How To Remove Silicone From Your Hair

If you’re reading this, you already know why silicone can be bad for your hair, and you’re ready to say goodbye to any hair care products that feature this pesky ingredient, right?

Here’s a quick refresher of why you should be avoiding silicones when it comes to hair care. Heavy silicone can act as a sealant to the hair strand, blocking water from getting in. This is great when you want a quick fix for frizz, but not so great when you’re trying to infuse your hair with moisture, nutrients, and free it from dirt and buildup.

Considering silicone used to be included in almost every hair product under the sun, it’s safe to say your cupboard—and your hair—isn’t totally free from this slippery ingredient.

Why You Should Remove Silicone From Your Hair

Don’t worry: we’ll teach you how to remove silicone from your hair routine. But first, let us explain why you should.

Heavy silicones can deposit on your hair and scalp and don’t rinse away when you wash your hair. Not only do they not rinse away, leaving your scalp and hair with a heavy, greasy coating over time, but they also make it difficult for water and conditioning ingredients to penetrate your hair shaft.‌

This leads to a plethora of problems. The first is buildup. That’s what happens when your hair shaft is coated with layer upon layer of silicone from continued use of silicone-containing hair care products. No matter how much you wash your hair, it still feels heavy and greasy. Hair with silicone buildup will look limp, dull, and dirty.

This leads to problem #2: overwashing. When our hair feels greasy or dirty, what do we do? Wash it. The more we wash, the more damage we can cause, especially if we’re using a silicone or harsh sulfate shampoo, which contributes to the problem. Overwashing causes friction and dryness, which can lead to damage and breakage.

No, thank you.

We’ll show you how to get rid of silicone buildup on hair, so you can experience hair that is weightless, clean, smooth, and shiny once again.

If you’re used to shopping the shelves for your hair care, silicone is a tricky thing to escape. In fact, when we analyzed hundreds of hair products in our lab, silicone was one of the most prevalent.

You can remove silicone buildup from your hair in a few ways and start experiencing visibly healthy hair stat. 

3 Ways to Remove Silicone Buildup from Your Hair

You can remove silicone buildup from your hair in a few ways and start experiencing visibly healthy hair stat.

1. Use a Detox Shampoo

We get it. No matter your hair type, bad hair days are all-too-common when silicones are a regular part of your routine. If you’re ready to get rid of buildup ASAP, we have solution for you.

You can speed up the process of removing buildup with a detox shampoo. Our Clarifying Detox Shampoo is silicone-free and just what you’ll need. It contains a highly-charged anionic polymer to remove product buildup from your hair in a gentle, effective, and thorough way. After just one wash, you’ll experience soft, shiny, healthy hair and a fresh, clean, revitalized scalp. ‌We also recommend pairing your detox shampoo with a weekly dry scalp treatment to help calm any lasting irritation caused by product buildup.

2. Detox with Silicone-Free Products

With the right silicone-free products on hand, created to help your hair function at its best, you can begin to rid your hair of silicone residue. Any of Living Proof’s shampoo which is a silicone and sulfate free shampoo, will get the job done, but it won’t happen overnight. ‌

While you’ll notice softer and less weighed down hair right away, it may take up to five washes for your hair to adjust to the detox from silicone. This can be a slow-go, but trust us, over time your silicone-free shampoo will take care of the silicone residue and leave you with visibly healthier hair.

Find our hair products online, take the five-wash challenge, and circle back with your results. We guarantee they’re going to be good.

3. Vinegar Rinse

If you want a simple home remedy, there are a few ways to remove silicone buildup from hair naturally, the most popular of which is an apple cider vinegar rinse. Simply mix apple cider vinegar with equal parts water and let it sit on your hair for a minute or two after shampooing, then rinse.

However, while ACV can be effective at removing some kinds of buildup, this natural hair care remedy is not always effective against tough-to-remove silicones. It’s worth a shot if it’s the only thing you’ve got at home, but the best option is to use a product that’s actually meant for hair and formulated to help remove buildup.‌

Stay away from those silicones, and you can keep this look and feel for good.