Beauty Review - Biosilk
Although it may seem a bit incestuous, this post is devoted to critiquing another blogger’s post about BioSilk Silk Therapy. We won’t mention this Mystery Blogger by name, but if you really, really wanna know who it is, I guess you could click HERE.
Anyway, this unidentified blogger posted a well written review of Biosilk but there are a few technical points that we thought deserved clarification. Below are excerpts from the original post along with our comments.
Mystery Blogger Writes:
Cyclomethicone and Dimethicone: these are silicone-like substances that coat the hair follicle, making the cuticles lie flat and the hair look shiny. They give a “dry” silky feel, so that it doesn’t feel like you have sticky oil on your hair. Prevents moisture loss by forming a barrier on the follicle.
The Brains Respond:
This is essentially true. The key thing to realize is that cyclomethicone is a volatile silicone. That means it evaporates. That’s why it’s good for non-greasy formulas - it smoothes the cuticle and then disappears. On skin, dimethicone can form a water proof barrier. But hair is a highly non-uniform surface and it’s almost impossible to seal it well enough to lock in moisture to a measurable degree.
Mystery Blogger Writes:
Panthenol: aka vitamin B5. Attracts moisture from the air and binds it to follicle. Doesn’t *nourish* the hair, simply coats it.
The Brains Respond:
This is close but not exactly right. Despite it’s popular pro-vitamin status, Panthenol doesn’t really do anything in shampoo or conditioner formulations. First of all, it’s not substantive by itself - in other words, it just rinses off the hair from a shampoo or conditioners. Secondly, even when it’s left on the hair it’s not that effective. There are many other ingredients (such as glycerine and propylene glycol ) that are much more effective moisture-grabbers. And by the way, the follicle is the little tube below the scalp from which the hair grows. Nothing binds to the follicle. Hair care products only effect the hair shaft itself.
Mystery Blogger Writes:
Ethyl Ester of Hydrolyzed Silk: This is a form of silk protein; the “silk” in Biosilk. I can’t find out much about this ingredient, but it appears to form a film on the hair, which fills in cracks, binds in moisture, and makes the shaft feel smooth.
The Brains Respond:
In theory, you’re right on the money here. However, the dimethicone in the formula does a much better job of this. (For more about silk protein, keep reading.)
Mystery Blogger Writes:
Octyl Methoxycinnamate: a form of sunscreen.
The Brains Respond:
You’re right - it is a sunscreen. But repeat after us: SUNSCREENS IN HAIR CARE PRODUCTS DON’T DO SQUAT! That’s because they don’t cover hair the same way a sunscreen on skin does.
Mystery Blogger Writes:
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate: From what I can gather, this serves a similar purpose as the silicones do.
The Brains Respond:
Yep.
Mystery Blogger Writes:
Overall: Since hair is essentially dead, you can’t “feed” it. You can only prevent further damage and moisture loss, which is what the silicones and alkyl benzoate do. Some of the ingredients in Biosilk are often found in lotions and creams for the skin because they give a silky smooth feel and help lock moisture in. However, I’m not so sure how putting SD Alcohol on your skin could actually add moisture, so I’d take the claims about Biosilk being good for your skin with a grain of salt. Sure, it migh feel smooth on your elbow, but I reckon you’d be much better off with a proper moisturizing cream or lotion.
The Brains Respond:
Good call, Glit…uh, I mean Mystery Blogger! SD alcohol is not good for your skin. In fact, it’s very drying. It’s only there as a solvent and diluent. Rubbing this product on dry skin areas like your elbows can make it feel temporarily smoother, but in the long run, it will dry out your skin!
Finally, the Brain’s just have to comment on somthing that the manufacturer of Biosilk says:
Silk Therapy hair care works with the power of heat. Silk proteins that are activated to penetrate and provide protection while improving the condition of the hair, for healthier hair with incredible shine.
The Beauty Brains respond:
In reality (where the Beauty Brains live most of the time) silk proteins are not small enough to penetrate the hair’s protective cuticle. They can be hydrolyzed(which means they’re broken down into itsy bitsy pieces)so they CAN penetrate the hair, but then their molecular weight is so low that they can no longer form films. In other words, silk proteins can either form films on the surface of hair, OR they can penetrate hair. But they can’t do both. And guess what - even IF the silk molecules are large enough to form films, and IF the manufacturer puts enough silk protein in the formula, they STILL don’t measurably improve the condtion of hair. The other ingredients may do that, but silk is one of those featured ingredients that sound good but don’t really work.
Mucho thanks to our Mystery Blogger for letting us plagiarize her (uh, we mean his or her) post. Keep up the great work Unknown Blogger!
And by the way, if you’re interested in trying Biosilk for yourself, it’s on sale for $7.99 at Drugstore.com
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