Friday, 9 July 2010

Reader Question: Living Proof Products

This post comes courtesy of my tweet buddy CHM! In case you have not heard of these products, here is a synopsis. Bob Langer (a pretty prolific scientist at MIT) joined up with a company to produce hair products. The biggest question was frizz but they have expanded on to thickening products and hair sprays.


How do they define frizz?
They define frizz as expansion of hair due to humidity

How do the products work?
The products work by blocking out water (so no, these products are not moisturing, but may work to seal in moisture).

What is new about the products? 
Most frizz products are based on silicone. These are supposed to be better because they use a different polymer (silicone is a polymer fyi). These polymer is identified as polyfluoroester

What is a polyfluoroester?
Teflon the non stick coating on pans is a type of polyfluoroester (Please note that I did not say that living proof contains teflon!). These type of polymers repel water quite well which is the basis of the technology. According to living proof, the polymers are supposed to also be smaller and more easily spread compared to silicone

What about the science? 
Frankly Bob Langer's group can do better. In order to convince me as a scientist, I would love to see real published results. L'oreal with their ceramide product did atleast show us a chemical map of hair showing where the product deposited (TOF SIMS for the budding scientists out there). They also have published results of tests proving that ceramides are beneficial for relaxed hair.

The scientists behind living proof instead give us a few videos with conceptual ideas. They show us visual tests too which while pretty standard are extremely subjective!

Are the products worth the money?
1. Silicone technology has moved on alot and there are plenty of new types. Therefore some silicone based products will work perfectly fine.
2. There is no guarantee that you will like this product, there have been mixed reviews (do an internet search). Many people seem to rate the styling cream highly but not the shampoo or conditioner.
3. Remember these products promise to repel water from your hair- Don't say I didn't warn you.


  1. Thanks JC very interesting - £18 is a lot of money to spend on not a lot of product so I'm still deliberating! CHM

  2. I talked to a salesperson about this product and wasn't convinced. It sounds like one of those "too good to be true" type products, plus, I have never heard of polyfluoroester. I attempted to research the ingredient but wasn't able to find out much about it besides what it has been claimed to be able to do. And the salesperson made it sound like the product line was made more so for people who heat style often.

  3. They're already created a frizz-busting product for folks like me: It's called a RELAXER.

    No wonder my hair type gets no respect. Everybody, including MIT scientists, see its primary property as a birth defect in need of a cure.

  4. Yw CHM

    I know Ravengirl but there is certainly a lot of buzz about it. I am not certain that the price would justify the effect. The bottle is super tiny too lol

    LBell - To be fair they are talking about frizz in terms of the effect of humidity on hair nothing to do with straightening.

    I do think the product is marketed towards curlies rather than to straight hair. They certainly do advertise that the heat straightened hair would benefit but I really think the product is marketed towards type 2 and 3 curls. I am not certain that type 4s would care for this product because when we wear our hair free, the bigger it gets, the cuter it gets (imo).

  5. Has anyone heard of any problems with hair loss related to the use of these products? Is there any information on the impact of polyfluroesters on hair follicles?

  6. My hair loves the No Frizz Conditioner, Prime Style Extender cream, Restore mask and conditioner, Amp texturizer, PHD conditioner and styling treatment, the No Frizz leave-in conditioner, and the No Frizz Wave Making, Curl Shaping Styling Cream. It actually does what it says for my porous 4a/3c hair. I wear my hair natural, and do wash'n-go's as well as twists. The products keeps my styles longer, keeps the tangles away, and my hair does not frizz. My style lasts until I want to wash it which is every 10-14 days. For me, it's worth it. And NO, I wasn't paid to post this. It really works for me.

