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Courtesy of thebeautybrains.com
Well. Can you get hooked on lip balm? The cosmetic scientists behind the popular blog The Beauty Brains answer that question -- and more.
By Randy Schueller
Today we're going to show you how to save money on aerosol hairspray by reading the ingredient list. Here’s a quick chemistry lesson to help you understand what ingredients to look for.
Does the hairspray contain water?
Water is a good ingredient to have in your skin moisturizer, but not in your hairspray. That’s because water causes your hair to droop even before you’re finished styling! Instead, look for alcohol-based hairsprays that dry quickly without disturbing your style. (Don’t worry, the alcohol evaporates so fast that it won’t dry out your hair.) If you look at the ingredient list, the first two items should look like this:
- Alcohol denat or SD Alcohol
- Hydrofluorocarbon 152A
What are the holding ingredients?
Hairsprays contain ingredients called “polymers” that stick hair shafts together to lock your style in place. If you want the best balance of hold and feel, look for a hairspray with the following polymers:
- VA/Crotonates/Vinyl Neodecanoate Copolymer
- Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl/Methacrylate Copolymer
A number of expensive salon brands use these polymers to provide professional quality hold.
Cost comparison
Here are a few examples of salon products that combine a water-free system with balanced holding polymers: GLo Radiant Fix, Scruples High Definition Shaping Spray, Paves Professional FLAWless Convertible-Proof Firm Hold Repairing Hair Spray, and Ion Mega Hold Freezing Spray, (You can find the complete ingredient list for all these products on The Beauty Brains website..)
Not surprisingly these salon/professional products tend to be quite expensive. For example, the list price on Amazon.com for the Scruples product is over $30.00! Since these products are sold in different sizes, let’s break it down by cost per ounce so we can do a fair comparison:
- Glo Radiant Fix: $2.63/ounce
- Scruples High Definition Shaping Spray: $1.39/ounce (sale price)
- Paves Professional FLAWless Convertible-Proof Firm Hold Spray: $.90/ounce
- Ion Mega Hold Freezing Spray: $0.77/ounce
Regardless of which product choose, that’s a lot to spend on hairspray! But you don’t have to spend that much, because you’ve just learned to read the label and you can see for yourself that one of the popular drugstore/supermarket brands has the same ingredients at a much lower price:
If read the ingredients for Tresemme Tres II hairspray you’ll see our old friends:
- Alcohol denat or SD Alcohol
- Hydrofluorocarbon 152A
- VA/Crotonates/Vinyl Neodecanoate Copolymer
- Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl/Methacrylate Copolymer
These ingredients mean you can expect Tresemme to perform similarly (if not identically) to the salon brands we just reviewed. And at a much lower cost:
- Tresemme Tres II Extra Hold Hairspray: $0.49/ounce.
As you can see, Tresemme is considerably cheaper than the "professional" alternatives. And, if you shop around using your new-found ingredient knowledge, maybe you can find an even cheaper hairspray to try!
Which hair products do you think are worth skimping on? Tell us your cheapskate beauty tips on Facebook.
More from The Beauty Brains:
- Get the new book from the Brains: "Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?"
- Read the complete list of hairspray ingredients
- Beauty Brains: Buy the cheaper anti-aging product
More from TODAY Health:
Leave a Comment:
Aren't hydrofluorocarbons responsible for the thining of the ozone layer? I think if we see it on a label, we better not consume it until producers stop useing it.
Aren't hydrofluorocarbons responsible for the thining of the ozone layer? I think if we see it on a label, we better not consume it until producers stop useing it.