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Why is there silicone in my shampoo and how do I condition my hair without it?
Silicone is a synthetic ingredient commonly used in commercial shampoos and conditioners. On the label you can expect to find it listed as either straight up silicone, or dimethicone. It is a wax-like ingredient which coats the hair strands to ease frizz and to give a soft feel and appearance of shine and gloss to your hair. When you dry your hair using a blow drier, the heat will also cause the silicone to expand giving the illusion of thickening your hair.
Is silicone bad for my hair?
Manufacturers add silicone or silicone derivatives to hair care products to counteract the oil stripping effect of SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) on both hair and scalp. But the reality is silicone doesn’t have any nutritional value for your hair and it doesn’t penetrate the shaft, instead it simply sits on the surface of your scalp and hair giving you a false sense of healthy hair.
It isn’t a harmful ingredient as such, but underneath this synthetic ingredient your scalp and hair are suffocating, and your hair is becoming drier and drier despite feeling sleek and glossy. Over time this could lead to split ends, hair breakage, hair thinning and even hair loss.
How can I condition my hair using silicone-free hair conditioners?
Handmade Naturals’ entire hair care range is silicone free and we do offer a choice of wash-off conditioners or leave on-hair serums blended from high quality nourishing oils which will condition your hair and help reduce frizz and define your curls.
As a pre-wash conditioner we recommend you use either a plain oil such as coconut oil, argan oil, camellia oil or a blended oil such as our Hair & Scalp Conditioning Hair oil. Gently rub a small amount of oil into your scalp massaging gently and spreading towards your hair. Use sparingly and leave on your hair for approximately 30 minutes before washing off.
After shampooing your hair, we recommend you use one of our wash off conditioners. To add nourishment and moisture to your hair we’ve blended organic aloe vera, panthenol (provitamin B5) and small amounts of vegetable palm oil-free glycerine with hair nourishing oils such as organic Argan & Coconut, MuruMuru & Macadamia and Olive & Jojoba, to condition and detangle your hair.
Extra conditioning
Sometimes you may wish for extra conditioning and curl defining, so we have developed a lighter hair conditioning serum which you can leave on your hair. You can apply it on damp hair prior to drying and styling your hair, or even on dry ends. After you have styled your hair, should there still be some persistent frizz remaining.
Very curly, very dry hair and Afro hair is very thirsty for moisture, we admit to not being specialists in this area, but our customers tell us they use our hair conditioners, pure shea butter, pure murumuru butter and pure oil directly on the hair and without washing it off. Experiment to find out what works best for you !
And when your hair looks shiny and healthy, you can be assured it actually is healthy.
And new products…
In our quest for great hair care we have launched another three brand new products in the past month ! For our new Hair Repair Mask & Serum we’ve taken the best hair conditioning and growth boosting plant derived ingredients and blended them into this light creamy lotion to enable you to repair and condition your hair from the roots to the tips without any chemicals and silicone derivatives.
We’ve also launched two new Nourishing Hair Shampoos; one for normal hair, one for frizzy and curly hair, both with argan and baobab oils to nourish sensitive scalps and nourish the hair. All our shampoos are made with coco glucoside, the mildest sugar detergent available, derived from coconut and corn.
Handmade Naturals is a 100% natural and Vegan Society-registered skin and hair care company established in 2007. See handmadenaturals.co.uk or call 01270 877516.
