Calling
All
Naturals
w/ Curls, Coils & Kinks
Calling all silicone free conditioners! As most of you are aware I am aiming to follow the Curly Girl Method. You could imagine my surprise when I realized my old faithful Trader Joe's Nourish Spa conditioner contained a clingy silicone that I hadn't even realized. I am sure you are thinking how could you not realize it? I know right! Well, in the beginning of my natural hair journey I was still learning and gathering so much information and totally missed this vital oversight. I didn't let this oversight taint me from moving forward I just dusted myself off got back up and started fresh. I had researched silicone free conditioners and the TJ Nourish Spa always showed up on that list and still does. It didn't even cross my mind to the possibility they might have changed their formula! In the beginning I went to TJ to pick me up this very popular conditioner and slightly glanced over the ingredients. I thought I did my research or did I?
Many months later I happened to be watching an old video of a YouTuber who said that MY conditioner contained parabens... excuse me no it doesn't?! LOL So, I ran to grab my conditioner and I read each ingredient intensely looking for any parabens and imagine my surprise when I didn't see any parabens but did notice a silicone there! I was not only confused but you would have thought I lost my best friend. I then began to do so some research and found out that they changed their formula. The old formula did contain parabens and the new formula which I had in my possession removed the parabens and added a silicone. Wow! Funny thing is I never noticed any negative effects from using this conditioner as I never left it in but did use it to aid in detangling my hair. My hair loves the TJ Nourish Spa Conditioner and perhaps my hair loved cones?
I thought well here I am trying to follow the CG method and I am using a major no-no cone. I went back to the drawing board and did some research on silicones and why a lot of people didn't believe we should use them. Like I have stated before I have heard valid points on both sides. Silicones create a coating on the hair and scalp resulting in product build-up because they are often not water-soluble. There are silicones that were specially developed to be water-soluble and will not leave a build-up like other silicones. Main reason why clarifying shampoos are vital to those who do choose to cone it up. I would like to also point out some people don't experience any product build-up with any of the silicones. I believe I fall into this category as I have never noticed any product build-up on my hair since I returned natural. This is why I also recommend experimenting and seeing what works best for you and your hair type. So what did I decide to do and what were my result and conclusions?
I did more research and decided to experiment some to see what route did my hair benefit from the most? I did know that I preferred not to use any shampoo and co-wash mainly so probably would be best for me to not use any products with cones. Then on the flip slide I didn't experience any product buildup with using my TJ conditioner so did it even matter? I am very generous with my conditioner and needed to find a silicone free one that was cheap enough for me to buy often. So... I found a few double checked the ingredients and made my way to my local grocery store. Imagine my surprise when I saw the VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberries & Cream conditioner on sale for only .79! This was one of the cheap silicone free conditioners that was on my list to try. I grabbed it and the next day I tried this conditioner out for the very first time. How was it to use a conditioner with no silicones?
Well, this conditioner smells like strawberries and had a light not over powering smell in my opinion. The consistency was very light and runny (watery) and the slip was super slippery just like my tresses needed! One thing I found very interesting is although this conditioner had a lot of slip I didn't notice it until it was applied all over my hair. Some conditioners you can feel the slip right away before application but this one wasn't slippery to the touch. I applied this conditioner all over sectioned off the very front section and began to detangle with my trusted comb in the back and imagine my surprise when it detangled my hair with ease better than my trusted TJ conditioner! This conditioner was full of slip and my comb easily glided through my hair making detangling a breeze for me even for my hard to detangle sections. I was more than impressed how something so cheap could be just as effective if not better than these expensive conditioners on the market. I rinsed out all my conditioner and I can't believe I am about to say this but this conditioner left my hair way softer than the TJ conditioner. =O Once I began styling my hair I did observe something quite interesting that my hair was not a lot but more frizzier than normal vs using my other TJ conditioner. I did read a lot of naturals express silicones help with keeping their frizz under control. In the end my results turned out beautifully once I applied all my other products and I was more than pleased with the results of this conditioner! Did I want frizz free hair or a silicone free lifestyle?
Funny how I thought the world was over because my conditioner contained a silicone or was it a blessing in disguise? As of now I plan to use the VO5 conditioner for a few weeks now and see what this silicone free life is really all about and how well my hair behaves over a period of weeks while being 100% silicone free. My main goal overall is healthy hair and scalp so I will be observing any changes or improvements I see. I was extremely impressed after only a few uses of this VO5 conditioner as it was inexpensive, full of slip, left my hair super moisturized, detangled with ease and my hair was so soft. The only con was the frizz factor... did it matter or was cones over frizz going to drive me back to my old faithful TJ conditioner? Time will only tell and I don't have an answer today but I will definitely be experimenting the next few weeks until I have reached my final decision. Have you experienced any results with frizz while going cone free? Or do cones keep your frizz at bay? Please share... ;)
Sally's Beauty Supply - NEW Sale
CVS - Select Shea Moisture or Nubian Heritage BOGO 50% off - 8/30 - 9/5
Houston Chronicle Paper - Shea Moisture Bath, Body, baby or Hair Product coupon - $2.00 off!
Many months later I happened to be watching an old video of a YouTuber who said that MY conditioner contained parabens... excuse me no it doesn't?! LOL So, I ran to grab my conditioner and I read each ingredient intensely looking for any parabens and imagine my surprise when I didn't see any parabens but did notice a silicone there! I was not only confused but you would have thought I lost my best friend. I then began to do so some research and found out that they changed their formula. The old formula did contain parabens and the new formula which I had in my possession removed the parabens and added a silicone. Wow! Funny thing is I never noticed any negative effects from using this conditioner as I never left it in but did use it to aid in detangling my hair. My hair loves the TJ Nourish Spa Conditioner and perhaps my hair loved cones?
I thought well here I am trying to follow the CG method and I am using a major no-no cone. I went back to the drawing board and did some research on silicones and why a lot of people didn't believe we should use them. Like I have stated before I have heard valid points on both sides. Silicones create a coating on the hair and scalp resulting in product build-up because they are often not water-soluble. There are silicones that were specially developed to be water-soluble and will not leave a build-up like other silicones. Main reason why clarifying shampoos are vital to those who do choose to cone it up. I would like to also point out some people don't experience any product build-up with any of the silicones. I believe I fall into this category as I have never noticed any product build-up on my hair since I returned natural. This is why I also recommend experimenting and seeing what works best for you and your hair type. So what did I decide to do and what were my result and conclusions?
I did more research and decided to experiment some to see what route did my hair benefit from the most? I did know that I preferred not to use any shampoo and co-wash mainly so probably would be best for me to not use any products with cones. Then on the flip slide I didn't experience any product buildup with using my TJ conditioner so did it even matter? I am very generous with my conditioner and needed to find a silicone free one that was cheap enough for me to buy often. So... I found a few double checked the ingredients and made my way to my local grocery store. Imagine my surprise when I saw the VO5 Moisture Milks Strawberries & Cream conditioner on sale for only .79! This was one of the cheap silicone free conditioners that was on my list to try. I grabbed it and the next day I tried this conditioner out for the very first time. How was it to use a conditioner with no silicones?
 |
| Close up back view |
Well, this conditioner smells like strawberries and had a light not over powering smell in my opinion. The consistency was very light and runny (watery) and the slip was super slippery just like my tresses needed! One thing I found very interesting is although this conditioner had a lot of slip I didn't notice it until it was applied all over my hair. Some conditioners you can feel the slip right away before application but this one wasn't slippery to the touch. I applied this conditioner all over sectioned off the very front section and began to detangle with my trusted comb in the back and imagine my surprise when it detangled my hair with ease better than my trusted TJ conditioner! This conditioner was full of slip and my comb easily glided through my hair making detangling a breeze for me even for my hard to detangle sections. I was more than impressed how something so cheap could be just as effective if not better than these expensive conditioners on the market. I rinsed out all my conditioner and I can't believe I am about to say this but this conditioner left my hair way softer than the TJ conditioner. =O Once I began styling my hair I did observe something quite interesting that my hair was not a lot but more frizzier than normal vs using my other TJ conditioner. I did read a lot of naturals express silicones help with keeping their frizz under control. In the end my results turned out beautifully once I applied all my other products and I was more than pleased with the results of this conditioner! Did I want frizz free hair or a silicone free lifestyle?
 |
| Close up front view |
Power Thought -I didn't let this oversight taint me from moving forward I just dusted myself off got back up and started fresh.
Today's Natural Hair Lingo
TWA =Teeny Weenie Afro
BC= Big Chop
DC = Deep Conditioner
Slip = How well a product aids with detangling/combing*Lifesaver*
Co-Wash = Cleansing conditioner
CAN = Calling All Naturals
TJ = Trader Joe's
TWA =Teeny Weenie Afro
BC= Big Chop
DC = Deep Conditioner
Slip = How well a product aids with detangling/combing*Lifesaver*
Co-Wash = Cleansing conditioner
CAN = Calling All Naturals
TJ = Trader Joe's
Weekly Natural Hair Care Deals
*$avings Alert*Sally's Beauty Supply - NEW Sale
CVS - Select Shea Moisture or Nubian Heritage BOGO 50% off - 8/30 - 9/5
Houston Chronicle Paper - Shea Moisture Bath, Body, baby or Hair Product coupon - $2.00 off!
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