Splitting Hairs, Part Two - Beat the Heat with Hot Hair

The Problem

Frizzy Days are Here Again

Well, here in south Texas, the polar vortex is over.  About 15 seconds after the vortex ended, the heat and humidity set in.  (That 15 second interval in between is what we refer to as Spring).  So, while the calendar may say that it's only April... yeah, its actually already summer.  Which in south Texas means heat, humidity, and the potential for plenty of bad hair days.

Well, everybody's different, so your problems might be different from my problems, and what works for me may not work for you.  Personally, I have a head full of fine, thick, wavy hair.  (By fine, I mean each hair is very fine.  By thick, I mean I have a whole lot of those fine little hairs growing on my head). So when the heat and humidity set in, my hair becomes a hot frizzy mess.

Image Source:  Microsoft

Honestly, the only way to get my hair to look decent is to use some form of heat styling device - be it a blow dryer with a diffuser, hot rollers or a flat iron. The problem is that heat is very damaging to hair.  For years, my go-to solution was TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray.  At about $3.98 for an 8 oz. bottle, it's affordable. I can't even tell you how many times I've seen it recommended in beauty magazines, and in my personal experience, it seems to work well.

Another product that I cared for very deeply was John Frieda Frizz-Ease Dream Curls Curl Perfecting Spray.  This stuff provided just the right amount of hold to provide perfect definition for my loose waves, without leaving them too stiff and crunchy.  I would often spray it in and just let my hair air dry, but on days I was feeling frisky I would use a little Dream Curls, add a little Heat Tamer, then blow dry with a diffuser attachment for extra bouncy waves.

So you can imagine the wave of desolation and loss that flooded over my soul when I discovered that John Frieda Dream Curls earned a score of 6 (Moderate Hazard) on SkinDeep, and even worse, TRESemme Heat Tamer received a score of 8 (High Hazard).  I won't torture you with the details of all the sordid ingredients, but fragrance, formaldehyde releasers and parabens top the list.  I swear, it felt like I had gotten dumped by an old boyfriend!  So I did the only thing I could - picked myself up, dusted myself off, and found my own way.

The Solution

Beat the Heat Sweet Wheat Hair System

Image:  E. Kertesz

Trehalose

As I began to research heat-styling solutions, I came across a study abstract published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science which reported that human hair treated with trehalose solution prior to being straightened with a hot iron maintained the hairstyle even when subjected to high humidity (Pye 2012).  I noticed that the abstract didn't say anything about trehalose acting as a heat protectant, but still, a substance that can hold a style even in high humidity is definitely something that intrigues me.  But what on earth is trehalose?

It turns out that trehalose is a naturally occuring sugar molecule which is synthesized by many different non-mammal life forms. Scientists have found that this molecule functions as a bio-protectant on the cellular level against environmental stressors such as heat, cold, dehydration, etc., and as a result, it has many potential applications for use in food, cosmetics, health products, and even in cryogenics.  (Jain 2009).  As an ingredient, SkinDeep gave trehalose a score of 0 (Low Hazard), which is great.  

Trehalose can be used as a sugar substitute, and is available for online purchase from natural health retailers such as Swanson Vitamins.  Not that I'm advertising for Swanson, or that I expect them to give me a cut, but I thought you might want to know where I found this stuff, so here is the link.  

When my trehalose shipment arrived, I was very excited, but I still had a big problem to solve.  The study abstract said that trehalose provided good hold in the face of humidity, but it did not say that it actually protected the hair from heat styling. 

Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein

After much searching, I finally came across a study performed by scientists with International Specialty Products which tested thermal degradation of hair treated with a few selected substances: PVP/DMAPA acrylates copolymer, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and quaternium 70.  All three products were found to reduce the rate of Tryptophan (amino acid) degradation in the hair by 10-20%.  (McMullen 1998).  This post on The Beauty Brains Blog provides a nice, easy to understand discussion about the findings of the study and is helpful if you are interested in how heat protectants work.

I checked SkinDeep, of course, and as stand alone ingredients, PVP/DMAPA acrylates copolymer, hydrolyzed wheat protein, and quaternium 70 all received Low Hazard scores.  The problem is, once these ingredients are combined in a commercially prepared formulation, they usually have been preserved, stabilized, emulsified, etc. with other ingredients that are hazardous.

There are a few commercially prepared products which received good scores on SkinDeep, but found that they were way out of my budget.  So then I looked online to see if I could just buy straight hydrolyzed wheat protein (the most natural-ish sounding of the three tested ingredients) and make my own heat spray.  And it turns out I can.

If you decide to try this on your own - be careful.  First of all, if you are allergic to, or think you might be allergic to wheat - DON"T try it!  Second, there are a few different retailers that sell hydrolyzed wheat protein, but be sure to check the ingredients to make sure you know what you are getting.  Sometimes they add preservatives such as DMDM Hydantoin (which is a formaldehyde releaser).  

I ended up purchasing mine from a retailer called Green Beauty Products (here is the link).  It does not contain any preservatives, so it has to be refrigerated.  I should also point out that the hydrolyzed wheat protein is not meant to be used alone at full concentration - it must be diluted.

The Recipes

Originally, I tried combining both the trehalose and the hydrolyzed wheat protein together with water in a hair spray.  However, I discovered that the hydrolyzed wheat protein does not keep long at all once mixed with water, so I've found that it's actually better to use the products as a two-part system.

Trehalose Spray

The inspiration for this recipe came from Whole New Mom's recipe for Homemade Alcohol-Free Hairspray.  I simply substituted trehalose for the sugar.  Whole New Mom uses 4 teaspoons of sugar in her recipe, but I've found that 2 teaspoons of trehalose works better if you are planning to straighten your hair, because it is a bit easier to comb through.

Ingredients

1 cup filtered water

2 teaspoons trehalose

You will also need a clean spray bottle.

Directions:

1.  Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan or tea kettle.

2.  Dissolve the trehalose in the water.  (I brought the water to a boil in a teakettle and mixed the trehalose and boiling water in a heat proof measuring cup).

3.  Allow the mixture to cool.  (At this point, you can also add a few drops of essential oil if you want.  I left mine unscented).

4.  Carefully pour into a spray bottle.  The trehalose spray will last longer than the hydrolyzed wheat spray, but you may want to store in the refrigerator so it will last longer.

Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Spray

This is very easy to whip up, because you can just stir the hydrolyzed wheat protein into cold filtered water (no boiling needed).  Since the wheat protein goes bad very fast once mixed with water, I like to make this in very small batches that I can store in the refrigerator and use up within the week.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon hydrolyzed wheat protein

1/4 cup filtered water

1.  Mix ingredients together.

2.  Carefully pour into a spray bottle.

3.  Store in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to heat style your hair, simply spray in both products and style as usual.

At some point, I would like to try using sugar instead of trehalose to see if there is really a big difference, since plain table sugar is much less expensive and easier to find than trehalose.  And, to get a better handle on frizzies and flyaways, I'm working on a recipe for homemade agar/aloe hair gel (inspired by this post from Bonzai Aphrodite) that I hope to share with you soon.

I am absolutely thrilled with my Beat the Heat Sweet Wheat Hair Spray.  I figured out that once I combined all the ingredients in both recipes, it came out to less than $0.30 per ounce, compared to almost $0.50 per ounce for the Tresemme Heat Tamer and more than $0.80 per ounce for the John Frieda Dream Curls.  So it's less expensive, it has replaced both of those products in my bathroom cabinet, and best of all, it's pretty harmless.

References

McMullen, R. and J. Jachowicz.  Thermal degradation of hair.  II.  Effect of selected polymers and surfactants.  
     J Cosmet Sci.  1998.  Jul-Aug; 49:  245-56.  

Pye S, Paul PK.  Trehalose in hair care:  heat styling benefits at high humidity.  J Cosmet Sci.  2012.  Jul-Aug; 63(4):      233-41.  PMID 23193887.