If you’re in the UK, it’s likely that you’ve stood in Boots wondering which of the many silicone free curl creams would be best for your hair. In fairness to Boots, the range of curl products has increased massively over the last couple of years, making this a nice problem to have!
Many of these will be labelled as ‘silicone-free’. Why avoid silicones? I have a post about them here. In a nutshell, you might be following the Curly Girl Method, or perhaps you’ve heard that silicones can build up on the hair, leading to eventual dryness.
The temptation when looking for great, silicone free curl creams is to look to the enormous range of products on sale abroad. The US has a huge range, most of which we can now buy online, but what if you want to purchase closer to home?
I’ve put together a list of tried-and-tested silicone free curl creams that you can get from Boots, Superdrug, other high street shops or UK online retailers.
Why are we told to look for silicone free curl creams?
Before we get into the list, why should we avoid silicones at all?
Silicones coat the hair strands, initially giving the feel and appearance of glossy, healthy hair and reducing frizz. So what’s the problem?
Some silicones can build up on the hair, and this can lead to:
Weighed-down curls from layers of product built up over time
Dry hair – some silicones form a film on the hair strands, and this prevents moisture from entering the hair shaft. In the same way, it prevents products like leave-in conditioners from helping your hair.
Earlier, I said ‘some’ silicones. Not all silicones are created equal, and some are ‘heavier’ than others. I outline the different kinds here.
You might also have chosen to follow the Curly Girl Method and avoid silicones for these reasons (many are the same as above).
What else to look for in a curl cream
When choosing a curl cream, there are other factors that you might want to consider, as well as that ‘silicone-free’ label.
Let’s have a quick look at these factors.
You might want to look for moisturising ingredients. Often, the reason for using a cream over a mousse or gel is to moisturise your curls as you define them. Common moisturising ingredients in curl creams include:
Glycerine – this is a humectant that draws moisture from the air to keep your curls moisturised.
Aloe vera – this can moisturise your hair, help define your curl pattern and is very lightweight.
Shea butter – this is a rich, moisturising butter that can help to soften dry hair.
Light oils such as argan oil or sweet almond oil
When choosing between the above ingredients, you might also want to consider your hair’s porosity level (how to determine your porosity level). Some moisturising ingredients might be too heavy for your hair type. For example, low porosity hair types might want to stay away from one of the heavier ingredients like shea butter.
In addition, you might want to consider curl creams that contain protein (read more about protein for curly hair) if your hair feels damaged and needs a little restorative protein. My blog post linked above gives recommendations for the best kinds of protein to look for when buying products.
Top silicone free curl creams you can buy in the UK
Here we are at the juicy bit: the actual product recommendations! These are all available from Amazon, but also on the high street!
Here are my recommendations for silicone free curl creams:
Best silicone free curl creams for fine or wavy hair types
Flora & Curl Curl Activating Lotion
One of my favourite curl creams! This really defines my hair texture, is lightweight, smells lovely (but not too strong) and is full of natural ingredients.
Love, love, love this! Yes, you can air-dry with it, but you can also diffuse. It is lightweight and defines curls and waves well!
This curl cream also smells amazing (light grapefruit scent) and is really moisturising.
Best for thick or dry curly hair
SheaMoisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
This rich cream is ideal for calming frizz and adding moisture to coarser curls, high porosity hair, or hair that needs extra hydration.
Best silicone free curl creams for all hair types
This silicone free curl cream is a great all-rounder and it is by a UK brand. It is rich and moisturising but not heavy.
Noughty Wave Hello Curl Taming Cream
This is a great budget-friendly option. It was one of the first curly hair products that I tried, and I’ve been a fan ever since!
How to check for silicones in products
It is usually possible to spot silicones in hair products because they tend to end with one of the following:
- “-cone” (examples include dimethicone, cyclomethicone)
- “-conol” (such as dimethiconol)
- “-siloxane” (such as cyclopentasiloxane)
These also tend to be ‘non water-soluble’ silicones and therefore the most difficult to remove from your hair (and the ones to avoid).
Here’s an extended list:
Dimethicone
Stearyl Dimethicone
Amodimethicone
Cyclomethicone
Pheryl Trimethicone
Ceteraryl Methicone
Dimethiconol
It is also possible to use an online ingredients checker.
These do all the hard work for you! Just find the ingredients list online and copy and paste it in. These have the added benefit of allowing you to look across all the ingredients for others that you might want to be aware of. They will usually check for sulphates, parabens, non-CGM ingredients and any nasties they think you should be mindful of.
Here’s a list of the best ones.
Final thoughts
If you do decide that silicones aren’t right for your hair type, I hope that this post about silicone free curl creams has been helpful!
As with all hair products, it’s worth experimenting with different curl creams as every head of curls will respond differently to products.
In the interest of fairness, this post shares some reasons why silicones might not be all bad. Just something to think about!
Speak soon!
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