Cindy’s sassy about Sebastian…What’s up with Sebastian Shaper Hairspray? Everyone I know who uses it just freaks out about this stuff but I can’t even find it because it’s always out of stock. Is there something really better or different about this hairspray compared to other brands?

The Right Brain responds:

Actually, Cindy, there is a simple answer to your question. Many hairsprays are formulated with a chemical that is TERRIBLE for your hair style. This chemical causes your hair to droop and lose its style almost the instant it is applied. Sebastian wisely chooses to NOT use this chemical in their aerosol hairspray and that’s one of the primary reasons their product is so good.

Sebastian Shaper’s secret

The secret to Sebastian’s formula is: WATER. That’s right. simple H20. Many companies use water in their aerosol hairsprays because it’s much cheaper. But when water contacts the hair, it loosens some of the internal bonds and causes the hair to lose its style. If you can avoid water in your hairspray you’ll get a much better style. (Of course there are other ingredients in the formula that control how well the hairspray holds. You can read our series on Adorable Aerosols if you want to learn more.)

Hairsprays that are “all wet”

If you like the way Sebastian makes your hair feel, you’ll want to avoid these brands that formulate their hairsprays with water:

• Pantene Pro-V Texturize
• Suave Max Hold
• Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing
• Got 2b Styltini
• Garnier Fructis Style Volumizing Anti-Humidity
• Dove Hairspray, Extra Hold
• Rusk W8less Plus Shaping and Control
• Aussie Instant Freeze

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Water is bad for your hairstyle but if you can’t afford Sebastian shop around for other hairsprays that don’t use water. How can you tell? Turn the can over and read the ingredient list!

What’s YOUR favorite hairspray? Leave a comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Kara’s Question:
What is the deal with those wet/dry hair straighteners? I’ve always heard that using a normal flat iron on wet hair is just *awful* for your hair. These things not only claim to *not* damage your hair, they say their irons actually make your hair BETTER.

One reviewer even said: “I was surprised at the sizzling noise – which sounded like cooking sausages as it was applied to wet hair, but then I read that the noise was sealing the moisture in the hair.”

As if that’s not bad enough, some sites even use high-magnification pictures of hair to show how their irons are ‘better’: for example this picture.

Well Brains, what say thee?

The Right Brain responds:
Thanks for posting one of the most well researched question we’ve seen yet, Kara! Maybe you should start your own beauty blog!

But on to your answer…

Heat is bad for your hair

Applying heat to your hair is bad. It’s bad because it’s damaging to the hair’s protein infrastructure. It’s bad because it disturbs the natural hair “cement” that holds the cuticles in place. It’s bad because it hastens the evaporation of precious moisture from the hair shaft. It’s bad because…well, you get the picture.

Asking if the wet/dry straightening iron is less damaging to your hair than a regular straightening iron is sort of like asking if getting shot with a 22 caliber bullet is better than getting shot with a 44 Magnum. Maybe the hole is a little smaller, but you’re still DEAD!

The website you cited makes some pretty strong claims:

Tourmaline, a precious stone, generates up to 6 times more negative ions upon heating than traditional ceramic irons. The extra negative ions along with gentle far-infrared heat guarantee soft, smooth, frizz-free silky straight hair without heat damage.

New Age nonsense

We haven’t seen any evidence that these “new age” mineral irons are any better or worse than the standard metallic ones. Now, it is true that a high quality iron can be better than a cheap one. But as long as the iron you use is in good condition (so it doesn’t snag the hair) and as long as it provides uniform heat (so you don’t get hot spots) it doesn’t make much difference if it contains “ions” or not.

By the way, we love the explanation that the sizzling noise really “sealing the moisture in the hair.” Hoo Boy! Sizzling noises, like sirens, are rarely a good thing. In this case, you’re hearing the water turning to steam and escaping from the hair. And that’s not good!

Is a picture worth 1000 words?

But what about the hair pictures? Well, it’s hard to tell from these images but it looks like the hair treated with the “regular” iron has significant cuticle uplifting. The hair treated with the “magic” iron is much smoother looking. So the the magic iron is better, right? Well, not so fast. What about that that cloudy area along the top of the hair shaft? Maybe that’s just an artifact of the digital image conversion. But it could also be ablasion – a condition that occurs when heat and pressure fuse the plates of the cuticle. That means the hair is actually weakened. In any case, evaluating electron micrographs of hair is a complex process. We really can’t tell what’s going on from the pictures posted on this website. The Brains could run that test for you – but trust us – you couldn’t afford it!

The Beauty Brain’s Bottom line:
If your friends tell you they bought one of these irons and they really like it then, by all means, go ahead and buy one for yourself. But DON’T buy one just because the manufacturer shows you these pictures and promises to deliver “6 times more negative ions.” Okay?

We’re having a lot of fun posting tweeting to our top 100 beauty friends on Twitter and we’re getting some good questions from our followers. Here’s one example:

NM tweets…Any insight to new technology in flat-irons: nano fusion, far-infrared heat, crushed tourmaline, ionic and effects on hair?

The Left Brain leaps to respond:

Here are some specific flat iron claims that NM questioned along with my comments.

1. Tourmaline technology produces up to 20 times more moisture-locking ions than other professional irons. Being solid ceramic versus a coat of ceramic, it allows for more crushed tourmaline gemstones, thus producing more negative ions and creating shinier, silkier, and more reflective hair.”

There is no scientific evidence that I could find which would support the 20 times claim or an indication of what ions are formed. The only reference I could find was that it produced Hydroxyl ions when put in contact with the water. There is no evidence that these ions have ANY positive effect on hair. More important for characteristics like shine, silky feel and reflectiveness is the condition of the hair. If the hair is not damaged, it will look shinier & feel smoother. Ions have nothing to do with it.

2. “Tourmaline is a natural source of negative ions.”

What ions? Ions have to be some kind of element or compound. There is no such thing as “negative ions”. There are “negative hydroxyl ions” or “negative chlorine ions” but there are no “negative ions”. I can’t refute or confirm without an indication of what kind of negative ions they are talking about.

3. What’s the difference between ceramic and tourmaline?

Ceramic is a material composed usually of clay. Tourmaline is a silicate, precious stone. They are just different types of inorganic materials.

4. “Ionic technology emits negative ions, which neutralize the positive ions that cause static in the hair. It breaks down water molecules to 100 times smaller, allowing moisture to easily and quickly absorb into each strand, therefore creating softer, smoother hair.”

No, this isn’t true. Water molecules are not made smaller. Water molecules stay the same size. There is no published scientific report to demonstrate that Tourmaline irons create less static than ceramic ones.

5. “Hair carries a positive electrical charge caused by dryness. Over time this positive charge increases, and as hair becomes drier, the more open the cuticle becomes. When a flat iron or hair dryer is heated, negative ions are created, canceling out the positive charges and smoothing the hair cuticle.”

Hair carries both a positive and negative charge but it’s not “caused” by dryness. It is the result of damaged proteins which can be caused by heat damage, styling damage, environmental damage, sun damage, etc. It’s not true the the cuticle becomes more open because of ions and it’s also not true that “canceling positive charges smooths down the cuticle”.

6. “Far Infrared Heat – This technology heats the hair from the inside out, causing less surface damage. Said to straighten hair faster hence reducing damage.”

No it doesn’t. These flat irons work the same as regular flat irons. They transfer heat from the surface through the hair not the other way around. There is no proof that they work different.

7. “Is Far Infra-Red heat more energy efficient? Does it really heat hair from the inside out – is that even possible?”

These flat irons do not heat the hair from the inside out. I suppose it would be possible to heat the hair from the inside out, but I’ve never seen a flat iron that actually does. And even if you could do it, there is no evidence that it would make a noticeable difference.

8. “The Ionic Energy and the Silver Nano Technology kills 99.9% of bacteria and air born viruses. “ And, if nanotechnology is generally used in conjunction with silver, how does that figure in to a ceramic plate iron? And how/why is it known for its natural anti-bacterial and antifungal properties?

I have no idea what technology they are talking about. The heat from ANY flat iron will kill bacteria and viruses. Nano technology won’t make a bit of difference. Silver is known to have antibacterial properties. But I don’t understand what exactly is the benefit of a flat iron killing bacteria and viruses?

Sarah Bellum says:

Anytime I can sample an Italian product I’m in heaven. (According to my Grandma, our last name comes from “bella” the Italian word for beauty.) So naturally I was thrilled to test drive Barex’s latest hair care innovation, their Gum Gum pomade.

Barex Italiana Gum Gum

This pomade is supposed to be a modeling paste that can shape, mold and define hair. It’s also supposed to have a strong hold and a matte finish. And it costs *gulp* $24.50.

Sadly, I don’t think this Gum Gum was yum yum for my hair type. I was looking for a sticky putty to give my hair some texture. Gum Gum made my hair shiny and smooth but gave it very little texture or hold. It was a little too shiny for my tastes- it felt kind of greasy. Based on what Righty tells me, that’s because it has too much 2-ethyl hexyl palmitate and not enough VP/VA Copolymer. (How’s THAT for some science? In your face, Sarah Bellum haters!) But if you’re looking to add smoothness and shine to your hair, you may love this product.

Does anyone else like styling creams and puttys? Share your comments with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Nanda Has Curly Curiosity… Hi there! Thanks for your great work on your blog. I have thick curly hair, and it seems the only thing that reliably defines my frizzy curls is a little known product called Dudley’s Fantastic Body Texturizing Setting Lotion. It’s fairly inexpensive, since my hairdresser has me mix it with water before spraying it on my head. It’s water-based, and so unlike gels and creams, it doesn’t build up at all. Also, I keep hearing raves about another product that sounds very similar, called Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper. Could you help me determine if they’re as similar as they sound?

The Right Brain Chemically Corresponds:
Nanda, the products that you’re considering are quite different based on the ingredient lists. Let’s take a look:

Dudley’s Fantastic Body Setting Lotion:

Deionized Water, Polyquaternium-11, PEG-75, Lanolin, Polysorbate-60, Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance, FD & C Blue No.1.

Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper:

Deionized Water, PVP/VA Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Laureth 23, Glycerin, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, Polyquaternium 10.

The key active ingredient in Dudley’s is Polyquaternium-11. A conditioning ingredient used in many mousses. It will make your hair soft and help defrizz curls.

Curly Hair Solutions, on the other hand, contains PVP/VA copolymer which is a pretty powerful film former. This product also has the ability to shape your curls but it will leave a crispy feeling styling crust, more like a gel or hairspray.

Both products could keep your curls controlled; it depends on the type of feel you like. If you like a very soft feel, stick with Dudley’s. If you want a firmer feel, go for Curly. But in neither case should you be diluting them with water. By adding water you could inactivate the antimicrobial control agents in the formula leaving the product open to bacteria growth which is not a good thing. If you’re on budget shop around for the least expensive product, but you really shouldn’t take cut corners by taking chances with bacterial contamination.

And thanks to Beth Robinson at Strangedolls.net for the image. We LOVE her creepy custom made dolls!

Do you have problems with curly hair?  What solutions have you found?  Leave a comment to help the other curly-haired brains.