Hey zachsmom,

It really depends on your hair type whether cones are a good thing or not. If you hair doesn't react well to cones, then the water soluble variety might work better. Other people just avoid them altogether. I'm pretty sure that Dimethiconol is a water soluble silicone.
Anyway, if your hair does like cones, then there's no reason to avoid them. It's all about what works best for your hair. And your hair is different from everyone else's...so just do what works for you. There is definitely a lot of trial and error involved. Anyone who read my hair journal last year knows that I did a lot of experimenting for the ideal solution. I had many little "hair epiphanies," most of which proved fruitless. But that's the point of it all, I guess.

It's also ok to change your hair products every now and then. If you don't try new things, you never know what you might be missing out on. And even if something doesn't work out, you know to avoid it in the future.
    But things change. Product lines change, your hair changes, your life changes, etc. The things that worked for you before might not work forever. Just try to use common sense.

I also know what you mean about public hair disasters.    Last year, I had to attend my grandmother's funeral with godawful slick, greasy hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a week...even though I'd washed it that morning. The S&C that I'd been using changed their formulas on me after I'd been using them for years and the new versions of them made my hair look absolutely dreadful. I've pretty much avoided them ever since and moved onto bigger and better things. So I feel your pain, but I bet that's a pretty common problem.

Just for the record, I am an avid Pantene user, so cones are a daily thing for me. I do clarify once a week, though that may be slightly more than necessary, to be honest. In the past, I have used cones daily for years at a time without clarifying once and did not have a problem. Like I said, it's all about what your hair can tolerate. Sorry for the rant, but I just thought I'd say that I know where you're coming from. 

Best of luck, my sister.