It might be, you know.
Your hair might not even be fine, it just might be that a specific product is too weighty for you. (Same thing can happen with mascara. If you get drop down every day, switch to a lighter formula… curling or lengthening over volume-boosting, say.)
Often the reason for heaviness comes down to ingredients designed to do things like nourish dry hair, tame curls, or get rid of frizz. If you’ve ever used a deep conditioning mask for example, and then felt like your hair was lank and kind of dirty even though you’d just washed it, you know what I’m talking/writing about.
Oils (especially almond oil which slips into a lot of shampoo and conditioner these days, even Head and Shoulders uses it now for nourishment) are often to blame, but many attribute silicones as the culprit of this heaviness, although as a lass with REAL fine hair (in a literal sense, not a sassy street talking sense) but also hair that loves a frizz party, Silicones are a bloody dream for my hair. They give my hair obedience and make humidity buzz off. (Any fans of ye olde Frizz-Ease will know just how helpful silicones can be.)
Don’t be fooled into thinking silicones are The Bad Guys. Silicones are excellent for conditioning, thermal protection and the aforementioned frizz obedience, and as well as being in loads of shampoos and conditioners (supermarket and salon brands), are in a TONNE of styling products, from best-selling frizz tamers to smoothing and straightening balms to that Moroccan oil you love so much. (Look on the ingredients for those ending in ‘cone’ to see if you’re using silicones.)
My theory is use whatever you like, and your hair responds to. If that’s organic and sulphate free, great! Full of silicones, no problem! Expensive and salon only, terrific! Judging others on their hair care preference seems bizarre. We’re all just trying to snaffle a Good Hair Day and limit the time we spend styling our hair each time we wash it: AMIRITE?
As long as you use a clarifying shampoo once a week (we should ALL be doing this regardless – especially those of us who love a a bit of mousse, hairspray, sea salt spray, volume powder or dry shampoo etc) and a hair treatment that’s targeted to your hair’s needs, then there shouldn’t be any problems.
My natural hair with no styling product, just Pantene Beautiful Lengths shampoo and conditioner.
See? See why I like it?? No frizz! Obedient curls!
One brand that’s copped a lot of stick for using silicones is Pantene. A brand I am a proud ambassador for, and a big fan of. I like it because my hair behaves when I use Pantene. I have zero issue with their formulas, and knowing that I am likely to slap a styling product with silicones in it as soon as I dry my hair anyway, obviously don’t care about silicones in my shampoo and conditioners. I like the shine, I like the frizz fighting and detangling properties; it suits me just fine.
That said, I’m not against having slightly more… weightless hair. And now that I live in Melbourne, not Sydney (or should that be… Frizzney?!) (Zzzzing!) I have way less need for frizz taming qualities. The 4o degree dry heat is foul, but at least it’s not muggy. So, maybe I can try something sans silicone, I think. Just for a change. (And it’s good to switch up every once in a while, even if you revert back to your favourite before long.)
In a move that is oddly in sync with my geographical movements, Pantene just created a shampoo that’s silicone-free (and paraben and dye free) called Ice Shine. It’s a very thorough, lightweight shampoo that removes dirt and oil and build-up from your hair and leaves zero residue. If you’re a fine-haired doll, you will likely enjoy the effect very much. (There is also a conditioner and a treatment – both paraben and dye free, although not silicone free.) I like it when I need volume in my hair, or am creating a blow dry I need to last for as long as possible. (Several months, ideally.)
FYI: I generally only ever condition the mid-lengths to ends – no need for conditioning the roots if you have fine hair, regardless of whether you’re engaging a silicone-based conditioner or not.
Sound good? Do you want to try it?
(YES THAT’S THE SOUND OF A GIVEAWAY, SOMETHING I ALWAYS NEVER DO!)
Well you can. Pantene is so proud of Ice Shine’s fabulousness that they’ve given me 10 packs of Ice Shine to giveaway.
It’s real easy to win.
Follow @panteneANZ on Instagram and comment on their latest post featuring Ice Shine, telling us why you want to try it. The comp will be judged by myself and Pantene and entries close 9am Feb 17th.
Could not be more simple. And yes, emojis are welcome.
Hairdressers are going to *hate* this post- I’m always being told Pantene is the devil. But I agree, silicones are the only thing that tame my thick, heavy, frizzy hair
Lots of brands have silicones in their products. Especially mass hair care brands… Because it’s not a bad thing. Pantene just became the poster girl for hairdresser vitriol somehow and it stuck.
I agree! When ever I’m at the hair dressers and say I use pantene they always give me a dirty look! The wrong kind of dirty look! I love pantene, have used it for years, as has my mum, and we both have incredibly fine hair and it does damn wonders!
The Pantene ice shine sounds brilliant, but I’m always cautious of cleansing shampoos as my hair is died and always seems to lose colour quickly, am i in ganger of this if i switch from a ‘colour protective’ shampoo??!!
I have dyed red hair and I honestly don’t find all that much difference between colour-protective and regular shampoos. I tried sulfate free for a while because my hairdresser said that was safest for the colour, but I found that didn’t clean as thoroughly as I liked. I’m currently using s sulfate-containing colour-protective range (Joico K-Pak Color Therapy), and although it’s really helping my hair’s condition improve, as far as retaining the colour it’s no different to the Matrix moisturising range (also sulfates but not specifically colour-protecting) I was using previously.
Can you reccomend a clarifying shampoo? I think I need a whole lot of build up clearing.
Also, we are nearly half way through February, when do we get to order your new products? I want to get my hands on ALL of it!
I really like Kevin Murphy’s maxi wash. It’s a bit exxy ($32), but it lasts me the best part of a year. It smells herbal & tough, in a really good way.
Thanks Stephie and Kirsty
am useing Redkin Nature Rescue..sulphate free..love Kvin Murphy stuff though!!…have also used KMS and Schwarzkof which i thought was ok
ohh sorry…this was meant to sit under Gillian’s question…
I’ve always been told Pantene is evil so this is good news! Would be interesting to see how my hair reacts to this stuff..
that is enough for me to never look at your site again…
THIS.
douche.
Zoe, I realise I will sound like everyone’s mum when I say this, but your natural curls are lovely! Also, that wallpaper really suits your eyes. That’s more a nutty aunty thing to say.
Been using this the past week and I love it, I have similar hair to Zoe but more thick..my hair feels so soft 🙂
I agree with Lady. Sorry Zoe but there is just so much wrong with this post, you’ve lost me!
Why? Silicones are in many products. From budget to top end. You are welcome to choose your organic everything free products if you feel the need to avoid them.
Just because something doesn’t work for you, doesn’t mean it can’t work for others.
I think the problem is that this “article” is just a thinly veiled Pantene ad.
I do agree that the majority of the post reads as a Patene infomercial disguised as a love letter to silicones, but I still have faith Zoe has some great advice. I am choosing to sift through the post and only take away the part where she mentions almond oil can cause heaviness and that I need a clarifying shampoo.
I second that..keep up the good work zoe..look forward to more and your new range..
Hi Zoe,
Is there a good clarifying shampoo that you could recommend that is gentle on coloured hair and won’t cause it fade?
Sorry Zoe – I normally love your posts and your engaging writing. However I am very disappointed by this article. There is plenty of information out there on how the particular type of silicone found in Pantene products damages your hair. I would have liked to see you actually engage with that evidence, rather than simply brushing it off.
Unfortunately I think that these kinds of posts will, in the long run, damage your credibility as a trusted beauty product writer. Please give your readers more credit.
I have been using this for the last month and a half and i loveee it!
I have micro-bead extensions aswell so this is a god sent for me because its parben free!
I also just found your blog on blog loving 🙂 i loveeeeeee it!
HI Zoe, I really enjoy reading your posts, they always seem well informed, can I ask though whether you receive some kind of remuneration from Pantene?
thank you x
Love this post and the new Pantene range sounds right up my alley. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I just went to a fancy hairdressers on the weekend which used CLARIFYING SHAMPOO… what is this magic? Do you suggest any brands? Why have I never heard of this?? Madnesssss 🙂
My hairdresser was sending me home with KMS & Goldwell products….I. HATE. THEM. My hair felt weighed down, and not clean, yet somehow still stripped?
I’ve ended up buying a bunch of Aveda products and the change in my hair has been amazing! It stays clean for longer, and is soft and lush. I’ve found that SLS-free/silicon-free stuff just seems to work better for me. Other brands I have used and loved were Pureology (a Redken brand) and Pure.
But I’m so afraid to tell him. He hates natural/organic stuff!
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