the beauty of surfactants, or DYI hair products
Ok Dexter, time for some chemistry.
First the backstory:
If my hair is really short, I like to put some kind of crap on to keep it from totally frizzing out. The problem is a little tiny jar of this gunk seems to last me at least 6 months, by which time the packaging or formula has changed. I end up having to buy several kinds to get one that was like whatever the heck I had before, but throw the others out. What's in this stuff anyway?
What am I talking about? the little jars of 'wax' or 'pomade' - what it is and what it's called are seldom the same thing. The water-based ones are nice at first, but once in your hair they either become sticky (collects dust - gross) or get hard and crunchy. I also find that they are very sensitive to the application - if your hair is wet, you get this clumpy look, if it's dry you get this matte sticky look. They can smell nice though.
On the other hand are the oil based 'waxes'. A lot of these use castor oil as a base which smells like shite to me, no matter how they try to cover it up. Others use coconut oil (which is one of the few lipids that stay solid at room temperature - hence the 'wax' bit), but these smell a little too jerry-curl for my tastes.
Example 1: physique precision wax. A full-up oil-based formula.
==
Petrolatum, (Vaseline)
Beeswax,
Oleth-5, (surfactant and coemulsifier)
Dimethicone, (silicone)
Dimethicone Copolyol, (silicone oil?)
Phenoxyethanol, (preservative, similar to ethylene glycol)
Fragrance,
Propylparaben {preservative)
I like this one. Although I've noticed if I use more than just a tiny bit, bees come around. It stays light and shiny, and doesn't matter what moisture level your hair is at when you slap it on.
Example 2: Paul Mitchell Wax Works. A water-oil emulsion (mayonaise anyone?)
==
water
mineral oil
propylene glycol (base for deodorants, helps increase viscosity, non-toxic antifreeze)
oleth-5 (presumbably for emulsification)
DEA oleth-10 phosphate
...
...
Ok stuff. Nice smell. You can't get the original form anymore, they changed it around to some other formula a while back. It's a little more sensitive to how you put it on, but not as bad as the more heavily water-based ones.
Anyway, I prefer Example 1, and as it turns out, you can cook up a pretty good copy and add in whatever fragrance you like (or leave it the hell alone).
Source for many of these esoteric cosmetic chemicals, and good tips - the personal formulator
If you're really interested, it appears that mustacheod folks have done a lot of research in this area - mustache wax recipes
First the backstory:
If my hair is really short, I like to put some kind of crap on to keep it from totally frizzing out. The problem is a little tiny jar of this gunk seems to last me at least 6 months, by which time the packaging or formula has changed. I end up having to buy several kinds to get one that was like whatever the heck I had before, but throw the others out. What's in this stuff anyway?
What am I talking about? the little jars of 'wax' or 'pomade' - what it is and what it's called are seldom the same thing. The water-based ones are nice at first, but once in your hair they either become sticky (collects dust - gross) or get hard and crunchy. I also find that they are very sensitive to the application - if your hair is wet, you get this clumpy look, if it's dry you get this matte sticky look. They can smell nice though.
On the other hand are the oil based 'waxes'. A lot of these use castor oil as a base which smells like shite to me, no matter how they try to cover it up. Others use coconut oil (which is one of the few lipids that stay solid at room temperature - hence the 'wax' bit), but these smell a little too jerry-curl for my tastes.
Example 1: physique precision wax. A full-up oil-based formula.
==
Petrolatum, (Vaseline)
Beeswax,
Oleth-5, (surfactant and coemulsifier)
Dimethicone, (silicone)
Dimethicone Copolyol, (silicone oil?)
Phenoxyethanol, (preservative, similar to ethylene glycol)
Fragrance,
Propylparaben {preservative)
I like this one. Although I've noticed if I use more than just a tiny bit, bees come around. It stays light and shiny, and doesn't matter what moisture level your hair is at when you slap it on.
Example 2: Paul Mitchell Wax Works. A water-oil emulsion (mayonaise anyone?)
==
water
mineral oil
propylene glycol (base for deodorants, helps increase viscosity, non-toxic antifreeze)
oleth-5 (presumbably for emulsification)
DEA oleth-10 phosphate
...
...
Ok stuff. Nice smell. You can't get the original form anymore, they changed it around to some other formula a while back. It's a little more sensitive to how you put it on, but not as bad as the more heavily water-based ones.
Anyway, I prefer Example 1, and as it turns out, you can cook up a pretty good copy and add in whatever fragrance you like (or leave it the hell alone).
Source for many of these esoteric cosmetic chemicals, and good tips - the personal formulator
If you're really interested, it appears that mustacheod folks have done a lot of research in this area - mustache wax recipes
posted by bb_mcklarpinhammer at 4:32 PM
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