The Scoop on "cones"

I have been reading that silicones are often listed in hair care products under some form of "cone". I have also read that they can really damage your hair and the higher up on the list, the more silicones are in the product.I have also heard that Pantene has a heavy concentration of silicone in all their products. Is this true?What is the scoop on silicone. Good or bad?Carolyn

> Carolyn,I won't profess to be any sort of chemical expert on the subject, but from what I have read, silicones just coat the hair strand so that it stays flat, but actually dry it out so that if you don't use the silicon-based product, it's twice as frizzy.I'm sure Pantene has lots of silicone, because it totally weighs down my hair. I have naturally curly, fine but thick hair, and if I use Pantene, it totally kills all the curl. Sure, it's not frizzy, but it's dead flat (you will notice that you will never see a model with curly hair in a Pantene commercial). Now, for anyone who might know--I wonder about some of the Loreal products, like Hydra-vive and their new Daily Defense line. These products give my hair a really soft, slippery feel after I rinse it. Is that a misleading thing, like from silicone, or is it a result of the protein in it or what? Anybody know?

> I have been reading that silicones are often> listed in hair care products under some form of> "cone". I have also read that they can> really damage your hair and the higher up on the> list, the more silicones are in the product.I'll try to address these, but it will be out of order - I'll take the simplest question first. Yes, the higher up on the list, the more of a compound is in the product, at least in the US. Labels on food and on personal care products such as shampoos and conditioners are listed in descending order.Yes, silicones generally end in "cone", but don't mistake things ending in "one", some of which are good - for example, "thiazolinones" which have antioxidant properties, which help prevent the shampoo from breaking down over time and exposure to air.Whether or not they are bad for your hair is an issue that has different viewpoints. Personally, I don't like the effects of too much silicone, but a tiny little bit seems to do fine for me - Aveda products generally don't have much, and they do well, but I've tried products with more, and they irritate my scalp. On the other hand, I know people who swear by them.Silicones are intended to coat the hair, smoothing it down. There are different types, with different properties - some wash out more easily than others, some last longer than others, etc. As with most hair products, experimentation is the only way to know for sure what will work for you.> I have also heard that Pantene has a heavy> concentration of silicone in all their products.> Is this true?I've never tried Pantene. Some of my friends like it a lot, but their hair is very different from mine. The only person I know with hair like mine who tried it hated it. (I have a lot of fine, fragile hair which is pretty straight and tends to be dry.)> What is the scoop on silicone. Good or bad?I've heard more bad than good about silicones, but some people really love them. I avoid them, not least because they tend to irritate my scalp.Laura Jane lswanson@sunflower.bio.indiana.edu (Sorry to take so long responding - I've had an incredible week. First my parents came to visit, and then things in the lab went crazy...)