Fake Hair Facts – Answers to Beauty Science Poll 27

June

Fake Hair Facts – Answers to Beauty Science Poll 27

An impressive 550+ Beauty Brains in training responded to the fake hair facts quiz. Unfortunately, only 16% of you were able to separate fact from fiction. Were you one of them? Read on to find out.

Brushing hair helps it grow – FALSE

Only 9% of you thought this was real, but it’s a myth. Brushing your hair has either no effect on the growth rate or a slight negative effect. Since brushing actually tugs on the hair fibers you could be in danger of getting traction alopecia which could lead to permanent hair loss. Frequent brushing is damaging to the hair so we recommend…

Don’t brush more than needed to get your hair style

Excessive hair washing causes hair loss – FALSE

This one seemed like believable beauty science to 17% of you. However, the truth is that hair washing is unlikely to have any effect on whether you keep your hair or not. The primary problem with excessive hair washing is that it will irritate your scalp and can cause itching and redness. There is really no reason to wash your hair more than once a day. Most people can get away washing less often which is why we say…

Most people should only wash their hair 4 -5 times a week

Sulfate shampoos strip hair color the most – FALSE

This is the one that fooled most people. A whopping 35% of you think sulfate shampoos are bad for your color. The truth is that sulfate shampoos are no better or worse for your colored hair than any other type of shampoo. This is because it’s water that is the primary cause of hair color removal during the washing process. If you want to keep your color longer use the “for colored hair” version of your favorite shampoo but and it less frequently.

Wash less often to keep your color longer

Smoking is a cause of gray hair – TRUE

Congratulations to the 16% of Beauty Brainiacs that figured this one out as the only true one in the bunch! Smoking has been shown to be related to the early onset of gray hair. In this study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers found that people who smoked were more than 4 times likely to have premature gray hair. No one has yet shown definitively how smoking is causing the gray hair but one thing is clear…

If you want to delay the onset of gray hair, don’t smoke

Blow drying causes hair loss – FALSE

Just a few of you (8%) thought this could be true Beauty Science but it isn’t. Blow drying is not related to hair loss at all. It is certainly related to hair damage. Split ends and broken hairs could be a result of heat damage. If you want to minimize the negatives of hair damage you’ll want to minimize the amount of heat you expose your hair to. That’s why we recommend…

Some days, let you hair air dry

Conditioners repair split ends – FALSE

This one makes me smile. It demonstrates that only 3% of you have been taken in by the fake split ends marketing claims of the hair care industry. No hair conditioner can repair split ends. In fact, the only way to “repair” split ends is to get rid of them with a fabulous hair cut. Conditioners will certainly improve the condition of a split end and some products can even temporarily glue the split ends together. However, this effect won’t last through your next shampooing.

The only repair for a split end is a hair cut

Cutting hair makes it grow faster – FALSE

It seems that 10% of you have bought into this old wives tale. Unfortunately, cutting your hair will not make it grow any faster. Hair growth happens in your scalp at the hair follicle. The cells inside your body have no way of knowing whether you got a hair cut or not. So cutting it has no effect on growth.

Hair grows about half an inch a month whether you cut it or not

Salon products work better than store brands – FALSE

This is the most encouraging result in this poll. Only 2% of you thought it was true that salon products work better than store brand products. Clearly, you are not falling for the marketing tricks and gimmicks that salon products throw at you. The truth is salon brands use the same chemical raw materials that store brands use. In fact, it’s often the case that the same companies that make store brands also make salon brands. For example, P&G owns Frederick Fekkai. L’Oreal owns Pureology.

Save money by buying store brand hair products instead of salon

So, were you able to figure out the Beauty Science from the BS? Leave a comment below and let everyone else know why you picked what you did. And stay tuned for the next installment of Beauty Science or BS coming soon.

10 Responses to “Fake Hair Facts – Answers to Beauty Science Poll 27”

jeni - savvy skin Says:

Yay I actually got this one right!
tina Says:

l thanks for the explaintion. l has lost a lot of hair. after giving birth to my son and l still do . most of my friends thought it could also be becauses l washed it alot.
Denise Says:

Hi,

P&G bought Fekkai like LAST WEEK. P&G has had no hand in Fekkai formulations and probably won’t until 2009 at the very LEAST.
thebeautybrains Says:

Well, actually it was 3 months ago but your implication that P&G has had little effect on the formulas is currently correct. However, P&G also owns salon brands like Sebastian, Wella, and Vidal Sassoon and have for many years. L’Oreal owns Kerastas, Matrix, & Kiehls.

The point that successful salon brands are made by the same companies that make store brands is true.
R Says:

I don’t agree that salon products don’t work better than store products. They may have the same main chemicals, but the differences in the formula could make a big difference. I used store brands for years, but I switched over to a salon brand, TIGI, and it has made a huge difference with my hair. I had tried many different store brands before.
Lauren Says:

P&G only just recently purchased Fekkai (like less than two months ago). You should be careful with this. It may be true that mass and salon brands use some of the same ingredients, but the quality of those ingredients and the types of essential oils used do vary–and those variences = money. Don’t think for a minute that Fekkai’s quality will change–it will only get better with a huge company funding it and making it easier to fund research and expensive formulas.
Left Brain Says:

@R – Your personal experience aside, there is no scientific evidence that salon brands work better. In fact, store brands are more likely to work better because they were developed by companies with scientists & big research budgets. Salon brands typically do not have scientists and they farm their formulating work out to contract manufacturers. These companies will produce stock formulas for anyone who wants them.

@ Lauren – It is a myth that salon brands use “higher quality” ingredients. I work in the industry and know what chemicals are available to the manufacturers of both salon and store brand products. There is not a different set of raw material suppliers. There are not premium grade raw materials for the main ingredients like surfactants.

I agree that the quality of Fekkai formulas will likely improve now that they are owned by a big company. On the other hand, P&G may also reformulate to make the formulas more appealing to the mass market like they did when they acquired Herbalessences and switched all the formulas over to the Pantene formulas (look at the ingredient lists).

If you had any evidence that essential oils in shampoos or conditioners have any impact on performance, I’d love to see it. Those ingredients are put in formulas at tiny levels so they can call them out on the labels & support the story. They don’t actually do anything in reality.
Tavia Says:

Interesting post…As for me…i have a hair loss problem, because of stress and night shifts at work, but know i’ve discovered a home made hair mask that’s really working. I was sick of trying all kind of products.Salon products helped but when i stopped using them …the hair loss problem start again. For me salon products were not so great.
C Says:

Left Brain, I do agree with some of the logic that you base your positions on. However, I too work in the industry and for one of the brands of largest manufacturer out there. There are some very real points of difference in pro products and mass products. Although ingredients in most cases are similar…they are not all the same. For instance, Wella, Redken, TIGI to name three all use protein in their shampoo’s and conditioners…not all proteins are the same, there are vegetal proteins made from soy or wheat and animal proteins. Most major manufacturers of Pro products use the hydrolyzed vegetal proteins, yet some mass products still use the protein from animals usually from the fat of those animals used for slaughter.

In order for vegetal proteins to actually stay on the hair shaft, then other ingredients such as taurine or arginine found in Redken as part of their interbond conditioning technology or sugar acetate found in Sexy Hair products, must be included and in the correct portions. In Most cases these ingredients are patented by pro companies, and not used in mass products.

Not too mention the fact that the majority of pro products are found to be more in the natural pH range of hair (3.5-5.5pH) where as most mass products are in a much higher range, sometimes as high as laundry detergent which is a 10.5pH. Mass products like Pantene who claim their products are pH balanced…well that is true…however, “pH balanced” does not mean balanced to the pH of hair. They come in at a 7pH which is neutral on the pH scale and is neither acidic nor alkaline. Hair is acidic 3.5-5.5pH range so those mass products are typically more drying to the hair even those that are “pH balanced”. If someone has extremely lightened hair their hair will be very porous and very alkaline or dry. Using a “pH balanced” product like Pantene which is at a 7pH won’t bring that hair back closer to a more natural acidic state. So mass products use more silicones and silicates to coat the hair for a cosmetic “masking” effect rather patented ingredients in pro products that are more lasting internal effect.

Like I said I understand your logic and reasoning…but by that same logic…You can’t make a Ferrari out of Chevy parts…there are significant differences in pro and mass products.
Left Brain Says:

@C – There is no scietific evidence that “vegatal” proteins stay on the hair shaft better than hydrolyzed animal proteins. Please show us a scientific study if you could. It’s also not true that “most manufacturers of mass products” use animal proteins in their products. Fears of mad cow disease made most mass market products remove animal derived ingredients.

The bit about making vegetal proteins stay on the hair is just wrong and not supported by any science. Please site a source.

The pH of most hair products (Pantene included) is between 5 and 6. It is not 7. But even if it were, the pH of your shampoo has not been shown to have a significant effect on anything. Please show me a study that says it does. Once your hair gets wet with the pH 7 water in your shower, it doesn’t matter what pH your shampoo was.

“Pro” products use silicones too.

And while you’re right, you can’t make a Ferrari out of Chevy parts, that isn’t what’s going on with Professional products versus mass market products. They are all using the same ingredients! There is nothing special about professional products. I know because I’ve personally formulated both mass market and professional products, using the same ingredients.