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.

NCFiction needs to know…I have dry curly hair, and the Hydrate line helps make it soft! At 8.5 oz for almost $30 Pureology conditioner is NOT cheap! I’m used to getting conditioner that has three times that for $6! (Aussie Moist.) But my hair was still feeling dry so I am looking for a cheaper alternative.  There are loads of stuff  in this formula,  I can see why it’s so expensive… any ideas?

The Left Brain responds:

The amount of “stuff” in the formula actually has nothing to do with the price. I’ll break it down for you…

Pureology ingredients

First, look at ALL the ingredients:

Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetrimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silantriol, Superoxide Dismutase, Melanin, Ascorbic Acid,Tocopheryl Acetate, Hilanthus Annuus (Sunlfower) seed extract and oil, Butylene glycol, Amodimethicone, C11-15 Pareth 7, Laureth 9, Glycerin, Trideceth 12, Citric Acid, Lactic acid, Malic acid, Camelia sinesis leaf extract, mucor mehei extract, lentinus edodes extract, ganoderma lucidum extract, mentha piperita (peppermint) leaf extract, Sage leaf extract, Rosemary leaf extract, Cetrimonium Bromide, Dimethiconol, Divinyldimethicone/dimethicone copolymer, C12-13 Pareth-23, C12-13 Pareth-3, Glycerth-26, Panthenol, Jojoba Esters, PEG-45M, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, butyrospermum parii (shea butter), wheat amino acids, mentha arvensis leaf oil, menthol, glycine soja (soybean) oil, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Polysorbate 60, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylparaben, Fragrance

Now I’ll strip away everything except the ingredients that actually condition your hair:

Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetrimonium Chloride, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Amodimethicone, Glycerin, Cetrimonium Bromide, Dimethiconol, Divinyldimethicone/dimethicone copolymer

These are the key conditioning ingredients.

Conditioner copycat

Now, if you want a formula that works the same, the first thing you do is look to see who makes Pureology.  It turns out to be L’Oreal.  They bought Pureology in 2007. So, look at other L’Oreal formulas like the Vives and find one with similar ingredients to the listing above. If those don’t work, try Pantene, Fructis, or Dove which all use similar ingredients. There really is nothing special about the Pureology formula which would warrant the price that they charge.

What do YOU think? Do you have any favorite conditioners you’d like to share with NC? Leave a comment for her and the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Indi-Curl wonders…I have just started a No-Poo hair care routine for my ultra-curly hair and I have a question about leave-in products that are compatible with the system. I know to avoid silicone, and I do, but I was wondering about products with Mineral oil in them. My favorite leave-in treatment contains Mineral oil.  Is a conditioner like VO5 strong enough to cleanse hair when this type product is used? I couldn’t find any real information online about it. Everyone just says not to use Mineral oil at all, but it works great on my hair! My hair has never looked better, but I want to make sure I don’t have any buildup problems down the road. Thanks!

Left Brain explains
For the people who don’t know it, the No-Poo hair care routine is basically washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. People also call it Co-washing as in Conditioner Washing. Some say it originated with a stylist in Australia but it’s tough to know where these things actually start. The reason people do it is because they want to avoid the harsh effects of shampoo surfactants on their hair. Another strategy is to use Dry Shampoo but we’ll save that for another post.

How can conditioner wash hair?

There is some science and logic behind this hair care regime. Shampoos are typically composed of about 10-15% detergent. They use anionic surfactants like Sodium Laureth Sulfate of Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate which do an excellent job of cleaning and removing oil from hair.

Conditioners also have detergents in them but a different kind. They use cationic surfactants (or quats) which have the tendency to stick to the hair where they provide conditioning. Common ingredients are Cetrimonium Chloride or Distearyldimonium Chloride and are used at 1-5%. Although they do stick to the hair, these ingredients also have the ability to cleanse the hair. This is why the No-Poo washing system can work.

Avoid Mineral Oil?

The reason people say to avoid silicones and mineral oil is because the amount of detergent used in conditioners may not be enough. This may or may not be true. It really depends on your hair and the way it is left feeling to you. The VO5 conditioner should be enough to remove mineral oil, but you have to try it to know for sure. It may even be good enough to remove silicone!

If you are unsatisfied with the way your hair feels after trying the No-Poo method, you should consider occasionally washing your hair or trying a VO5 Hot Oil treatment. I know this might sound odd, but the Hot Oil treatment does not actually have oil in it! It is composed of a quat (like the VO5 conditioner) called Cocotrimonium Chloride. You can use this product and it will give your hair a good cleaning without using the harsh surfactants of shampoo. It even foams.

Beauty Brains bottom line

There is no scientific reason to avoid using Mineral Oil or Silicone if you are using the No-poo method of cleansing. It just depends on whether you like the way your hair feels or not.

No-poo or Co-washing is not for everyone, but some people like the way it makes their hair feel. It will be less damaging, less exposure to chemicals, and may even do a better job of protecting your hair color & shape. However, I doubt the shampoo companies are too worried about everyone switching. While it may be less damaging, it also leaves your hair feeling a bit “dirty”…and it is.

Have you tried the No-poo washing method or even the dry shampoo option? Leave a comment below and let the rest of the Beauty Brains community know what you thought.

Gina just wants to know…I’ve been reading rave reviews of this Mixed Chicks product. Can you tell me how it’s different from Cantu Shea Butter, the leave in I use now?

The Right Brain replies:

For those of you not familiar with Mixed Chicks, it’s a line of hair care products designed for hair of biracial origin. Their website explains that the line is a “curl-defining system designed for “us” whether you’re black, white, asian, latin, mediterranean, or any glorious combination of the above.”

The Leave-in you asked about is described as a “patented formula penetrates the hair shaft, conditioning as it smoothes the follicle.” I hate to be nit-picky on this point, but the follicle is the tiny tube beneath your scalp that the hair grows from. You can’t “smooth” the follicle but you can smooth the cuticle which is the shingle-like outer most layer of hair. We don’t expect Mixed Chicks to be scientific experts but they should understand basic hair biology so they can explain how their products really work.

Mixed Chicks Leave in Conditioner Ingredients

How does Mixed Chicks compare to Cantu? Let’s take a look at the ingredients for these two products. First the Mixed Chicks leave in and then Cantu. To make it easier to read, we’re leaving out preservatives, colors and fragrance:

Water, Glycerin, Amodimethicone, Emulsifying Wax, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/pvp Crosspolymer, Stearalkonium Chloride, Methylguceth-20, Hydroxypopul Timonium Chloride, Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Jojoba Oil, Safflower Oil, Primrose Oil, Wheat Amino Acid, Crosilk, Hydrolyzed Collagen (Marine)

(Note: this ingredient list came from Amazon.com and has several typos.)

Water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Glycine Soja Oil (Soybean), Propylene Glycol, Polyquaternium 37, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PPG 1 Trideceth 6, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Stearalkonium Chloride, Trimethylsilylamodimethicone, Panthenol, PPG 1 PEG 9 Lauryl Glycol Ether, Lanolin Oil, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Acrylamidopropyltrimonium Chloride/Acrylamide Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein

Both are mixtures of water with oils and conditioning polymers. The big difference is that Cantu is based on shea butter and soybean oil while Mixed Chicks is high in glycerin and amodimethicone. Amodimethicone is an excellent conditioner and is one of the primary ingredients in Infusium 23, one of the classic leave in conditioners.   Both products should provide a high level of conditioning. We’d expect that Mixed Chicks would provide less greasy curl definition based on the lower concentration of  oily materials.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Both Mixed Chicks and Cantu appear to be highly moisturizing leave in conditioners but it’s impossible for us to say which one is better for you without knowing your hair type.  If you decide to try both, write back and let us know which one you liked best!

Does anyone in the Beauty Brains community have any curly conditioning tips for Gina? Leave a comment!

Janis’ joust: I can’t believe I’m asking this, but the topic came up in a long hair forums I’m on — once AGAIN, someone pipes up with the “authoritative” announcement that there is wax in Mane n Tail conditioner. They seem to be hated only slightly less than Pantene. *Sigh* Could you make some sort of statement about the actual ingredients of this stuff and what they are?  This is such a damned urban myth, and I can’t believe people are so anxious to cling to it. It’s like the alligators in the sewers, it just does not go away.

The Right Brain’s boast:

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE the members in the Beauty Brains Forum?  Well, I’m telling you now! The comments there are always so clever and spirited. For example, Janis raised the above question about Mane n Tail conditioner containing wax. Normally, we’d do some research to figure out the true scoop on the ingredients. But in this case, we didn’t have to because fellow Forum member Jami jumped in with her OWN research. (You gals are AWE-some!) To get the full effect you should read the entire thread yourself but here’s a quick recap.

A mainly tale

Jami contacted company that makes Mane n Tail and received a very (in our opinion) reasonable response: their conditioner does contain an ingredient that is technically called “emulsifying wax.” However, as the spokesman for the company correctly points out the following:

For instance, we [Mane n Tail] list emulsifying wax as an ingredient in our Mane ‘n Tail Moisturizer-Texturizer Conditioner. Emulsifying wax is not a wax as most consumers would assume from the name. Emulsifying wax is the ingredient that allows our other ingredients to blend properly; improving texture and consistency. So it is correct to say our product contains an ingredient with the word wax in the name but without researching the ingredient’s use, the consumer may be mislead by a writer’s omission of the complete explanation. We understand that researching each ingredient would be tedious for a consumer. That is why we follow the FDA’s regulations and recommendations list of approved ingredients for use in cosmetic products.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Well done, Mane n Tail! You have defended yourselves with honor. And a super-special thanks to Janis and Jamie for doing the heavy lifting on answering this one. We might just have to make you honorary Beauty Brains. (Except you’d hate the painful hazing process.)