Non Water-soluble Silicones and Curly/Wavy Hair Guide

These silicones are powerful conditioning agents, with the main downside being they can be harder to wash out. If you're not using a strong enough shampoo, or no shampoo at all, that can mean buildup.

What does it mean for a silicone to not be soluble in water?

Most silicones repel water, making them harder to wash out unless you use something that can break them down like a strong shampoo. Since a lot of curly routines forego strong shampoo, non water-soluble silicones can build up.

That said, not all silicones in our "non water-soluble silicones" category are the same. Amodimethicone, for example, has a positive charge, so it not only repels water, but amodimethicone itself. That means amodimethicone at least won't layer on top of itself.

Science-y Hair Blog has an excellent list of various silicones and how easy they are to wash out.