Hair & Hair Products - Beauty Questions Answered

AG Smooth Sulfate Free Argan Oil Shampoo – In The Beauty Brains Bathroom

LeftBrain — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:01:14 -0500

Even though the Beauty Brains don’t do traditional reviews, from time to time we like to share new products that we’re trying. We want you to know that we received free samples in exchange for a mention on our blog and that we’re not necessarily recommending you buy anything. We’re just sharing new product news; [...] Read more: ag-smooth-sulfate-free-argan-oil-shampoo-in-the-beauty-brains-bathroom

Is Grape Seed Oil Good For Protecting Hair From Heat?

LeftBrain — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:01:52 -0500

Lilypad asks…I’m transitioning from relaxed to natural hair and a lot of blogs and video bloggers tout grape seed oil as a heat protectant when blowdrying or flat ironing hair because it has a high smoke point (about 420 °F). Is there any truth to this claim? The smoke point refers to the oil’s use [...] Read more: is-grape-seed-oil-good-for-protecting-hair-from-heat

Faciano Dry Shampoo – Look At The Label

LeftBrain — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:01:18 -0500

We received a sample of the Faciano Dry Shampoo and thought it was an interesting enough product. The fragrance wasn’t to everyone’s liking but the product definitely cleaned hair. In case you are interested here is a breakdown of the ingredients. Cleansing ingredients These are the ingredients that make the product work as far as [...] Read more: Faciano Dry Shampoo – Look At The Label

DIY 4a/b haircutting tips

celeste821 — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:58:30 -0500

I have been wanting to trim my hair for a while, but I keep hearing the old wives-tales: only cut your hair at certain times of the month (something about the moon) only use brand new scissors, I don't do heat, chemical, or color to my hair so some people say get it straightened before cutting, some people say it needs to be wet for curly hair. So needless to say I am more than a little worried to have it done by someone else. Can I get some sound instruction on clipping my own ends? I'll work myself up to getting it cut into a shape lol.

How do I do the least damaging everyday hairstyle?

rutiga — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:25:22 -0500

I can not have my hair let out because it is about shoulder leght and get stuck in things all the time (i am really clumsy)

I have heared that a bun is the best updo to not overdamge my hair.

But the problem is that I do not know how to do it in a not dameging way.

I have heared that boby pins is bad for your hair.

I have also heared that elatics are not good to have at the ends of the hair.

But is it possible to do a bun without elatics or boby pins?

HairBanglez: In The Beauty Brains Bathroom

LeftBrain — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:01:49 -0500

Look at the Label: Men’s Rogaine Aerosol Foam

LeftBrain — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:01:46 -0500

As part of our look at the label series I thought it would be fun to look at the top selling Amazon.com beauty products and discuss their ingredients. Of course not every product is eligible for a “label look” because some are devices (like blow dryers) and others don’t have to disclose their ingredients (like [...] Read more: Look at the Label: Men’s Rogaine Aerosol Foam

Kinky Curly Curling Custard, Knot Today, and AG Recoil Curl Activator

Qwerty — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:05:50 -0500

I was wondering if any wavy or curly haired people have tried either the kinky curly curling custard and knot today together or separate and or if anyone has tried the ag recoil. I am just curious to hear how these products worked for anyone who with wavy/curly hair that is normally frizzy and especially if you live in a very humid climate.

I know the kinky curly products on their site http://kinky-curly.com/ claim to be natural and organic but personally that does not interest me. I am just really looking for something to calm the frizz whether it is organic or not. I don't want to use anything that would damage my hair but if it isn't hurting my hair then I am fine with using it especially if I see results. I use moisture shampoo and conditioner and I do use olive oil or coconut oil as a deep conditioner a couple times a month. I try to now deep condition once a week but I usually don't manage to do it that often.

I have only used the kinky curly curling custard and knot today once. I used them together. I loved the knot today. I have never in my life been able to get such slip in combing through my knotty hair. I was amazed. If you go to curlmart.com and look at their top 10 products for curly hair the curling custard is #1, knot today #2 and ag recoil is #4. I have no idea why or how the knot today worked so well at getting the tangles out of my hair so quickly. The list of ingredients for the knot today (from curlmart.com) are: Organic mango extract, organic slipper elm, organic marshmallow root,
organic lemongrass, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, citric
acid, phenoxyethanol and natural fragrance. That doesn't mean anything to me because I am just not sure what those ingredients do or don't do and if they are truly effective conditioners but I know that normally it takes me a half hour to get all the tangles out of my hair using great conditioners and a wide tooth comb. With the knot today I just coated my hair with it and then combed through in 5 minutes or less. I don't know if knot today truly conditions or not but my hair did not feel dry.

As for the curling custard it did give my hair nice curl without crunch but later in the day I was starting to see frizz and the humidity is unusually low right now so the sight of frizz was disappointing. The ingredients for the curling custard from curlmart.com are: botanical infusion of water, horsetail, chamomile, nettle and
marshmallow, organic aloe vera juice, agave nectar extract, tocopheryl
acetate (vitamin e), pectic, citric acid, potassium sorbate and natural
fragrance. Again that doesn't mean much to me being that I am not familiar with what or how those ingredients work but as long as it doesn't damage my hair I am willing to experiment with it. I am just looking for results.

I think I am going to try these two again but rinse out the knot today before applying the curling custard. I have read a million great reviews as well as watched several reviews on youtube on these two and I am really wanting to figure out a way to make them work for me. Although most reviews are for curls type 3 and 4. I have found very few reviews from people with type 2a, b or c curls. So this could be why it is not working for me as well as I had hoped. Of course I might just need the custard by itself.

That being said I have also read great reviews on ag recoil but I have not tried that yet. The aghair.com site states their products do not contain salt when you go to http://www.aghair.com/about-ag/ under why ag? It states AG works. All products
come packed with botanicals and healing ingredients. What they don't
come with is salt, parabens, gluten, PABA or animal testing. If you go to products and click on the ag recoil curl activator it tells you some of whats in it.

Magnesium sulfate – helps shrink the bonds in the hair, cultivating
and defining each individual curl and wave. It gently supports curls
without being crunchy and helps give hair a silky, soft feel with lots
of movement
Silk and keratin protein – adds moisture, strength, elasticity and shine
P-14 copolymer – gives long-lasting curl definition and flexible hold
Polyquaternium 11 – encourages curl and conditions the hair
Herbal extracts – soothe the scalp and add shine to hair

Curlmart.com seems to give the full list of ingredients. Here is what they have listed.

Water/aqua/eau, Polyquaternium-55, Hydroxypropyl Starch, Cetylalcohol,
Stearalkonium Chloride, Stearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol,
Glycerin, Corn Starch Modified, Cetrimonium Chloride, Salvia
Officinalis (sage) Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract,
Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops)
Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract,
Melissaofficinalis Leaf Extract, Achillea Millefolium Extract, Prunus
Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Cymbopogonschoenanthus Extract,
Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Sodium PCA, Polyquaternium-10,
Magnesium Sulfate, Silk Amino Acids, Cocodimonium Hydroxypropyl
Hydrolyzedkeratin, Panthenol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate,
Tetrasodiumedta, Parfum/ Fragrance, Methylchloroisothiazolinone,
Methylisothiazolinone.

I don't understand why they say their products don't come with salt when the recoil has magnesium sulfate in it. I mean isn't that salt? Or am I missing something? So I am hesitant to try the recoil due to salt being in the product. From what I understand it can be drying to hair and therefore damaging. Unless that is something I have learned incorrectly or it is correct and the amount of salt is so low it is not a drying problem in this product. It seems to be pretty far down on the list of ingredients yet on the ag site they seem to boast that that magnesium sulfate is in their supposedly salt free product. AG seems to be saying two different things on their own site. We don't use salt. We do use salt. Anyway, other than their mixed messages, I am concerned it would be drying and damaging to my hair. Anyone with information about salt in hair products would be welcomed. I know the beautybrains did blog that salt is used as a thickener and should be no problem in a rinse out product like shampoo or conditioner but I could not locate anything on salt being in leave in hair products and if different levels made a difference or even if another ingredient in the product might block or prevent the drying effect of salt on hair.

I would be interested in hearing what anyone with frizzy wavy curls who have used any of these products would have to say about them especially if you live in a mostly humid area.

The "shine" effect in conditioners

havoctheory — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:20:21 -0500

Hi,

I heard that conditioners contain ingredients such as polymers with reflective qualities to coat hair strands. They reflect light and therefore makes your hair shiny. Is this true? What kind of chemicals would also produce this effect?

HAIR EMERGENCY!

B_E_L_I_E_V_E — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:37:49 -0500

i have major hair problems and i hope you can help me out a bit!
when i was younger i had silky,shiny,smooth,soft..basically HEALTHY hair and it was naturally straight which was amazing!
couple
years after, i got influenced with all the heat styling without the
protection and now my hair is fried and its basically dead.
recently i decided to get my waist length hair cut in an attempt to get rid of all the split ends and dryness.
now
my hair is shoulder length but the problem is that i STILL have dry
ends and it becomes poofy. i do not want to heat style it any more no
matter what.
i want my original natural hair back like the way it was but i know i need intensive repair!
i was hoping you can give me some advice because i am desperate to get my hair back in shape.
also..
1. what is the best shampoo line for this type of hair and is it effective?
2. i started oiling and hot oiling my hair with olive and jojoba oil..is that good and what other oils are better?
3. i also have oily hair so how many times should i shampoo?
My hair is soft and straight from the roots but once you get down to the mid lengths and ends its turns horrible
Please help me i need major advice
ASAP
Thank you!

Does silk keep your hair from getting frizzy?

afrogal — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:11:10 -0500

I read that silk was an excellent way to keep your hair frizzy and soft, whether wrapping a silk scarf around your hair at night or using the proteins. While I tried it, I didn't quite see the results and was wondering whether members used silk or satin scarfs to reduce frizzy hair. Also, have you seen any results with the silk proteins? Thank you for your feedback!

Look at the Label: Austin Kyle Professional Shampoo

LeftBrain — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:01:27 -0500

A Girl’s Gotta Spa blogged about the Austin Kyle Professional hair care collection that feature “superior ingredients.” Are the ingredients really “superior” or different than cheaper products? Let’s look at the label! Austin Kyle Ingredients WATER (AQUA) SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE PROPYLENE GLYCOL COCAMIDE MEA FRAGRANCE PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, POLYSORBATE 20 OCTOXYNOL-12 PEG-150 DISTEARATE [...] Read more: look-at-the-label-austin-kyle-professional-shampoo

Very fine hair, do I really need conditioner?

Ximena — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:43:16 -0500

I've been looking around the forum and most girls seem to have wavy, coarse or abundant hair. They all love using conditioners and I also like the tip the brains give about CWC. However I have very very fine hair (had a massive hair loss during my teen years due to hormonal problems.) It was addressed medically at the time and I'm ok now at 27 but have been left with a finer, more- delicate -than -most hair.

I've had my hair very short for years and now i want to grow it, it's chin long and want to do everything i can so it grows healthy. I wash it with a very mild shampoo with no silicones or sls (i put a bit of olive oil in it for moisture) and, instead of conditioner that weights my hair down, i rinse it with a cup of camomile tea with half a lemon squeezed. My hair is soft and not tangled afterwards, but maybe it's because it's so short? I do use drops of pure argan oil and tresemme heat protectant.

After reading so many good things about conditioners here i'm worrying i'm doing the wrong thing by not using conditioner and dont want to regret it once my hair is long and damaged or with split ends. Any light on this for my type of hair?

Thank you all so so much!

hair pomades

celeste821 — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 09:55:33 -0500

Is a SLS free shampoo or cowasing enough to remove pomades from hair?

Blow dryer heat

bluecatbaby — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:34:57 -0500

Alright, I know this is not a chemistry question, but I have another one related to using the blow dryer.

It seems to me that the heat produced by my blow dryer has varied from one use to the next. Might this be because I am using it at different times of the day, when there are different levels of demand on the electrical power grid? Or, is this a sign that I need a new hair dryer? Or, do I need to call an electrician?

Dr. Organic Vs. Dr. Bronner's Vs. Castille soap

Ximena — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:00:16 -0500

As I've damaged my hair a lot in the past I cut it really really short and now I'm growing it natural (no more dying) and I've also decided to go the most natural with my shampoos. With my fine hair I've never had a problem removing dirt and grease, never needed anything strong to make it stay clean and I wash it every other day although it can go for two days with no wash if I use a dry shampoo. I've started to make my own castille soap making sure everything is very measured so it's the mildest possible but I find that, for my hair, it leaves a bit of a waxy feeling in the roots (can that be the natural glycerine in real soap?)

After that I tried Dr. Organic Aloe Vera shampoo. I don't use it pure though as I think it lacks silicones and the hair ends up quite rough when wet: I mix equal parts of shampoo and filtered water and a few drops of olive oil. It leaves my hair perfect and no conditioner needed (even in my damaged hair!).

I want to try and do the same mixture using Dr. Bronner's pure liquid castile soap since it has less ingedients (hence I asume milder?). Please, can you let me know, given the ingredients below, which one seems to be better for hair? And am I doing right or by using shampoos without silicones I might be damaging my hair in the long run? I'm not too fond of silicones (they weight my fine hair down a lot and make it more greasy), altough I do use TRESemme heat protectant spray which is full of them but since it's only 1 product I'm ok and it leaves my hair great. So, which one seems to be better for my mixture?

Dr. Organic Aloe Vera Shampoo:

Aloe barbadensis leaf extract, Aqua (water), Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, Sodium cocoamphoacetate, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Shea butteramidopropyltrimonium chloride, Coco glucoside, Glyceryl oleate, Parfum, Sorbitan sesquicaprylate, Olea europaea leaf extract, Citrus medica, limonum peel extract, Vitis vinifera leaf extract, Thymus vulgaris leaf extract, Foeniculum vulgare seed extract, Potassium sorbate, Ribes nigrum, Ascorbic acid, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, Citric acid, Amyl cinnamal, Benzyl salicylate, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool.

Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap:

Water, Organic Coconut Oil*, Potassium Hydroxide**, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Citric Acid, Tocopherol
* CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

Thank you sooo much!

Hair loss from parting the hair

kcgray5 — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:25:13 -0500

My friend told me that you can lose hair along your part. is this true? I have parted my hair in the same place for a very long time and have not had any hair loss.

Dry scalp?

NataliaPessoa — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:03:44 -0400

My scalp is dry and just overall irritated. I use some chemical treatments that are too harsh for it. Does anyone know a product to make it better?

Do I need a heat protectant product?

bluecatbaby — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 17:29:40 -0500

I recently have started started styling my hair with a blow dryer and a bowl-shaped diffuser, on the medium setting. (It only has medium and high.) I hold the diffuser right against my scalp, and it is comfortable. Beforehand, I use leave-in conditioner and a styling cream.

When I have straightened my hair with a blow dryer, on high of course, I used a heat protectant. Do I need to use a heat protecting product with the diffuser's lower heat?

Also, are there any new heat protection products that have the right ingredients?

Preservative - Natural

juliescotts — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:35:45 -0400

I also posted in Skin but saw a few inquiries/questions in hair

I don't mean to overpost.. I promise.. I just don't want to answer every inquiry

Hi, My name is Julie and I am new member. I love this forum. Thanks for all the formulating advice I received so far. I wanted to let you know that I read several people inquiring about preservative & natural/organic actives.

I am a home formulator and use Leucidal® Liquid as natural preservative in my shampoo, Conditioners and Facial Toners. http://www.formulatorsampleshop.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=FSSM15008

This stuff is awesome - The manufacturer of this material only sells bulk so I found several companies that carry it however while doing research they directed me to their online website store, which is a sister company of the manufacturer (active micro technologies) They are also more cost effective than these other online retailers.

The website for your reference is www.Formulatorsampleshop.com

The customer service team is great and very responsive. They also have different types of the leucidal (Bamboo/Aloe) etc. It is also a trademarked material.

Natural ways of Darkening your hair colour.

Silvicar — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:08:25 -0400

I heard about the nut leaves which will give your hair a dark-red highlight,but i was wondering about something for brown hair ,turning it into a more darker one? ;;)

Hair Fall CoNfu$ion

mahesh — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:47:13 -0400

Hello BeautyBrains . Am 24 years male . Am facing hair loss since the past two years . .A few years back my hair was quite dense and voluminous but it started thinning down . So finally I decided to consult a Doc who prescribed a medicated hair oil and some tablets . I apply the oil overnight and shampoo my hair with Head & Shoulders(Silky black) the next day . These are my observations after following this . The first day or two after applying the oil and shampooing , my hair feels strong and there is reduced hair fall but the intensity of hair fall is back from the third day . Later I tried using L'oreal 's 'Total repair 5' conditioner after shampooing but it further increased my hair fall .

Could one of the brains please explain what's happening !?

The following is the composition of the oil -

Each 100ml contains :

Phyllanthus Emblica - 5%

Bergera Koenigh - 1%

Psoralia carylifolia - 1%

Lavendula Castnasa - 3%

Trigonella Foenum - 6%

Acoras Calamus - 5%

Lawsonia Alba - 3%

Lavendula Carnosa - 4%

Glycyrrhiza glabra - 3%

Curcuma zeodaria - 1%

Hibiscus rosa sinensis - 10%

Citrus limonum - 1%

Sopindus trifoliatus - 1%

Datura Fastoosa - 0.05%

Processed aspertail vedhi Cocous nucifera Q.S. to 100%

salicylic acid and curly hair

celeste821 — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:22:18 -0400

Does anyone know anything about salicylic acid and curly hair? I have type 4, porous, fine hair, and seborrheic dermatitis. I want to try not using shampoo but I can only go 2 days before I have to wash because of the burning itch and crusty flakes. In the past the Tgel shampoo cleaned my scalp really well but I didn't know if it would remove silicone or dry out my already dry hair.

Build up

celeste821 — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 22:25:33 -0400

I have 4a, very dry, very porous hair, and need heavy products to weigh my hair down. So I was wondering about build up. I never notice build up on my hair but I will sometimes on my scalp. I co-wash and I use silicone, so sometimes I can scratch my scalp and there will be build up under my nail, so I will shampoo and it's gone. So I was wondering is build up really on some folks hair or is it just a missused term? What's the science behind build-up and hair

could one of the brains explain the color process

celeste821 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:10:15 -0500

I would like to understand the color process, is the henna process the same as other color methods? Whats the difference between permanent and semi permanent? I have 4a texture hair and I have done a lot of research on caring for my texture of hair. I do not put heat in my hair and I don't relax or color my hair. I am ready for a change so I am thinking about trying a color. I want the least amount of damage and nothing permanent yet.

Best Hairbrush to Distribute Natural Oils

NatashaK — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:55:01 -0400

I shampoo my hair only once or twice a week. I have fine, sometimes straight/sometimes wavy, generally healthy normal hair. I have noticed that my hair
looks its absolute best (volume + less frizz + not greasy) 3 days after
I shampoo it. I was hoping to attain this effect faster (like on day 2), and I figure using my natural scalp oils is the best way to do
that. My question is: What flipping hairbrush will best take some of my
top-of-head oils all the way to the ends of my hair (about 2ft)? I have
been using a paddle brush for as long as I can remember. I have a
fear of combs fostered by a childhood filled with knotty hair and tears.
I have found that bristle brushes don't really get all the way
through my hair (only brushes the top layer), but I haven't picked one up
in about 10 years and would be willing to try again.

Tips on keeping long hair healthy?

Hairodynamic — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:50:03 -0400

So I have LONG highlighted hair, and for the most part I keep it pretty healthy. I deep condition and do hot oil treatments every once in a while, and I only use heat about three times a week WITH a heat protectant. But I was just wondering if you guys had any more tips for me? Products, methods, etc? Thanks a bunch! xoxo

Rule of thumb for side parts?

sarahf — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 01:46:48 -0400

Not body parts. But is there a rule of thumb as far as how far over you can part your hair? I recently visited the salon and I had my hair re-styled a little bit. I wanted it parted pretty far over, but in typical fashion, I've since been obsessing that maybe I violated some unwritten rule (akin to those guidelines for eyebrow shaping). It's almost as far over as you can go without going down the side of my head, if that matters...

Combing wet hair

sarahf — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:56:07 -0400

Why again is brushing wet hair a no-no--and do I remember right that using a comb is preferred? I've always brushed my hair, never really used a comb for any purpose. I don't heat style anymore, so I use the brush to part my hair and brush it a little smooth before letting it air dry. I use an expensive brush (if it makes a difference, it's a mixture of boar and nylon bristles) and recently had to order a new one because I left it behind on a trip, so I went on Amazon which I always do to get the best price; they had a nice detangling comb by the same brand so I thought I'd try it. It's supposed to be durable and not have any rough seams, and when it came, it did look nice and smooth. It has wide set teeth.

At any rate, it seems to me that I feel more tugging and hear more ripping sounds when I use the comb on my wet hair than I ever did with the brush. It isn't that I hear a LOT of ripping or feel a LOT of tugging--it's just more than with the brush. So is it something else about wet brushing that's supposed to be bad? Or should I just go back to brushing?

Hard water with high clay content and hair

Jgirl — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:41:36 -0400

Good morning!

I live in a house that still has well water, which I mostly love. It is fairly hard water and it has a lot of clay in it. My BF lives in the city, with city water which is much softer water.

When I wash my hair more at my BFs house than at my house, it gets softer and shinier. When I wash it more at home it gets more dull, straw-like and difficult to control. I use the same products at both places.

Does anyone know what I might be able to do at home to help improve the condition of my hair when I wash in my hard, clay-tastic water? I'm not sure if the problem is clay being left behind in my hair, or the hardness of the water.

Thanks!