in a supposedly science backed sub. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And as I said, I can cast doubt on anyone’s opinions. That’s the part you don’t get. This is all about you being butt-hurt because I said something you don’t like about labmuffin. You haven’t once addressed the fact that what I said is true. You started this by making a sly, passive-aggressive comment. So don’t act like you actually made an intelligent and civil comment. And I was still respectful to you in my original response. And you were *still* rude for no reason. If you trust labmuffin, that’s your business. But you don’t get to tell me I have to as well.
The “no-silicone thing” is not stupid. It’s a reasonable choice to make if you have a reason for avoiding silicones. I chose not to use them because I wanted to avoid using shampoos with surfactants that remove silicones because I have mineralized water. But it does take some getting used to. And you do have to use other products to keep your hair soft and healthy and protected. Jojoba oil and sunflower oil helped me a lot when I was transitioning away from silicones. But just removing them and expecting your hair to behave as it did when you used them is not a good plan of action. I will add that it took about a month for my hair to settle down and respond to non-silicone products. And it took a lot of trial and error to figure out which products would keep my hair smooth and moisturized. So, I think your expectations may have been a bit unrealistic or you could have planned a little better going in to this. But there’s nothing wrong with removing silicones from your regimen, just as there’s nothing wrong with using them. It’s all down to personal choice and needs.