Berlina beckons…I had recently been using Infusium leave in treatment on my hair and it had been working fabulously. But, my little brother managed to spill the entire bottle on my floor. After thinking of buying another bottle, I bought a replacement conditioner for the time being for the rest of the week. I was wondering what it is in Infusium that works so well with my hair? I heard that it may cause your hair to weaken. Is this true?
The Right Brain Responds:
Infusium 23 has been around for many, many years (although now it’s owned by P&G) and it’s a very nice leave-in formula. What’s in it that makes it work so well? Let’s take a look at the ingredient list:
Water, Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Panthenol, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11, Citric Acid, Betaine, Glycerin, Sorbitol, Tricontanyl PVP, PPG-2 Methyl Ether, Serine, Glycine, Glutamic Acid, Arginine, Threonine, Lysine, Alanine, Proline, Hydroxyethylcellulose, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Behenic Acid, Palmitoyl Myristyl Serinate, Oleic Acid, Palmitic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Stearic Acid, Arachidic Acid, PEG-8, Polysorbate 80, Amino Methylpropanol, Fragrance, Sodium PCA, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone
If we strip this list down to the basic, functional ingredients it looks like this:
Amodimethicone, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone Copolyol, Polyquaternium-11
Infusium action
Of these ingredients, two are really doing most of the work: amodimethicone (which is a water soluble silicone dispersion) and cetrimonium chloride (a very simple but very effective quaternary ammonium compound which sticks to damaged areas of the hair.)
Does it weaken hair? No. All conditioners work by smoothing the cuticle and lubricating the hair shaft to protect hair from damage. Infusium does that very nicely without weakening the hair.
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
If you like leave-in conditioners, you’ll probably like Infusium 23. Make your brother buy you a new bottle and don’t worry about weakening your hair.
How do YOU like to conditioner your hair? Leave in? Rinse out? Leave a comment and share your conditioning tips with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
Loading ...
{ 1 trackback }
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d forgotten about Infusium – I used to use it all the time and then stopped to try other products. The only problem I had with it was dispersing it evenly through my hair – it’s very watery.
I love leave-in conditioners because I have fine, curly hair and can control the amount of conditioner much better. I blot my hair after shampooing and get out as much excess water as I can, then carefully apply my conditioner and comb through.
Great site!
Hi Right Brain,
Great write-up on Infusium 23! Quick question: I stopped using it because I read that amodimethicone is never water soluble after being applied to your hair. I read that “It clings like any other silicone that is not water soluble.”
Is that true? If so, what makes it become water soluble in Infusium 23?
Thank you!!
delise
Hi Beauty Brains,
After reading this post, I tried making a version of Infusium at home. It contained water, about 2% trimethylsilylamodimethicone, and about 3% cetrimonium chloride. I just mixed all the ingredients together and used it as a leave-in conditioner. It made my hair look good, but it felt very sticky. Do you have any advice for how to make it better?
Hey right brain, I was wondering what to do if you have these dark veins under your eyes…how to make them less noticable….? I’ve tried putting concealer on , then foundation, then powder….and I can still see them. What should I do? Thanks, much appreciated:)