I didn´t quite get everything you said, but I think you misunderstood me a bit. I´m not saying that "natural is good", I agree with you that there are good sides in the silicones as well. But - in my opinion - the products which include silicones shouldn´t be used daily. Usually (not always) the cheap market products do not include anything but water, 2-3 types of silicones, parfumes and colors. These products give you impression of silky, shiny and healthy hair, but they do not really condition hair, they just cover it with a silky and shiny plastic.

The products, which include both conditioning ingredients and silicones, aren´t so bad. I avoid silicones in shampoos because of that scalp thing I told before. I usually use silicone-free conditioners, but I do sometimes use those with silicones. I want to be sure that my hair is in good condition, instead of looking like that. For example most Redken products include silicones, but they are still very effective to my hair.

Actually, I have not tried the Redken So Long at all (my hair is still so short  ) but I like Redken´s Extreme, All Soft and Smooth Down lines very much, although all shampoos and conditioners include silicones, so I use them only once in a while. (The Smooth Down Butter Treat mask is very good by the way, and so is the Extreme Cat reconstructor.) I love Tigi Bed Head Moisture Maniac shampoo and conditioner, no cones and God they make my hair feel good!  Very moisturizing and no crunching anymore. L´Anza´s Be Long Strenghten is also deeply loved here (no cones).

Humectress and Jason are not sold here in Finland, so I don´t know anything about them.

I'm confused, if your hair likes -cones do you still get bulid-up?

Some hair (like mine) responds well to -cones up to a certain point. Since I need help to make my hair shine in the evenings, I use -cone-filled (coniferous?) styling products. If I do this for several weeks, I'll get lacklustre hair. That's where the magic of vinegar does the trick! 

/Kate

Absolutely! I love my stinky vinegar!! I use it once a week nowadays.

/Kate

Vinegar rinses or a clarifying shampoo usually takes care of any build up that might occur.  -Cones are not all bad - they do a lot for hair that is damaged or easily tangles.  Just be sure to eliminate the build up and condition well. 

The jojoba oil is a great moisturizer.  Some people report, however that their hair becomes sticky when jojoba oil is used after conditioners that have -cones, so you might watch for that and if it happens, only use the jojoba oil the day after conditoning.

I use Pantene and love it, and my hair is as fine as it comes, if not thin as yours.

I really think "scalp build-up" is a non-issue. I tend to get skin build-up on my scalp, regardless what products I use, that's just the way my scalp is. I control it by vigorous massage while I wash. If anybody was going to have problems with cone build-up on the scalp, it would be me. I don't observe any problem.

The skin on your scalp sheds constantly, so even if the conditioner contained cones that in some way bonded to the skin, the surface of your skin would be replaced every few days anyway.

I've read repeatedly that scalp build-up "might happen", not that people have actually experienced it. Even if someone said that it actually had happened to them, and hadn't been able to resolve it while using the product, so what? Every product isn't for everybody, and if some product stops working for you, it's ok to stop using it, no irreparable harm done.

It's ok to love Pantene.