Silicone Sucks In Implants : Shines Bright on Frizz Hair Problem

FLATTEN THAT FRICKEN

 FRIZZY HAIR

- Part 2 in 5 Part Series
One of the life altering moments in the world of ethnic and frizzy hair care came when “SILICONE’S were introduced to styling products and conditioners. Who could've predicted this one... a substance despised by so many women with lousy breast implants, would end up coming to the rescue of one of women’s biggest complaints. . . only in America! 

The 2 silicones used in the majority of “frizz-free” hair products are Cyclomethicone and Dimethicone. I will continue to remind you to note various ingredient names for the best care of your hair, it is important to become familiar with names and actions yourself.

Cyclomethicone is the lighter of the two silicones and you will find it most often in thermal sprays, thermal (heat protection) coatings, gloss serums, gloss & shine sprays. The consistency is that of a (clear) maple syrup, with absolutely no stickiness or tackiness to it. Slippery is a good one word description for it.

Silicone is described in the dictionary as : any of a number of polymers
containing alternate silicon and oxygen atoms, whose properties are determined
by the organic groups attached to the silicon atoms, and that are fluid,
resinous, rubbery, extremely stable in high temperatures, and
water-repellent.

Dimethicone, #2 is heavier feeling, weighs more, and is normally the one used in hair conditioners and is combined with sister “Cyclo”-methicone, in every companies never ending search for the proper ratio with each other. Its funny for years I tried to battle the problem with a number of other very similar ingredients we use in formulating ethnic hair care products, but always ended up coming back to the silicone's. Being the "natural"-freak that I was born and bred to be, using silicones just didn't seem the proper route ( I also have straight hair, BTW!) They really do work extremely well and they are not harmful in any way especially when you are using them topically. So I have quit trying to fight an unnecessary battle …smart, huh? !

Most curly hairs have what I refer to as “wiry” hair and what does wiry hair need? It needs “softness” and the trip from wiry to soft is where Mister and Mrs. Silicone get their big name from because they have solved the journey.
For the ultimate in Frizz fighting the silicones can be applied via a few different products that incorporate both into their formulas. That way they work more efficiently, than just pouring on a stream of straight silicone, unfortunately that just doesn’t work and is much to greasy and gooey!

There is one company that I have been using for over 15 years, that carries (almost) everything you will need. I am not a fan of their shampoos, but that is only because they have not come out with one that does not have SLS Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in it, I am sure they will soon.
They have updated their website and everything on it goes along with all of my hair philosophy so I would use that for your battle against the frizz ,as well. I will be contacting them to see if we can do some sort of podcast in conjunction for all KILLER STRANDS members. I’d like to be able to show you how to apply the products perfectly so you will have the good results they provide.

Which products you purchase all depends on the degree of frizz-iness you have, no one makes better products for frizzier hair than this company. The owner is a master chemist and you can tell by the quality of his products.

This line up is in the order I put them in importance, the first one on the list being the most useful ( again it depends on your level of frizziness)

Always....Always carry a small bottle of Silken seal drops in your purse, if you have the high level of frizz it sounds like most of you have....you will need to re-apply throughout the day.

The Shelf Life of Hair Color Has Been Answered

and other truths in the process pof the life-span of your hair color & cosmetics

With the recent review of a few heartfelt email questions I thought I would start out with a POST on something mellow -- yet imperative - SHELF LIFE and HAIR COLOR.

Shelf life is that length of time that food, medicine and other perishable items are given before they are considered unsuitable for sale or consumption. Shelf life is the time that products can be stored, during which the defined quality of a specified proportion of the goods remains acceptable under expected (or specified) conditions of distribution & storage. "WHEW!!

       

Just like with every other food and product you deal with during the course of a normal day, there is a shelf life of hair color and cosmetics. How long should you keep that blue mascara from high school you can't buy anymore? I know I have at least a half tube of a golden brown that if I throw in some auburn ought to cancel the yellow out . . . right?        
Sound Familiar?       
It should these are right out of some of YOUR emails { the names have been changed to protect the innocent}

Here is a very short general guideline for your cosmetics, because I feel so strong about this I'm even willing to roam over into the category of cosmetics for you (HAIR is big enough for me to cover without adding the never ending category of Cos. !)

First off, if it smells, stinks, has a distinct odor that should not be, throw it away! I am amazed at how long women will keep cosmetics that have a bad odor, look like its disintegrating or logically know it should be in the trash. Do yourself a favor and trash it.  Another good rule of thumb, if you can't remember when you purchased it, trash it. Makeup should not stir up memories from ten years ago, if your makeup bag does, throw it out. I think when you purchase cosmetics you should mark it down on your calendar. 6 months is all I would keep mascara, if you aren't using it up in 6 months, you aren't using it and quit buying it maybe. Personally I permanently TINT my eyelashes - with albino eyelashes - you HAVE to.

 

Now as far as the SHELF LIFE of your hair color, the more "organic" or "natural" the product . . . the more susceptible it will be to "going bad". That IS  one of the many down side's to the whole 'la-la' GREEN world. So one of the best tools to combat this - - - you already own, that I doubt you ever use <> is right there in your home and at your disposal . Your refrigerator. Store many of your cosmetics there if you are in need of becoming more thrifty, green and to be perfectly frank > smart. Yep its a pain to go back and forth, buy a tricky cool tray of some sort - one for cosmetics, one for hair color, even putting your teeth bleaching kits in there will preserve them the their fullest. If you are going to spend the CASH, get your money's worth. 

When I give examples like this remember I am always talking about the professional Hair Color we sell at Killerstrands as our reference point. I have been using it for many years and have that 10,000 HEADS of experience to go off of that I  feel safe and secure quoting to you, you will have to make adjustments with your own colors and brands. If you have any specific questions, remember an email to our store's email address : Killerstrands.info@gmail.com is still the FASTEST way to get an answer from ME ! I will always answer to, unless its a silly question. I really think hair color is good for up to 1 year and have used successfully hair color up to 18 months and it was fine. Look at it, keep it refrigerated, don't use it if something is odd about it.

What's that called?......................Common Sense

All of you new Crib Colorists are saving so much money by learning and doing this on your own -  PLEASE PLEASE use the proper colors we have determined will be correct for you.  Once you get past that initial consultation with me about your hair color formulation - buy 6 months worth of color and relax  - -  you only have to solve the hair color questions for your own hair 
Is your hair worth it?   

YES.

How much time and effort do we all put into our hair?  A LOT

          Killer Chemist

There Is Something About Hair Products You Must Pay AttentionTo...

I try hard in life NOT TO BE A NEGATIVE person,

I promise I do,

I am hoping it doesn't seem like the opposite to the Killerstranders Gang

Like in any field there is the "behind the scenes" stories and then what is on 'the surface'.... What I am doing for Killerstranders is giving you the "behind-the-scenes" from the hair industry.
If it affects the health of your hair, then I feel it is YOUR BUSINESS


The large hair manufacturing companies may not believe that is the case, but that is why the INTERNET was invented, wasn't it? In America we have many organizations regulating all sorts of things the IRS, the FTB, the NRA, Social Security, and on and on.

 
As I am sure you have seen, the War on Terror which is supposed to be at the forefront is lagging so poorly we cannot even get "Homeland Security" to do their job efficiently, so regulating and keeping an eye on Hair and Beauty products seems rather insignificant in comparison when you think about it.

First of all, what is the name of the industry that regulates hair and beauty products?
Do we all know? Guess.......
Got it ??????????
The United Beauty Administration ???????
NOPE ?
In the good ole US of A its what's called > the FOOD & DRUG Administration. The FDA.
Wow, but where are the words beauty or hair or health???
NOWHERE to be found.....why?
So the Food industry regulates hair and beauty????...........or better yet..........the DRUG industry????....you mean medicines-prescriptions and shit???
YEP! That's them.....
What could either Category have to do with the beauty industry??
They are the ones that are regulating beauty products?
More specifically > Hair products?
YEP, boys & girls,yep!
How?...................Why? ..................Are you kidding?.........................Nope!
So that is your first blow and the first HUGE HUGE mistake .

Basically there is no one regulating the hair industry.
If any industry is watched it is Skin Care and that is ONLY because the "drug" industry does NOT WANT any skin care products DIPPING into the "Drug" ARENA ...AT ALL. You should see the big wall and restrictions they have put up to PREVENT that from happening.

The FDA would have to bring home all the troops from Iraq to enforce the rules they have "JUST FOR THE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS to be enforced!!
So you can forget the hair Industry following any rules AT ALL!

Exactly "where' does "hair" fit in to either FOOD or DRUGS?
Absolutely NOWHERE
So basically the hair industry gets away with murder, I envision Hair CEO'S laughing all the way to the bank
I can see them at their meetings, planning their stategies and just laughing at the fact that no one will even be checking on the way they execute their next plan,
& what a breeze this industry is....FA LA LA LA LA

For example, and the reason for this post......
about 6-7 years ago?? I forget 'when' exactly, the new big thing was to have shampoo that was "COLOR-Safe". 
Remember, when that first hit? Coloring hair had become such a huge HUGE industry and those of us that cared about our clients color "lasting" sent them out in search for "COLOR-SAFE" shampoos. There were those nim-rod Stylists that felt if their clients "didn't" use a color-safe shampoo then they would have to return for more frequent visits (help).
Now if you had Cosmetic Chemistry training...or had conducted your own tests then you knew that the ingredient that was the enemy was the "sulfates" SLS/ALS or any of the cousins.

But what the executives at L'Oreal....& many of the drug store shampoos {whose sales by the way are in the 'Billions" of dollars range} did was >>
> they simply stamped "COLOR- SAFE "on the bottle of the same shampoo !
They did not change the formula...
not one change....not one alteration.........NOTHING!

I don't know, but I would imagine they didn't even think twice about it

The really horrible part?
They are perfectly legal doing it
--- legal 'yes'
--- morally ???

Do most of you think they probably laughed all the way to the bank? Or am I being mean spirited? I figured this out about 8 years ago when I delved into the world of Cosmetic Chemistry.
Before that, our worlds did NOT collide

{Chemists don't get along with Stylists

Stylists don't get a long with Chemists

Hair Product manufacturer CEO's don't get along with Chemists or Stylists

Then a Trichologist ( which we do NOT HAVE HERE in the USA, and I sure wish we did) is a whole other rock to throw into the spokes of the turning wheel of HAIR + Hair Health + Hair Colour.

Even though we have no Trichology training here in the USA, I am prepared to take the TEST when we do.
Which is what I mean about how they sit at their meetings just rubbing their hands at how they are 'allowed' to get away with MURDER because NO ONE IS WATCHING and there are no rules in place.

There could be battery acid in those bottles and technically they could NOT get in trouble for that. We have no regulations as to "what" a shampoo is,
what a conditioner "is" what's in them what can be,
what cannot be

Can you believe that in this day and age?
The Europeans have a whole entity set up regulating this industry.
I'm the last person to OVER-regulate things - I swear, but in this instance it makes my neck hairs curl!

What those cheap brands use as their ingredients...is discussed heavily and often in our trade magazines for Cosmetic Chemists.
My vision of this industry changed so much once I got the education as a cosmetic chemist, enlightened my whole world into "HOW products are made"... and what each and every ingredient "IS"
It was a wonderful addition to the education and knowledge I already had.

Please, every time one of those hair commercials comes on..........be VERY very careful....what you get out of them...

So - at least - I got this subject off my chest..... remember it...every time you pick up any hair or skin product....you MUST begin to learn to protect yourself, you must begin to pay attention to ingredients in cosmetics/hair products the same way you do in food.

It will seem hard at first, jot down the names of chemicals you have heard to be bad... just keep reading and paying attention.... because no one is doing it for you.

KillerChemist

Hair Color Whisperer - Release of Secret #104

Give your Regards to KAITLIN

For all of you that read my Blog . . .
None of what I write............ do I ever claim is 100% MY words...............I learn a lot from a lot of people and can never say where things may have stemmed from.

Read at your own risk.
In the past couple years I have gone on an oil-finding mission, comparing properties, comparing numbers and comparing real live human results. Not oil for your car, although I would love to solve that one as well! No this is oil for your skin and hair...once I learned that lipids which come from (real-natural) oils are what the skin, scalp & hair strands need for true health, I embarked on a mission to find the best ones for the proper application. Once again, I wanted to share what the wealthy, the brilliant, the cosmetics chemists of the world all are privileged to know -- with you and I hope you will all use it. No longer do I buy $100.00 face creams and the like, there simply is no need to. Studying over 25 oils quite intensively - I have favorites for face, for body and for hair. Its all technical and based on each ones properties, the last thing I want to do is bore you, Id rather cut-to-the-chase. Let me tell you about my newest find and guess what, it is the most exciting yet and it is for the hair (and skin) !
Your skin is the largest organ on your body and I think many of you disregard & disrespect its importance. Your skin and scalp absorb through its pores at very high percentages. That is one reason the medical industry is turning to "patches" to deliver their pharmacological ingredients. You are able to receive a slow-release of the medicine and avoid a trip to the hospital to use an I V. Don't you consider that remarkable and important? Don't forget how important that largest organ you have, on that precious body of yours -- IS - - -treat it with kindness.

Researching this oil -- to do some testing, I discovered it was so remarkably high in vitamin E and had these very interesting phyto-sterols, which are good for scar tissue and so many other things” — including, that hard-to-define problem of lackluster skin. It is certainly the richest oil I have felt ever - the weirdest part of that? It dries out completely on the skin, 'dry'! Its a DRY OIL! What a dream! My first thought was how I could turn this into a styling oil or add it to THRIVEN, or anything ... I was so excited - guess what the hold-up would end up being? The price. Its quite expensive - but I came up with Plan B. Thank the Lord for Plan B. This has been a thought of mine for years, I just never went to the effort of putting it together.
Meanwhile, more Western cosmetic companies are now starting to distribute this “liquid gold,” as it is often called. Liz Earle a European skin care queen developed a line based on the Liquid Gold that she is now selling on HSN. She has decided to mix it with other oils which is a brilliant idea but still she sells a night complex in a roller-ball container that holds 1/3 of an ounce of product for $33.00 - here's the link http://beauty.hsn.com/liz-earle-superskin-concentrate-night-treatment_
but to me that is too much $$ for not enough of the actual product. I just sold one FULL ounce of ARGAN OIL to one of our members for $20.00. so that would be quite the deal.
Prior to finding this wonder-oil I had drawn up a plan to begin adding a combo of oils I have developed into 1 powerhouse. I have Avocado oil + Wheat Germ oil + Sesame Oil + Rose Hips Oil, with a tad bit of essential oil combo I made up. The Oil is called : GLEAM : 4 ounces of that... should last you a year. The plan ? At every hair coloring you can use 1 of 2 methods:
#1.) Apply approx. 1 Tablespoon (depends on hair length, thickness, density & porosity) to entire hair lengths, massaging in & combing thru. Proceed to color hair - which would get the oil INSIDE the hair shaft.
#2) Add 1 Teaspoon of oil to the hair color AFTER it has been mixed up. It can be added to Bleach, High-lift Blondes, all of it. Apply color as normal. Again the oil will be deposited INSDE the hair strands - - exactly where it needs to be and the one and only way it will ever get there --when the cuticle is open.
Both excellent methods, simply a matter of choice. . . over the months I have tried both on any number of clients I don't see a lot of difference in each of the applications - - but I see a HUGE difference in the results. The hair is soooooooooo much softer and more luxurious - it is incredible, I will never color without using Argan oil again. . . that's how great the results are.
I have about 2 dozen remaining secrets I have not given away - this is one of them. Imagine using ARGAN oil on your hair in these 2 methods . . . simply delicious!
KC

' Oil-Free' -Misleading - Mistaken - Misconception - Miss not-on-my-hair

Learn the Deception, Learn the Truth

LEARN TO LOVE natural, organic, earth grown, real ... homegrown oils, include them in your hair, body & skin products instead of trying to avoid them - - they are put on earth by God for all to use on our bodies and in our foods, it is such a simple concept that we have twisted into complication. Today you will learn that we must go back to the earth, back to our beginnings ... for decent and enriching ingredients, it is the way of the future, but we must begin today.
Seeing so many "OIL-FREE" labels on products has been very disturbing to me. For a very long time I have been hesitant to tell this story because it is such a huge concept and covers all cosmetic products. In my learning of this science I never went looking for many of the ''wonders'' I found . . . . they

were simply a by-product of the journey. I would like to teach you, in an easy to understand manner, what 3 years of Cosmetic Chemistry taught me. Once I delved into the world of chemistry I was soon to discover the true meaning of what "oil-Free" meant to the chemists that make your cosmetics . Funny thing is, I....like you... spent 20 years seeking out 'oil-free' products myself, going to all corners of the world to find them, I was sure that "oil" was what gave me the mini breakouts, whiteheads & blackheads I would get - I was sure they were very bad for my skin. Boy, was I wrong, you truly couldn't be more wrong than me and what I thought was right. What it is that sets an entire country of women off on a certain trend is beyond me, I am only glad I found out the truth.
Another accidental find for me, most of my grand discoveries were just that . . . common sense accidents. When I found this one out…I swear to you, I had tears in my eyes wondering just what else was as misleading as this was. Knowing that if the general public knew what "oil-free" truly meant and what is used in its place…the bottle would end up in the trash at the very least, if not in the manufacturers front windows. When a label says it is "oil-free" you should see what they replace it with in order to make that product you have holding in your hand.
First off, that product MUST have something "oil like" in the formula in order for the formula to come out correctly. Remember, making
cosmetics is exactly like cooking. Cooking and Cosmetic-making are both "chemical processes" -- no one publicizes it that way, it is not very appealing, but it is an easier way for you to understand these chemistry theories. I am dead serious when I tell you it took me 2 full years to understand most of this subject (I was raised an athlete, not an academic - so you can blame my parents) many more will understand in shorter amounts of time >> IF I relate it to cooking- so we can move on, that's all.
When 'oil' is required to make your favorite bread or a certain cookie, if you remove it, it will ruin the texture, taste and quality... turning the end result into something hideous. Every single ingredient is mandatory to make that loved product come out the exact same way you LOVE it. Same thing happens with using oil in the formula to make a body lotions, creams, or hair conditioners. You notice in THRIVEN, my deep conditioner, the very first ingredient is Camellia Oil (another wonderful oil I found), that is one of many reasons why THRIVEN works so well - it also has avocado oil another of my favorites. When I found the following information out, I went on long and deep research mission studying and analyzing all Natural Oils. My goal ? to know everything about every oil at our disposal, some of them are spectacular (here I spent 20 years avoiding them - idiot!) Many times I will use just plain oil right out of the bottle ( with a couple drops of amber fragrance mixed in ) after a bath or long shower on my skin, just use a small amount of Rose Hip Oil : rub it all over my dry skin, its truly wonderful and so fascinating to me that I (we) never knew this, and how perfectly it works! No need for a heavy lotion or cream if I haven't made mine for the month yet, rubbing oil directly on the skin is perfect for dry skin, absolutely perfect! I only make & use my own lotions now and have never used a store bought one again. Remember, your skin is the largest organ on your body, so every bit of goodies you rub on the skin ...goes in the body.

When the public started requesting "oil-free" products of all kinds and the cosmetic manufacturers heard that request; loud & clear. It turned the cosmetic industry on their head. How would they make a lotion or a cream without an oil ? It just couldn't be done, Oil was the main ingredient to every hair conditioner, body lotion and cream.
Now in their defense . . they were 100% correct …and once I understood the chemistry .. I had (a tiny bit of) compassion for them. How could you make a cake without flour ?? is a fair comparison, oil is that important in any emulsion ( emulsion being >>lotions, creams, hair conditioners, etc.). That is basically what was being asked for, the most precious and most important ingredient in a lotion and a cream and a hair conditioner needs Oil or it will not work. One needs Oil and water to make the wonderful concoction we now call lotions, creams, conditioners, face creams, etc. and is a very large and costly segment of the entire cosmetic industry.
So what the industry did was make up a new classification of ingredients, calling a man-made substance they all make > Esters…into that newly named category "Esters" which were formally called an oil. Now technically, they claim to not be an oil either - and at this point my knowledge of chemistry has faded in the years...so it hits its limit so I asked a few chemists to explain it to me, every single one gave me a politician-like answer. Nothing I could comprehend or decipher.This way they had a brand new category which was not considered or referred to as an "oil" even though it looks - acts and feels exactly like one. They basically took silicones and all the variables of it and threw them into an entirely new classification so they "TECHNICALLY" could no longer be called an oil ... this way they could now...legally... print ..."Oil-Free" on the label for the FDA . . . and YOU, the consumer. I - - WAS - - - MORTIFIED - -to - - say - - the - - least.
For years they were used as oils and even called oils, then they twisted them into a new category " Esters " - if you want to look up what an ester is . . .

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/esters/background.html

Once I figured this one out -- I was floored.
I would much rather use an organic-natural-earth grown Oil that was not man-made and made with "only God knows what" in my creams, lotions, and hair conditioners. These esters were much worse and have no enriching ingredients in them, the only thing they do have, is the consistency of oil, they are man-made and now "legally" they could print oil-free on the label and you the consumer thought there was no oil in the formula, remember that. How deceptive I thought, they take a class of fairly new made chemicals called Esters and use them in the formula now to make Creams, Lotions, Hair Conditioners, Serums, Detanglers, hair sprays, shampoos, everything and can claim they are 100% Oil-Free even though it would be an oil to you and me if it was put in front of us -- blindfolded, open eyed or poured all over your body in a bikini oil wrestling match. Esters feel more oily than an oil does, I promise you.
I'm sure you all know what silicone is....right? Or Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Trimethicone, Yep, the stuff they cram in silicone breast implants, hair serums, Flat Irons sprays, Hair Detanglers (did you ever realize it was the same ingredients - yuk, huh?).....well silicone's are a man-made Ester as well, YEP! All those 'cones' which I feel are OK for hair in small doses {& are great for heat protection for hair} I sure as Hell wouldn't want them on my skin, how horrible they must be for pores and acne? For moisturizing? They don't moisturize they are greasy and sit on top of the skin. I actually think the world of them for heat protection....and 'why' ?? Because they are this odd type of oil that can protect your hair from getting heat damage... That oil, the oil they put in breast implants...is the oil they are using in those products you are buying that claim to be oil-FREE ! Because an ester IS silicone and Silicone is an Ester! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
I began experimenting and giving clients simple natural - real oil concoctions I made using multiple organic/natural REAL oils like avocado, sesame, wheat germ, raspberry, rose hip oils and asked them to u

se certain oils on their face instead-of their Le Mer Creams and other hundred dollar brand face and oil-free hair oils. Once many of my clients heard what I had learned they too were all shocked. Most are very into natural and organic and not using any type of additives, which is what an Ester is. The chemists that have been chemists for years protect the category and will give all sorts of BS reasons why an Ester is not an oil - Yet, they insist it is wonderful for the skin & hair ( job security for them). How about you....let you decide....I went to my lab and pulled out the first Ester I had and the first natural oil that were the same color so you could properly compare. I didn't have my glasses on so I didn't know which I had chosen.
Look at the photo . . .
On the left is the ESTER called PPG-3 Benzyl Ether Myristate : the technical name and the common name is CRODAMOL STS ( STS = stands for Superior To Silicone -- !! ) -- -- -- on the right is HEMP oil a wonderful natural oil from the Hempseed Plant, works wonders on cracked dry skin. This is for problems with dry skin , and moisturizing hair. I'm fully aware you cannot tell by looking at the photo, but I played around with both of them prior to the photo - they are the EXACT same consistency. Except, the Hemp Oil actually absorbs in the skin and the other feels like a weird rubber liquid that sits on top of the skin. THAT is what is in all of those OIL-FREE lotions you purchase. Don't feel bad, I didn't know either - quite a blow isn't it?
Here's the back of the same bottles...........

Exactly the same...ESTER on the left Crodamol STS ........Natural Oil on the right. An untrained eye would not know the difference by feeling, NO ONE would know the difference by looking.
Some facts about “Nature’s Most Perfectly Balanced Oil”

Advantages of Hemp Oil:

• Helps heal skin lesions and dry skin
• Reduces inflammation of skin and joints
• The most unsaturated oil from the plant kingdom at over 90%
• Contains over 80% essential fatty acids (EFAs)-The Good Fats!
• Balanced 3:1 ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3-this combination is also unique in plant based oils and deemed optimal for health
• Hemp oil also contains the super polyunsaturated Omega 6 derivative GLA, Oleic acid (Omega 9) and Stearidonic acid
• Hemp oil is cholesterol and gluten free
• Contains pain-killing and anti-nausea properties
• contains the natural anti-oxidant Vitamin E
• low amount of saturated fatty acids
• amino acids in Hemp oil nurture & condition hair
• moisturize hair and known to contribute to hair growth

There is an entire hair line devoted to HEMP oil and its benefits, they recently came out with a couple SLS-FREE shampoos, so I have one in testing right now and I LOVE IT so far, its leaving the hair wonderful after shampooing one of the biggest problems in SLS-Free shampoos! The Line is called HEMPZ, its been around since I started doing hair 16 long years ago, so the line is successful -- that is a long time for a line totally based on one oil.
Look at all the wonderful advantages to just HEMP oil alone and I have a dozen others that are even more enriching for hair, I just grabbed this one blindfolded. But just look at that list, you can cook with , bathe with it and put it on your hair for a conditioner. Now look at the Ester . . .
Advantages of Crodamol STS: (copied directly from the company's (Croda) literature)

• Silicone-like feel and functionality
• Improves emulsion aesthetics
• Reduces drag, greasiness of high SPF sunscreens
• Excellent wax solvency
• Lessens whitening effect of fatty alcohols
• Good binder for pressed powders
• Shine/gloss enhancer for hair
• Foam stabilizer

Remember it is "Superior to Silicone " ! Yippee.
Can you see the difference? HOW HORRIBLE IS THAT ! ! ! Look at comparison of the ingredients and what they do - they do absolutely nothing. Its completely abysmal ... this is being pulled over on American women. I just feel the cosmetic companies need to give the women of America more credit, make a statement about the issues. Put out a Press Release, produce a commercial explaining the issues. They are billion dollar companies and would have even more billions if they gave women more credit for understanding the problem of "Oil-Free" and the problems surrounding it.
The cosmetic manufacturers companies never said anything about sulfates, that came from my big mouth and other hair stylists that care about their clients hair and hair color.
That is what all those very expensive creams and conditioners have in them now. Natural oils are also more expensive - although Crodamol STS is the most expensive ESTER there is....There are a whole lot of them made by lesser companies than CRODA, [CRODA is like the Neiman Marcus of Cosmetic Chemistry companies].
If any of you have these creams at home please write in the Comment Section at the bottom of this post, with their names and I will tell you what "ester' they are. I would love to simply 'begin' opening everyone's eyes so we can go back to using Natural - Organic- Earth grown Oils > in all of our cosmetics > skin - body & most importantly > HAIR ! Maybe if I start now, spreading the word, in 5- 6 years the trend will become like the Sulfate-free shampoos, and all the companies will begin listening and "thinking" of what is best for the consumer. Wow, that would make me happy.
My next post which is almost finished is about a brand new oil I found that I had never heard of. It has truly amazing properties, is from Morocco and is referred to as Liquid Gold. The women of Europe have discovered it and started using it in their skin care lines for wrinkles and best of all for lackluster skin! Stay tuned for that one . . . KC

The Real McCoy or Fake-y : Hair Products Up For Review

The dark side of the beauty industry : DIVERSION of hair products

How many times have wondered about those high end hair products that have sprung up in very weird sources like Target....CVS.....Longs Drug..... Rite Aid and so on? I do all the time and I know what the rules, laws and codes are.
The topic of DIVERSION has long been talked about to industry professionals, and have never understood why they don't talk to the public about it, I sure the hell would want to know - I bet you would too.
Diversion: the act or an instance of diverting from a source
Diversion is the unauthorized distribution, buying and selling of professional products to unauthorized outlets outside of the professional industry. Perhaps you've seen professional hair care products sold in your neighborhood grocery store, drugstore, pharmacy or on the Internet. Most likely, these products were acquired through a "collector" who, by operating in a "gray market", acquired these products from various sources and, once they collected enough product, sold them to a mass distributor who specializes in selling "gray market" product to unauthorized retail establishments.
It baffles me that the stores buy them, if more people reported them or didn't buy the products the problem would be eliminated. Not trying to blame the wrong people, just trying to make it clear how to get rid of it.
Professional companies like Joico, Redken, ISO, Wella, Matrix, etc., and so on DO NOT sell their products to drug, discount, stores - they just don't. Part of their agreement & policy with hair stylists is that they will only sell their product to Salons so that the customer has to get the product at 'the' Salon. Its a kind of a Gentlemens agreement they have had for many years and they do stick to it. The manufacturers will only guarantee their product if its bought at a Salon. If you buy those products at those stores you are taking a giant risk in my opinion.
The products in those stores are not supposed to be there, Period. They have gotten there by one of two ways - both wrong.

#1)There are companies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, etc. that have gone to the trouble of duplicating the bottle and packaging of your favorite products. Stuffing it with some random concoction of ingredients, and selling it for the 'real' thing. Yep - they are completely bogus.
Today while I was waiting on a prescription , because I was contemplating writing this post, I meandered over to the aisle, found a bottle of Biosilk, opened it, sampled a little and was horrified. I used Biosilk for years (before I learned about ingredients & cosmetic chemistry), I know exactly how it should feel, and smell. This formula was full of some liquid laced with over 50% alcohol,it was no where even close to what it should be. So there it was....my sign for today on what to write! Not only was there none or very little of the cyclomethicone or dimethicone necessary to protect your hair (the most expensive ingredient) I checked the list of ingredients and they did not have a preservative listed. That can be a very dangerous avenue, products can become contaminated without the proper preservative as I have spoken about before. Its not the Preservative that is dangerous its the amount of it , that is crucial. But having none, is not what you want to see.
These companies fill the bottles with the wrong ingredients...in bottles that look exactly like the original - then sell them to you for as much as 15% higher than they should be. Please don't buy them in those stores, for your own good.
#2) The second method? Companies that have the real product, that are old -- way past their shelf life and should have been thrown away - decide to re-sell them to another outlet. So there are some that are in fact, real, but past their shelf life. Again, they charge too much for them and the safety is compromised with an out-of-date preservative.
There is virtually no way to tell which one of these problems is which. But the point is neither are any good, and both should be avoided.
I would guess over 60% are counterfeit, so please don't waste your money or ruin your hair with these bogus replicas!
DIVERSION : help to prevent it, only buy your high end hair products in appropriate Salons or the Beauty Supply.

Preservatives: The Good, the Bad, the Fugly

Killer Question from reader really does require additional follow-up post

I'd like to reprint an answer to a question "Rhonda" posed to me after this last post regarding the ongoing controversy about the Preservatives in hair/skin products known as "Parabens". The new hair product I reported on had 2 ingredients in its list that have been in the battle.
I'm not sure how frequently people read the "comments" section and this was on the top of my list of "Posts To Write for Blog" so worthy of reprint
Rhonda,
yes, well . . good for you for noticing. Parabens are a very long and probably never-ending battle within the field.
This could be a long post and it is such a controversial subject I am almost afraid to tackle it.
I try to simplify my answers, so they are easier to understand for ALL readers( if you want it more complicated & technical please tell me)
I will preface this with the statement that for 10 years I was on one side..then I studied with a couple Chemists & switched sides.
What you learn once you start formulating products and learning about the actual chemistry that goes into the make-up of each and every product you put on your face-hair and body is that each ingredient is put in there for a very specific reason.
I like to relate it to cooking , when I went thru training and learning how to make products from scratch it always reminded me of cooking and baking. Cooking is chemistry as well, so I have always used the correlation to help with clarity in teaching to clients.
When you make a cake...they have you add 10 ingredients, each for a reason. The eggs are an emulsifier, the vanilla is for flavor, the flour is for the base, etc. They don't have you add say peas, just for the Hell of it - it would screw up the chemical make-up (as well as the flavor) of a cake.
Same thing with Hair-skin-body products.
Each ingredient has a purpose, companies costs go up every time they 'add' an ingredient so of course, they do not want to add unnecessary ones - for that reason as well. With all the controversy about parabens why do you suppose some companies ( like this one) would still use them? Especially a new line like this...an expensive line..? Doesn't make sense does it?
Well, in my opinion (and many chemists & formulators I have spoken to and read about) Parabens got a bad rap and truthfully were never able to recover from it, they actually are one of the best all around preservatives we have, in most all cosmetic chemists minds. I'm dead serious, there are a million and one reports that back this up. But in America if you do not handle your "marketing issues" properly then 9 times out of 10 you have lost the ball.
I'm sure you are aware of that.
Parabens come from a chemical company run by chemists, they are the most unaware -lab geeks on the planet (great-nice - sweet people-just different) they just do not think like that, they think all the proof is in the science - just look at it, they would say.
Well, you cannot get 50 million Americans to look at a chemists report... once they see the first large technical word that is 40 letters long you have lost them.
To Americans its in the "flash" NOT THE SCIENCE.
They did not do their damage control correctly, and have learned a very big lesson.
Therefore, all these Preservative manufacturers went full bore ahead to develop preservatives 'without' parabens in them...there are a whole host of them now. For about a full year that is all we talked about - all the time.
If you saw the amount of the Paraben used in a giant vat of shampoo or conditioner > a couple drops from a very small eye-dropper. Once you saw the minute amount used .. you would never again worry about it. I say make 'that' a demonstration on UTUBE then the 50 million Americans would listen and get it. Maybe.
In a formula of ingredients to make any hair products....the total of all the ingredients needs to equal 100%. The amount of a Preservative used out of 100% that is the correct amount required to do its job correctly, not too little ... not too much ?? Is a whopping .03% !! That is not even 1%, not even 1/2 of 1 percent. So, yes.. a teeny tiny amount, yet the proper amount to prevent any foreign contamination problems arising.
In my opinion, one of the main problems with using a preservative is not the preservative itself - its the actual "amount" of it used. Use the case of Dennis Quaid's new Twin babies that were almost killed accidentally {by the hospital I go to!} (help) as a great example. They were given Heparin-- a blood thinner - a great drug + saves many lives - but only when its given in the proper dosage! Overdose, is lethal.
Same thing with preservatives. Exactly the same: if used at the proper dosage you want preservatives in your products,they protect you...without them the amount of contamination that would be floating around would be very dangerous. There would be tens of thousands more sick people from the way they treat and keep their make-up and creams (etc), and I am erring on the side of caution.

I feel the field needs to work on the marketing of the word and 'title' of Preservative. That name is deceiving and gives people the jitters when they hear it. When I was making my products, I printed on the label what they actually are " Anti-bacterial agents" !! A preservative is the exact same thing as an 'anti-bacterial' ...does that sit better with you? I bet it does, it did for me & my clients.
ALL Preservatives - parabens and non-parabens do the same thing: to kill off all strange and weird bacteria that could be growing in our products so we all don't get infections (staph or otherwise) get sick and or die.
When I heard it explained "that way" it hit me: "why" wouldn't we want preservatives in products?
There is a great story about a big class action lawsuit against MAX FACTOR in the 70's, the old timer chemists talk about it as it changed the business forever. That is when we started using preservatives in the 70's (weird huh?).
This was told to me by a chemist who is no longer with us, so I haven't a way of asking him any further questions about it.
I guess as the story goes: 20 women brought a case against the company suing them for 100 million dollars - all of them developed some blindness or total blindness from using their mascara without any preservatives in it !
You know how we all pump the hell out of the mascara tube, well that incorporates AIR into the formula and then lashes that shed and dirt from your eyelashes gets put back in the tube...over and over & over. Well, with ZERO preservatives to protect the mascara formula some type of bacteria grew into some type of infection which all these women came down with in their eyes. I believe he said it was the first major suit against a large make-up company - many of these chemists had to testify in the case. The women won. They won well over 20 million each - (my memory sucks)
this started the entire industry including preservatives in all their products.
I've always thought they need to go to work on the word "PRESERVATIVE" as well ...another marketing blunder in my opinion.
This exact subject was on my list of SUBJECTS FOR POSTS TO WRITE...
So great question...
PS: there is no way to know if a company is using the proper amount of preservative in their products, If there was... life for me would have been easier. Once I learned this I have never bought another skin or body product from a store. I still make all my own skin and body products - so I Know exactly what is them. I know the preservative is exactly perfect, I use the best oils, butters and well, it just gives me peace of mind. some probably think its nutty, but once you use these products, and feel the difference you can NOT use the ones from the stores. The difference is to vast, it really is.
MY point is that I feel it is a big mistake not including ANY preservatives in products - there are a few lines of body & skin products out there that use that as their big claim-to-fame - "not using any preservatives"...
They would work and be OK if they are "dated" and contamination tests are run on the batches regularly, without the date how long are they saying their products will last without a preservative ? forever? Well, that's ridiculous!
They should have a shelf life of 3-4 months provided they came directly from the manufacturer - see the problems that arise without a preservative??

This is where I have a helluva time recommending to people...in this category. The way I tackle it is I don't trust any products and make all my own....that way I know they are perfect. That is a huge down-side to having this knowledge!

And I thought I would run out of Topics to write about!