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.

• 
  
• 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

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.

Nikki has super healthy hair. Click an Image for her regimen.

You know from my blog on The Advantages and Disadvantages of Silicones that silicones have some great benefits. However, some silicones do not wash off without shampoo so if you are on a co-wash regime you need to avoid them.

• Water-soluble silicones are okay to use on a co-wash only regimen, avoid the rest.
  
• Slightly soluble silicones don't actually dissolve but they mostly evaporate from hair with the rest washed out by shampoo so they won't build up as badly as non-soluble silicones on a co-wash regimen. If use a gentle sulfate-free shampoo you should be able to use both these and the water-soluble silicones. I would personally avoid these on a co-wash regimen to be on the safe side but if you want, try the product that contains slightly soluble silicones and if it's well for you continue using it.
  
• Non-soluble silicones do not dissolve in water. Only use these if you use sulfate shampoos or the stronger sulfate-free shampoos. As a rule of thumb I would say that If your sulfate-free shampoo does not foam up it is too weak for non-soluble silicones.

Water-soluble (Will not buildup on hair; can be washed out with just water)

1. Dimethicone copolyol
   
2. Hydrolyzed wheat protein (hydroxypropyl polysiloxane)
   
3. Lauryl methicone copolyol
   
4. Silicones with PEG listed before it
   

Slightly soluble / evaporate from hair (May buildup in hair; can usually be co-washed out)

1. Amodimethicone
2. Behenoxy dimethicone
3. Cyclohexasiloxane 
   
4. Cyclomethicone
5. Cyclotetrasiloxane
6. Stearoxy dimethicone
   

Not water-soluble (Will buildup in hair and need a sulfate shampoo to be washed out)

1. Cetearyl methicone
2. Cetyl dimethicone
   
3. Cyclopentasiloxane
   
4. Dimethicone
   
5. Dimethiconol
   
6. Phenyl Trimethicone
   
7. Stearyl dimethicone
   
8. Trimethylsilylamodimethicone

​You might also like:

• What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Silicones To Natural Hair?
• Why Isn't Your Natural Hair Looking Shiny?

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.

Many silicones have fabulous benefits to hair, that is why they are found in so many products. However, if you co-wash only or use VERY gentle sulfate-free shampoos you need to be careful: some silicones need a strong shampoo to be washed out. 

If you keep using a product with non-soluble silicones (silicones that don't dissolve in water) in it whilst you're on a co-wash only regime they build up on your hair leading to dry, dull hair that is difficult to manage.

This means that you need to avoid products with those silicones and to only use water-soluble silicones.

Water-soluble silicones will not build up on hair because they can be washed out with just water. The most common water-soluble silicones are:

1. Dimethicone copolyol
   
2. Hydrolyzed wheat protein (hydroxypropyl polysiloxane)
   
3. Lauryl methicone copolyol
   
4. Silicones with PEG listed before it
   

If you want to know which silicones you need to avoid read:

• Water-soluble vs. Non-soluble Silicones Found in Hair Products

​You might also like:

• What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Silicones To Natural Hair?
• Why Isn't Your Natural Hair Looking Shiny?

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.

You would be totally forgiven for believing that all silicones are horrendous for natural hair. That, like most blanket statements, is simply not true. In this blog I share with you the benefits that silicones can have on hair as well as their disadvantages.

Benefits of silicones to natural hair

Silicones are beneficial to hair because they:

• Boost shine thereby giving the appearance of healthy glowing hair
  
• Reduce frizz by coating the hair strand and making it appear smoother and more shiny
  
• Help to seal in moisture
  
• Help to add volume to hair by coating the hair strand and giving it more weight
  
• Soften hair
  
• Light, evaporating silicones help nutrients enter the hair shaft
  
• Coat and lubricate the hair shaft making it easier to comb and detangle hair
  
• Dimethicone-containing serums offer excellent protection when you are heat-styling BUT as I explain below the are not water-soluble and should only be used in exceptional circumstances
  

Silicones are found in many hair care products including shampoos, conditioners and hair gels. The degree to which a product can perform the above functions depends on the specific silicones in it, their concentration and the state of your hair.

Disadvantage of silicones

• Heavier weight silicones weigh hair down
  
• Build-up of non-soluble silicones can cause long-term damage to hair. 

o   How? 
If you only ever co-wash or use very gentle sulfate-free shampoos these silicones build up on your hair. That coat of silicones prevents moisture, good oils, minerals and proteins from entering the hair shaft leading to drier hair that breaks. So if you only co-wash you need to look for products that only contain water-soluble silicones.

• Make some hair types appear greasy. This will tend to only be a problem for straight or slightly wavy hair not for other hair types like our kinks and curls.

​You might also like:

• Why Isn't Your Natural Hair Looking Shiny?
• What Are The Best Silicones For People On A Co-Wash Regime?
• Water-Soluble Vs. Non-Soluble Silicones Found In Hair Products

Get your FREE ebook on How To Grow Long, Healthy Natural Kinky or Curly Hair.