Are Silicones In Your Products Poisons For Your Hair?
Okay, so I have done extensive research on Silicones in hair products. I have the information that I have established based on my personal experience of analyzing hair belonging to women who regularly use silicone based products. Through what I know of the purposes for using Silicones I maintain an understanding of their effects. And having read a copious amount of information about silicones, their properties, uses, and generally how they function as man-made polymer compounds I now feel confident in my assessment of their lasting effects in hair products.
Firstly It is important to understand what silicones are and how they perform so as to better understand why they are used in the formulation of many hair products. Silicones are man made polymer compounds with quite a few interesting properties and uses. They can be heat resistant which is the reason for the use of silicones in many modern cooking utensils. They also have a high electrical resistance which, along with their heat resistant properties, is why they are used in electrical products for insulation purposes. Used as sealants and caulks, as lubricants and coatings it is their properties of resistance that has made silicones so widely used in a large variety of products in many industries.
It is the hydrophobic property
(water resistance) that has made them such a staple in many hair care products. When you smooth your hair out in the morning walk out your door with shiny bouncy locks and see limp frizzy hair by the time you are leaving work this is due to the absorption of moisture from the humidity in the air around you. Which is the reason why women in drier climates get away with doing so much less to their hair to maintain style. Silicones in hair care products assist in preventing this limp frizzy disaster by creating a seal around the hair shaft; A seal that blocks the absorption of moisture thereby preventing the swelling of the hair shaft that is frizzy limp hair. It is also said that the silicones smooth and soften the hair. What I have found is that the silicones themselves are smooth and soft so it is not so much that the hair is becoming smoother and softer but rather that the seal formed around the hair shaft is soft and smooth.
Now this all sounds great. Frizz is caused by the absorption of moisture, silicones prevent the absorption of moisture. I agree, honestly I have used some of these products and been very pleased with their immediate results. However, it is the long term effects of excessive use that I intend to caution here. I liken the regular use of silicones on your hair to deciding that the air around you is not the best air you could be breathing so you tie a bag around your head. To sustain your own life you at some point will need to breathe again and a bag tied tightly around your head would make that quite difficult. Your lungs need oxygen as do your skin and hair need moisture. Winter rolls around and we all see the benefits of the moisture our humid climate provides. The cold dry air of winter brings with it chapped dry skin and dry brittle hair.
Through much hair analysis I have seen that excessive use of silicone based products lead to the hair under the seal becoming dry and weakened. I have also observed that silicone based products can and often do become difficult to wash out with a simple shampoo which leads to a further inability to absorb the necessary moisture from conditioners and natural secretions of the body. This can be taken care of with a good clarifying treatment. I recommend seeing your stylist to do this and getting a conditioning treatment at the same time. Excessive clarifying can extremely deplete the hairs moisture balance.
So I’m not screaming “Here comes Silicones! RUN!” All I am really saying is be conscientious with what you put both in and on your body. Eat your vegetables but also enjoy your wine. Just maintain a balance and take care of your body from hair to toes. Chase health and beauty will chase you -Clemente
Practice Safe Styling
Heat damage seems to be the most common form of damage that hair experiences these days. With the arrival of the flat iron, more powerful blow dryers and curling irons, hair everywhere is in danger. Don’t go throw out your irons or blow dryers just yet. Screaming abstinence would just be crazy, right?! Just practice safe styling, implement protection.
A good thermal protector is what stands between you and, dried up, broken, dull, lifeless locks. Thermal protectors can be found in cream or spray forms. To apply, towel dry clean hair and work the cream forms from the mid length and ends up to the root area. Then comb the hair in all directions to ensure even coverage. With the spray forms it can be helpful to flip your head forward so that you can move the hair more freely in all directions. Again, comb the hair in all directions to ensure complete and even coverage. Be sure not to miss the hairs at the front hairline as this tends to be the area where the hair is more fragile and therefore more vulnerable to heat damage.
There are many many thermal protectors out there. I personally like Kerastase’s Nectar Thermique for its combination of moisturizing complexes as well as thermal protective agents. What is most important is that you practice safe styling. Styling your hair is loving your hair. Loving without wearing protection is not just a bad idea, its wrong. Practice safe styling, get a good thermal protector and use it!
Growing Longer
The one mistake almost all women make while they are trying to grow their hair longer is to decide that because they want long hair they are not going to get it trimmed until they reach their goal length. When uninformed this does not sound like the wrong idea at all, it actually makes sense if other factors are not considered.
One thought to consider is this: unshaped hair is not enjoyable to wear and can be difficult to manage. If you have a heap of medium length hair with a problematic shape for styling, or keeping a put together look, that road to long and glamorous hair is going to be frustrating and most of the time feel like it’s not worth it. Then come the ideas every morning, as you struggle to get some bounce in your mass of weighted down hair, of how easy it would be to just cut it all off and give up. NO, It is worth it, it is SO worth it and growing can be easier.
Shaping and style aside, manageability has other factors involved namely health and integrity of your hair. The condition of your hair obviously determines how well it will look styled or not(why wouldn’t you? Ever!? Okay, the gym. fine.) That being said consider this: the hair closest to your scalp right now will be, at the least, months old by the time it plays with your earrings. When growing your hair long the hair at the very ends is being expected to fight aging and the likelihood of this depends on both the texture of your hair and the care you put into protecting it. If you grow your hair out expecting that which is at the top to at some point still be around when it constitutes the bottom, chances are the ends of your hair will look like very old people standing at the bar in a club. They’re old and tired and should have been gone a long time ago. In many cases you can see discoloration at the tired old ends of long hair, a sign that it is ready to retire.
I know that the desire for longer stronger locks leads to a fear of the shears. I am also aware that many, not all, but many hair stylists can tend to be a bit scissor happy. Cutting large amounts of hair is usually not necessary when growing your hair longer. Proper shaping and then trimming, however, is absolutely necessary. I like to get my clients on a system where we trim and then see each other again when its time to trim and sometimes skip it for a conditioning treatment, but we still see each other every 6 weeks. If you really want beautiful healthy longer hair there is only one way, communicate and commit to someone who cares enough to help get you there.