Guide to

SILICONES &
SULPHATES

The Official Workbook of

Contents

05
What are silicones?

12
How to Use Silicones
to Your Advantage

19
What Are Sulphates?
Welcome to the Guide
for Silicones & Sulfates
Silicones and sulfates have been demonized heavily over the
past few decades for their drying effects on the hair. However, the
negative effects of these ingredients often have little to do with
the ingredient itself, and more to do with how we misuse them.

Imagine you bought a new pair of high-heeled shoes. They look

great and they even feel comfortable. So now you decide to wear
them out to meet a friend. Unexpectedly, your friend decides she
wants to go for a jog. You tell yourself it'll be fine because these
shoes are great and comfortable. So you go for that jog and
you come home with a sprained ankle. In this scenario, does this
incident mean that your comfortable high-heels are a bad pair
of shoes? Or did you just use them for the wrong purpose?

This guide is designed to help you understand the different uses

for silicones and sulfates so you can harness all of the wonderful
benefits they offer while reducing the risks that come from their
misuse.
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Thank you for understanding!

What are
silicones?
...and why Silicones are a group

do we use
of inorganic materials
consisting of atoms of

them?
silicon (a mineral sand
element) and oxygen. Most
silicones can be generally
recognized by names ending
in “-cone” or “-oxane.”

Silicones have an
exceptional breadth of
chemical and physical
properties. They are
highly resistant to high
and low temperatures,
resist degradation by UV
rays, repel water, and
exhibit a range of other
characteristics. Objects
made with silicones or
that have silicones applied
to them take on these
important properties.

6
Advantages of
Silicones in
Haircare
 Coats and lubricates the hair shaft
making hair easier to comb and
detangle

 Excellent protection from heat-styling

and UV radiation

 Seals in moisture to prevent dryness

 Reflects light giving hair a shiny

appearance

 Reduces frizz and adds definition

to curls

 Softens and smooths the cuticle and

adds manageability to unruly hair

7
Disadvantages
of Silicones:
The downside to using silicones is their
complicated and extensive nature. They
come in many forms with many different
properties. It's easy to misuse them and this
results in adverse effects such as:

 Limpness from using

heavy silicones

 Build-up of non-soluble
silicones resulting in
dryness and greasiness

8
 Is Given the downsides of silicones and their
potential for misuse, we've seen the rise of

Silicone- silicone-free products. The question now is, what

ingredients are taking silicone's place in our

Free silicone-free hair care products?

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.

9
 Water
soluble vs
non-soluble
Silicones used in haircare have a special property
called solubility. Silicones that are water-soluble will
dissolve and rinse away with water. These silicones
are easy to use, easy to wash out and are a great
way to condition your hair between washes.

On the other hand, silicones that are non-soluble will

not dissolve in water so they require a detergent to
remove them from the hair strand. Sulfate shampoos
have been shown to effectively remove these types of
silicones from the strand.

10
Build
There's another property that haircare
enthusiasts need to be aware of in order

up
to effectively use silicones: build up! This
is the most common drawback and the

or no
strongest case against using silicones in
the first place.

build Due to the negative reputation silicones

up
have gained over the past few decades,
we often miss out on hearing a very
useful truth about them. Some types
of silicones have the ability to repel
any material that is applied over it.
This means that if you were to apply
silicones to your hair, the previous layer
will repel any additional layers, making it
impossible to build up.

However, there are silicones that don't

have this property and will build up and
build up until removed with the right
detergent.

11
How to Use
Silicones
to Your
Advantage
Leveraging
Silicones
for Better To achieve your absolute best
hair and gain full control

Hair over your hair results, it’s

important to be aware of
the unique properties of
individual silicones. By
understanding the strengths
and weaknesses of each
silicone, you can harness
the incredible benefits while
mitigating any negative side
effects from misusing them.

Over the next few pages,

we'll dive into the different
groups of silicones described
in today's Video Mission.
Feel free to refer to the list
when shopping around for
products with silicones you’d
like to incorporate into your
routine.

13
No-Go
Silicones
These silicones are the ones that gave
all silicones their bad reputation. Their
downsides outweigh their upsides and
must be avoided completely.

The seal they create around the hair

strand is remarkably strong which
means they’re also remarkably difficult
to remove. In most cases, you'll need
to cleanse multiple times in order to
remove completely. Without removal,
moisture can be blocked out of the
hair shaft, resulting in dry strands and
potential breakage. They will also build
up with repeated use.

14
 Behenoxy dimethicone
Bis-Phenylpropyl Dimethicone
Cetearyl methicone
Cetyl dimethicone
Dimethiconol hydroxystearate
Polysilicone-18 Cetyl Phosphate
Propyl Dimethicone
Stearoxy dimethicone
Stearyl dimethicone
Stearyl methicone
Trimethylsiylamodimethicone
No-Go Silicones

Aminopropyl Dimethicone
(only in the presence of a cationic ingredient)
Aminopropyltriethoxysilane
(only in the presence of a cationic ingredient)

Cationic ingredients can

be identified by ending
in "bromide" or "chloride"
or as polyquaternium

15
Airy
Silicones
These silicones are completely
harmless to your hair. They will
completely evaporate from your
hair after 10 minutes to a few
hours after application. You don't
have to worry about build up or
moisture loss. They’re mostly used
as delivery systems for other
ingredients, as they distribute
into a thin, uniform film and
help other ingredients spread
nice and evenly onto the strand.
Unlike drying alcohols which also
evaporate, these Airy Silicones
won’t zap off moisture from your
hair. You don’t have much to
worry about when using these
silicones.

Cyclomethicone
Cyclo-....-siloxane ingredients
Decamethylcyclotetrasiloxane
Hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane
Hexamethyldisiloxane
Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane

16
 Easy to Remove
Silicones
These silicones don’t evaporate, so they are useful as
conditioning agents to get smoother and softer hair
with less frizz. They also protect hair from UV radiation,
heat styling, and humidity and spread out evenly.
They wash out with sulfate-free shampoos and can
even rinse out with conditioner or oils. However, there
are a few risks to using Friendly Silicones. They have
the potential to block out moisture from the hair if you
don't wash your hair often. So if you use these silicones,
be sure to wash your hair within 4 days.

Cationic ingredients Dimethicone

can be identified by Dimethicone copolyol
ending in "bromide" Dimethiconol
or "chloride" or as Diphenyl Dimethicone
polyquaternium Disiloxane
ingredients. Hydroxypropyl Polysiloxane
Lauryl methicone copolyol
Methicone with PEG/PPG in the name
(unless in the presence of a cationic ingredient then Resilient Silicone)

Dimethicone with PEG/PPG in the name

(unless in the presence of a cationic ingredient then Resilient Silicone)

Phenyltrimethicone
Silica
Silicone resin
Siloxysilicates
(i.e. ingredients that end with the word Siloxysilicate)

Silsequioxanes
Trisiloxane

17
Resilient These silicones provide all of the excellent protective
properties we've mentioned earlier, plus they don't

Silicones build up on the strand! However, they are non-

soluble and require a sulfate to remove. If you have
very damaged hair or heat style a lot, feel free to try
leave-in treatments that feature any of the silicones
listed below. Just make sure you apply them as
the last step of your routine. Due to the way they
attach to your strand, any product containing any
of these silicones needs to be the last step of your
routine. They’ll repel anything else you’d apply on
top otherwise. If you learn to use these silicones
correctly, you can take full advantage of their truly
exceptional conditioning abilities.

Cationic ingredients Aminopropyl Dimethicone

can be identified by (unless in the presence of a cationic ingredient then No-Go

ending in "bromide" Silicone)

or "chloride" or as Aminopropyltriethoxysilane
polyquaternium (unless in the presence of a cationic ingredient then No-Go

ingredients. Silicone)

Amodimethicone
Anything ending in -dimethylsiloxane
(only in the presence of a cationic ingredient)

Bis-aminopropyl Dimethicone Dimethicone

crosspolymer
Methicone with PEG/PPG in the name
(only in the presence of a cationic ingredient)

Dimethicone with PEG/PPG in the name

(only in the presence of a cationic ingredient)

Vinyldimethicone Crosspolymer

18
What Are
Sulphates?
 Sulfates are Sulfates are a class of organic

used to break
compounds that are formally
esters derived from alcohols

the surface and sulfuric acid. Many sulfate

tension of water
esters are used in detergents,
and commonly used in liquid

which creates a detergents, from shampoo to

lathering effect
body wash to dish soap.

to remove oil The 4 main sulfates found in

and dirt from

shampoos are sodium laureth
sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate,

your hair. sodium stearate and disodium

laureth sulfosuccinate.

Sulfates are used to break the

surface tension of water which
creates a lathering effect to
remove oil and dirt from your hair.
Compared to other cleansing
ingredients in shampoo, sulfates
have very high efficacy and have
demonstrated the most effective
cleaning ability among other
surfactants.

20
Pros and cons
Sulfates aren’t inherently terrible, but they do come with
their upsides and downsides. Here are the pros and
cons at a glance so you can make an informed decision
for yourself.

Lather well and provide a 

Pros

thorough clean

A single wash is usually 

enough to remove most to all
oil and product residue

More effective in alleviating 

dandruff compared to sulfate
free options

 Strips away hair’s natural oils

Able to remove silicones that 
aren’t water-soluble
 Can cause irritation for
sensitive scalps

 Lifts away colour from

colour-treated hair
Cons

 Overuse causes cuticle

damage

21
 How
to use High Strength Sulphates

Sulphates  High efficacy

 Can be irritating
These detergents
remove silicones alone Best used to remove Resilient
or (for the milder ones) Silicones.
in combination with
others. Sodium lauryl sulfate
Ammonium lauryl sulfate
Sodium laureth sulfate
Ammonium laureth sulfate
Sodium Myreth Sulfate
TEA Lauryl Sulfate

Mild Sulphates

 Mild compared to the same dosage of

high strength sulfates and less irritating
 Lower efficacy, might require multiple
applications to remove product residue

Best used to remove Friendly Silicones

and Resilient Silicones.

Ethyl PEG-15 Cocamine Sulfate

Sodium coco sulfate

22
Apply the following
principles when
using sulphates:
1. Use them once or twice a month to
reset your hair and scalp.

2. Use different products for different use

cases. For example homemade/sulfate-
free for a normal wash and sulfate for
removing build-up.

3. Dilute your shampoo with water to

bring down the sulfate concentration.
It will still be just as effective.

4. Ensure your sulfate shampoo does not

include blacklisted ingredients. Please
see the Blacklist for more information.

23
Is Sulphate-free a
Good or Bad thing?

There is no research showing that

sulfate-free shampoos are any
gentler than sulfate-containing
shampoos, or that they leave more
natural oils.

Sulfates are effective and safe when

used as directed and in moderation.
It always depends on your hair
profile and how you use them.

Brands use sulfate-free for selling

more products, however, the
surfactants used are just as harsh
as sulfates. For example, C14-16
olefin sulfonate has been shown to
remove No-Go Silicones and are just
as harsh as sulfates.

24
How to use
Sulphate-free
Surfactants
A harsh shampoo is not
as much defined by its
individual ingredient but by
its concentration. A shampoo
that contains 99% of a “mild”
detergent is still going to be
harsh. The dosage is what
makes the poison and that’s
one of the reasons why finding
the right shampoo is so
difficult. A more reliable way
is to understand the various
sulfates and surfactants and
how to use them effectively.

25
 High Strength Sulfate-Free
Surfactants

 High efficacy
 Effective alternative for people allergic
to sulphates
 Can be irritating

Treat these exactly as harsh as sulfates

and avoid them when looking for a regular
sulfate-free shampoo. Best used for
removing Resilient Silicones.

C14-16 Olefin sulfonate or Sodium C14-16

Olefin sulfonate
Sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate

Mild Sulphate-Free Surfactants

 Mild compared to the same dosage of a harsh detergent and less irritating
 Lower efficacy and might require multiple applications to remove product residue

Best used to remove Friendly Silicones and as your regularly mild shampoo.

Sodium cocoyl isethionate

Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
Sodium lauroyl glutamate
Sodium cocoyl glutamate
Sodium lauroyl Sarcosinate
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
Coco Glucoside
Decyl Glucoside
Lauryl Glucoside

26
Additional notes...

27
Good work,
challenger.