Page 9 - Silicone & Sulphates

Silicone-
Free
better?
Currently, the industry is using Cationic Polymers such as Polyquaternium-4 or Polyquaternium-10 to achieve similar results to silicones. However, they don't have as many benefits as silicones. What they do have, on the other hand, is the exact same downsides.
These polymers tightly grip your hair and don't rinse off easily, leaving residual buildup on your hair. They're in almost all conditioners, and especially in silicone-free products. But not
only that, the ingredient is more expensive and you require more of it to get the benefits. So when you opt away from silicones and opt into silicone-free, you are paying more for something less effective while exposing yourself to the
exact same risks as silicone products. The worst part of all? Not even sulfates can remove them once they've built up on the strand. They require harsher and more alkaline detergents to remove.
This leads us to one of the age old problems in the hair care industry. Consumers want damage free, non-toxic products but the industry responds by removing the demonized ingredient and replacing it with a much less efficient or a more harmful alternative.
Is
Given the downsides of silicones and their potential for misuse, we've seen the rise of silicone-free products. The question now is, what ingredients are taking silicone's place in our silicone-free hair care products?
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