Why Shea Butter & Silicones are NOT Off Limits for Natural Hair

A small sampling of my favorite products that contain shea butter and siliciones...

 Can I vent a lil' bit?

A few weeks ago (I know, I'm super late with it), I came across an Instagram post that rubbed me the absolute most wrong way. I won't screencap or quote the person here (because the Lord is working on me and I'm trying my hardest not to be petty), but the general idea behind it was this:

Silicones are bad. Shea butter is bad. They both dry your hair out and are bad. Don't use them.

:::rubs temples:::

The irony of this post calling out what is bad, is the fact that it, in and of itself is bad information. Funny, right?

I love blogging, and having done it since early 2012, I feel as though I've got a pretty good handle on most things natural hair related. I'm no guru, and I would never position myself as such. I didn't go to cosmetology school, and I would never pretend that I did. At most, I've got a firm grasp on Google, an inquisitive mind, and a few professional stylists I can bounce things off of.

I have a deep appreciation for the ingenuity and desire to help that most bloggers and YouTubers exude. That willingness to freely give of information, advice, and tips is what makes the natural hair community as a whole one of the most unique spaces online and in real life. But there are two things I am absolutely not here for: bad information and lies. We'll tackle fraudulence another time, for sake of staying on topic.

This rampant spread of misinformation thing? I hate it. It grinds my gears, gets my goat, runs me low, and bewilders me beyond measure. How do you, as a digital influencer not fact-check the information you disseminate, knowing the level of influence you have? To borrow from the logic of Luvvie, was Google broken that day? Could you not phone a friend?

I'm not talking about popular opinion, or even personal preference. I'm talking about knowingly presenting and spreading wrong information that is potentially damaging and hurtful. If said influencer had prefaced her statement with "For my hair," or "In my experience," I probably wouldn't be writing right now. But she didn't, and continued to stand by her statement even as others (myself included) presented information counter to her claims.

For your consideration:

Silicones

Eva NYC Hungry Hair Oil Treatment

The Beauty Brains have dedicated several articles to various topics regarding silicones and hair, including whether they build up on the hair, if they're bad, if they suffocate the hair, etc. I'd just like to go on record and say that it is impossible to suffocate your hair, because it is not a living, breathing organism. Beyond that, in this article The Beauty Brains explain that you cannot suffocate your hair with silicones because:

• Even if you don't remove all of the silicones from your hair via washing, there is no data that exists to suggest that silicones act as a barrier between the hair shaft and moisture. The obvious exception to this is dousing your hair in serum -- then the silicones have the same affect as dousing your hair in any natural oil.
• Even though hair does absorb water from the environment, the dryness of your hair is more impacted by damage and natural lipid barrier.
• Even if silicones did prohibit moisture from entering, it would function like any other sealant that naturalistas love -- coconut oil, shea butter, grapeseed oil, argan oil, apricot oil, the list goes on....

The Beauty Brains do raise one interesting point about whether silicones "wear off" or remain on the hair. We all know a little bit about water soluble cones, and silicones like cyclomethicone cyclopentasiloxane that serve their purpose and evaporate. They share that any shampoo will wash away silicones left behind from treatments and conditioners, but that co-washing will not be enough and could start to build up and weigh down the hair.

I've stressed the importance of the occasional shampoo several times, and their findings support that fact. The issues that silicones potentially cause in terms of build up are the same issues that any styling products, natural or not, will cause. Truly, there is no difference or adverse impact to the hair.

More on shampooing natural hair:
Clean Hair + Clean Scalp = Hair Growth
Why Shampoo Still Needs to be in Your Natural Hair Regimen

My favorite part of their article is the bottom line in which they state,

If you use a silicone containing product and you like the way it makes your hair look and feel, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! Don't feel guilty because some people tell you that it's bad for your hair. 

Shea Butter

Alaffia Shea Butter

 Thanks to this super helpful article on Black Girl with Long Hair, we know that shea butter is:

• Primarily composed of fatty acids
•  The high stearic and oleic acid content of shea butter makes it an excellent moisturizer but can't be used to replace lotions and conditioners because it's not spreadable and does not hydrate hair and skin. (Click here to learn the difference between moisture and hydration)

True enough, shea butter cannot hydrate the hair. It does not contain any water. Luckily for us, there are tons of different ways to reap the benefits of shea butter for natural hair. Many naturalistas use it 100% raw to seal in moisture. Others may go the DIY route and whip in aloe, carrier, and essential oils to create pomades and butter whips for sealing in moisture, defining twist outs, and more. And then there's folks like me who rely on the good people of Kyra's Shea Medleys, Alaffia, Shea Moisture, and others to create products using raw shea butter blended with other botanicals and hydrating ingredients.

Ultimately, the decision to use silicones or shea butter in your hair regimen is your decision. I personally use both, and it has not adversely impacted my hair. In fact, since I got my hair dyed last October, products containing silicones have been integral to helping keep my hair on my head and assisting in  leveling out the porosity issues that hair dye causes. Products containing shea butter, and in some cases raw shea butter has been super helpful in adding shine and maintaining softness in my hair that is prone to looking dull and dry on the parts that are colored.

But that's just me.

There's one last layer of ingredient shaming that rubs me the wrong way -- the fact that it comes across as looking down one's nose at naturals that do use those ingredients. Someone on the CG method isn't any better or more special than someone who isn't. The false sense of superiority and pretentiousness that comes along with ingredient shaming adds another highly unnecessary layer of false hierarchy in an arena that exists to support and uplift. To chastise a fellow natural based on their preference is unnecessary and a bit ridiculous.

Live and let live, yo.

Besides, I don't see Nap85 and her shea whips struggling.... nor do I see MoKnowsHair's tresses looking frazzled from silicones.

Are you a user of shea butter or silicones? What's your take on the ingredient shaming that seems to be  going on? Leave your comments after the "You Might Also Like" section!

from The Mane Objective http://ift.tt/1V0U1ER