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Is alcohol always drying to hair, no matter what?
  • woodsygirl
    I read somewhere recently that you shouldn't use products with alcohol on your hair. Okay, I thought, no big deal, I just wash and condition anyway, and then put on that leave-in conditioner I love so much......waiiittaminute......so it turns out Sebastian's Potion Number 9 has alcohol in it. I LOVE this stuff, it makes my hair look great and smell wonderful, but am I drying it out by applying a leave-in product that contains alcohol?
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    Great question.No, you are not "drying" your hair out by using a product that contains alcohol. It's a myth that alcohol in hair care products will dry out hair. I'm not sure where it came from, but the truth is alcohol evaporates off your hair rather quickly after you've put it on. It has no "drying out" effect at all.
  • woodsygirl
    Yay! Thank you for the excellent information. I will goop that stuff on with (controlled) abandon.
  • Lejla
    I'm so happy to hear this answer, Left Brain. "It's a myth" was my gut reaction to people saying that alcohol was drying to hair, it makes no sense, and if it was, there would be so many bad leave-in-conditioners out there, they all contain alcohol. But I have some follow up questions:

    1. I'm guessing, then, that it also a myth that alcohol in skin care is drying?

    2. Is it okay to use a straightening iron on your hair if you use a leave-in product that contains alcohol? For example, my Wella Hydrating Milk has alcohol listed as the second ingredient, after water.
  • Janis
    This is interesting to me -- I've always heard that, and I suppose I took it for granted. So you're saying that alcohol has really very little effect on hair at all?

    What's the purpose of it being mixed into a given product at all? I wonder if it's not often used in products, together with other ingredients that have negative effects, or used exclusive of other ingredients that seem to combat "dryness," so that it appears to cause it.

    I also sometimes wonder what people mean when they say "dryness." I've heard it used to describe hair that was crunchy, brittle, tangled easily, split easily, or had little shine, when all of these seem like different things. And yet they're all described by various people with the word "dryness."
  • Lejla
    I think that alcohol is added as a solvent, like water. But I don't know why they can't just use water alone.
  • Janis
    Alcohol evaporates more easily and quickly than water -- maybe they use it as a solvent because it is a good carrier for the active ingredients and then vanishes fairly quickly?
  • noumenon
    No offense, but I don't agree with Left Brain. Just because something evaporates doesn't mean it doesn't have a drying effect. Try rubbing alcohol on your skin and seeing if it dehydrates the surface before evaporating. If it can do this to your skin, what makes you think it doesn't have a similar effect on your hair and scalp? Perhaps if the amount of alcohol in the product is insignificant it won't have any effect, but that seems counter-productive. If an ingredient is added to a product, it should be in an amount that can have a potential effect. It's kind of like the benefits of Honey, except in reverse. Honey does help hair, but the minuscule amounts found in hair products are generally worthless and there to fluff up the ingredients list.

    Alcohol likely has pro's and con's, but please don't assume that just because it's a common ingredient there's nothing wrong with it. Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate is a common ingredient in at least 50% of shampoos, but it's also a fairly harsh surfactant that should probably be avoided when possible.

    My recommendation is: When in doubt, leave it out. Do some research on why the Alcohol is in your product, then determine how important it is and whether or not you can find less questionable alternatives.
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    No offense taken.  There is certainly room for disagreement. 
    However, I base my conclusions on laboratory experiments with hair and years of experience creating hair products.  What (beyond your own thinking) leads you to your conclusions?
    There is nothing wrong with ALS as used in shampoos.  True, it is a harsh surfactant but when properly formulated it can be used safely.  What surfactant would you suggest would be superior in terms of leaving your hair in the best condition?
    Anyway, I just looked at the formula list for the Sebastian product listed and there is no "alcohol" in there.  http://www.folica.com/Sebastian_Origi_d2185.html
    There is 'Cetearyl Alcohol' but this is not the same thing as the alcohol (Ethanol) that we have been talking about.
    Alcohol is a generic term used by organic chemists to refer to any molecule that contains an -OH group. 
    This is certainly a case where a little knowledge is a bad thing.
  • Janis
    "Perhaps if the amount of alcohol in the product is insignificant it won't have any effect, but that seems counter-productive. If an ingredient is added to a product, it should be in an amount that can have a potential effect."

    It may not have to -- it can be a carrier, or a fragrance, or a foaming agent, a colorant to give something a pleasant tint, or something to improve the feel of the product. No product anywhere is composed of solely active ingredients.
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