Why do Asian people's hair become dry and hard to comb out when they wash silicone-free shampoo?

The popular "silicone-free" care myth in Europe and the U.S. has been debunked, but in fact, your coarse, hard hair may need the protection of silicone more than anything else.

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Why is it that Asian hair is so dry and hard to comb out after washing silicone-free shampoo?

Shop the shampoo section at Target or Sephora in the U.S., and you'll find the shelves almost exclusively labeled with the words "The Shampoo".Sulfate-Free(Sulfate-free)" or "Silicone-Free（The label "Silicone-Free". Being the Asian people we are, we grabbed a few bottles of the most beautifully packaged and natural looking products and tried them out at home.

After washing, tragedy struck.

Obviously that bottle of shampoo in the Internet rating of five stars, the American blogger said that after washing "light and smooth", but your hair after washing is like a bundle of sun-dried straw, not only dry to the hair, comb comb down directly stuck in the middle of the road, and a forceful tugging and even a number of broken. At this point you must be thinking: "Is it the wrong way to wash my hair? Or did I buy a fake?

Actually, it's not really your problem. The problem is that those "silicone-free" blonde standards designed for fine, soft hair in Europe and America can sometimes be a recipe for disaster when it comes to the coarse, hard hair structure that characterizes Asians.

Why is the problem of "silicone-free" especially common in Asians?

In the past few years, "Silicon Souls (SiliconeIt has been demonized to the point where it seems that if you use it, your scalp will become clogged with pores and your hair will fall out. Many of our Asian friends who live overseas are limited by the information available in local stores and naturally choose products that claim to be natural and pure.

But have you ever noticed that those who say "silicone-free wash and go" usually have thin, limp hair, or have never permed or colored their hair at all? For them, the burden of silicone does flatten their hair, but for Asians, most of us have naturally "stiff" hair. When you throw these hard-tempered hairs into an environment with no moisturizing protection at all, they start to rub against each other, get static electricity, and end up as a mess.

Why is this condition so often misunderstood?

The biggest misconception about silicone is that it is a "chemical toxin". But from a stylist's point of view, silicone is more like an "artificial sebum film". European-American hair is usually smaller in diameter (mostly limp hair), and the oils secreted by their scalp can easily slide down the hair shaft to the ends, so they don't necessarily need extra silicone to help moisturize. However, Asian hair is on average 1.5 to 2 times thicker than European hair and has a very rounded cross-section, which means that our hair is very "hard" and "weighty".

When you use silicone-free shampoo, it washes away the grease but doesn't provide enough lubrication, and the thick cuticles of Asian hair act like ungreased gears, squeaking and even fighting with each other. It's not that shampoo is bad, it's that it "can't protect" your coarse, hard hair.

The real reason why Asians have structural problems with their hair.

To understand why Asians sometimes need silicone, we have to look at the microscopic structure of the hair.

1. Asians have thicker and more stratum corneum.

We have more layers of epidermis (or scales) than Caucasians. Although this makes our hair look darker and stronger, once these scales open up due to the friction of shampooing, if there is nothing to "flatten" or "fill in" them, they will hook up with each other like the scales of a fish that has opened up. The role of silica is to fill the gaps between these scales and make them flat again.

2. Cylindrical core with great flexibility

Asian hair has a very developed cortex, which makes it flexible, but also makes it stubborn when it dries. If you wash your hair and don't give it some "weight" to hold down the frizz, it will be affected by the humidity in the air and turn into a lion that explodes.

3. high friction coefficient of hairy scales

Studies have shown that Asian hair has higher friction when wet than European and American hair. If you've washed your grease out with silicone-free shampoo, the friction of your fingertips during rinsing and the friction of towel pressure can be enough to damage your scales.

The most common mistake most people make when dealing with this issue

When people realize that their hair is dry after washing, their first instinct is usually to say, "Then I'll put on more conditioner."

But here's the kicker: If you buy a conditioner or a hair mask that is also formulated to be "pure and silicone-free", then no matter how much you put on it, it won't be able to provide that "protective film" that instantly lets your hair slide open. You'll find that your hair is still tangled, and you'll end up pulling it with more force in order to detangle it, resulting in mechanical physical damage, which is why many people feel that their hair breakage has gotten worse after switching to silicone-free products.

Another mistake is "over-cleaning". Although Asian scalp is prone to oiliness, hair is afraid of dryness. In order to pursue "absolute dryness" of the scalp, many people choose silicone-free oil-control shampoos with strong cleansing power, resulting in a comfortable scalp but dead hair.

Adjustment direction and maintenance logic more suitable for Asian people.

I am not saying that Silicon Spirit is absolutely good, but we have to learn to "treat each other differently".

• Fresh scalp.: You can opt for silicone-free shampoos that are specifically designed to clean the scalp and ensure that pores aren't covered with excess buildup.
• Protect your hair.: For hair below the ear, Asians (especially those with permed or long hair) have a strong need for high quality silicone (e.g., Silicone). Dimethicone 或 Cyclomethicone) hair moisturizer or conditioner.

It's just like your face, you don't stop using moisturizers just because you're worried about clogged pores, you choose to "wash your face and moisturize it". The same goes for your hair. Wash your scalp and moisturize your hair, which is the key to keeping coarse, hard Asian hair free of tangles.

Why is this problem more pronounced if you live in the U.S. or overseas?

Many of my friends have complained to me that after washing their hair in Taiwan, they moved to the United States (especially California or the East Coast) and their hair became dry and stringy. This is not only related to silicone, but there are two other aggravating factors:

1. Hard water: Much of the U.S. has hard water, where calcium and magnesium ions combine with shampoo ingredients to form "soap scum" that gets stuck in your hair scales. Without silicone to provide smoothness, that soap scum can leave your hair as rough as sandpaper.
2. Extremely low humidity: Overseas rooms are usually heated or air-conditioned and the air is extremely dry. Asian coarse hard hair is already losing moisture quickly, without the silica layer of water retention barrier, the moisture will evaporate directly into the air, making your hair so brittle that it breaks at the slightest push.

Understanding your own idiosyncrasies is more important than chasing fads

"Silicone-free" is a good business slogan, which reflects people's pursuit of naturalness and health. But as a hairstylist, I hope you understand that there is no perfect product in the world, only the right one for you.

If you have fine, limp hair and are looking for volume, silicone-free is your friend. But if you have standard Asian coarse hair that suffers from frizz, knots and breakage, you really don't need to treat silicone as a scourge. If you let silicone "support" you and protect your thick cuticle, your hair will still shine in a foreign land with the unique luster of Asian hair.

Next time you're at the grocery store, don't just look at the "Free of..." shampoo, try to feel the weight of your hair. Sometimes, a touch of smoothness is just the security your hair has been looking for.