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.