Why Isn't Your Natural Hair Looking Shiny?

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The shininess of hair is determined by the way light reflects off of hair strands. Your hair type has an impact on the way this reflection works. 

• Straighter hair reflects light better than wavy, kinky, curly and coily hair types.

• In addition, however, a build up of product on the hair cuticle reduces shine. 
  

Some products that are in conditioners (both leave-in and rinse-off) are designed to be washed off during your next shampoo. So, if you are on a co-wash only regime or only ever use weaker, sulfate-free shampoos you need to be careful about the ingredients in your hair products.

If the shampoo is too weak some ingredients in your products simply won't wash off and they will accumulate on your strands with each successive application of your conditioner.

If you like your shampoo but know it's weak use a stronger one every 4 weeks to remove build up.

Now, this doesn't mean those chemicals are bad at all but that you have exceeded the amount that should be on your hair strand for them to give you their good benefits. 

A good example is silicones. Silicones actually have great benefits for hair, e.g. detangling, reducing frizz and boosting shine but some silicones can wash away with water while others will only wash off with a sufficiently strong shampoo. If you co-wash only you definitely need to know which silicones will wash off and which one will not so that you can avoid silicones that don't dissolve without a shampoo.

Why not just stop using all products with silicones?

You could absolutely do this but this would mean you also miss out on their benefits, especially their function as detangler, y'all know how tangled our curls get. Personally, I think the best solution is to improve your knowledge of silicones. Check out the following blogs.

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• What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Silicones To Natural Hair?
• What Are The Best Silicones For People On A Co-Wash Regime?
• Water-Soluble Vs. Non-Soluble Silicones Found In Hair Products

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