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I was perusing one of my favorite beauty blogs, The Beauty Brains, awhile back and came across a post about something called a "polyelectrolyte complex" and I researched it more on my own and thought I'd share what I found. (What kind of Beauty Cat would I be if I kept amazing secrets like this to myself?!)
Pretty much what this polyelectrolyte complex is, is a concoction of positively charged (cationic) polymers and negatively charged (anionic) polymers. And since opposites attract (at least in the world of chemistry!) they kind of act like a bunch of little magnets. As the hair dries with this concoction on it, each strand of the split end starts coming towards each other, and sort of gets glued together. The split end is also partly mended by the adhesiveness of the polymer that forms a film once it's dried.
According to a study in the Journal of Cosmetic Science, the complex has been proven to work and doesn't cause build up on hair. It also rinses off with shampoo which leads them to believe it could be effective when used after shampooing. They also found that after combing, the complex was less effective, but effective nonetheless! They took 100 hairs with split ends, treated them with this magical complex, and 92 of them were mended. Then they combed them 2o times and 68 remained mended. Pretty amazing, right?
If you come across a product that claims to mend split ends, make sure it has these two ingredients listed: Polyquaternium-28 and PVM/MA Copolymer. If it doesn't have those, it's not worth your money.
I use Tresseme's Split End Remedy Leave-In Conditioner and absolutely LOVE it! My hair feels as smooth as butter and I enjoy knowing that my split ends are not noticeable so only I know about them. Well, and now you too, but don't tell anybody!
I am only aware of Nexxus, Tresseme and Joico to have this polyelectrolyte complex but according to Amazon, Joico's product has been discontinued. I know Nexxus and Tresseme are both owned by Unilver, so that makes sense that they both share this technology. I couldn't find proof on whether or not Joico is owned by Unilver. I'm curious as to why Joico discontinued their polyelectrolyte complex though. If anyone has any dirt on this, do share!!!
Images: Google Images
References: www.TheBeautyBrains.com
Journal of Cosmetic Science: Semi-permanent split end mending with a polyelectrolyte complex
Pretty much what this polyelectrolyte complex is, is a concoction of positively charged (cationic) polymers and negatively charged (anionic) polymers. And since opposites attract (at least in the world of chemistry!) they kind of act like a bunch of little magnets. As the hair dries with this concoction on it, each strand of the split end starts coming towards each other, and sort of gets glued together. The split end is also partly mended by the adhesiveness of the polymer that forms a film once it's dried.
According to a study in the Journal of Cosmetic Science, the complex has been proven to work and doesn't cause build up on hair. It also rinses off with shampoo which leads them to believe it could be effective when used after shampooing. They also found that after combing, the complex was less effective, but effective nonetheless! They took 100 hairs with split ends, treated them with this magical complex, and 92 of them were mended. Then they combed them 2o times and 68 remained mended. Pretty amazing, right?
If you come across a product that claims to mend split ends, make sure it has these two ingredients listed: Polyquaternium-28 and PVM/MA Copolymer. If it doesn't have those, it's not worth your money.
I use Tresseme's Split End Remedy Leave-In Conditioner and absolutely LOVE it! My hair feels as smooth as butter and I enjoy knowing that my split ends are not noticeable so only I know about them. Well, and now you too, but don't tell anybody!
I am only aware of Nexxus, Tresseme and Joico to have this polyelectrolyte complex but according to Amazon, Joico's product has been discontinued. I know Nexxus and Tresseme are both owned by Unilver, so that makes sense that they both share this technology. I couldn't find proof on whether or not Joico is owned by Unilver. I'm curious as to why Joico discontinued their polyelectrolyte complex though. If anyone has any dirt on this, do share!!!
Images: Google Images
References: www.TheBeautyBrains.com
Journal of Cosmetic Science: Semi-permanent split end mending with a polyelectrolyte complex
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