Hair conditioner

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with
Air conditioner
.
A 19th-century advertisement for hair care products

Hair conditioner is a

weasel words
]

Conditioners are available in a wide range of forms, including viscous liquids, gels and creams, as well as thinner lotions and sprays. Hair conditioner is usually used after the hair has been washed with shampoo. It is applied and worked into the hair and may either be rinsed out a short time later or left in.

History

For centuries, natural oils have been used to condition human hair.[2] A conditioner popular with men in the late Victorian era was Macassar oil, but this product was quite greasy and necessitated the pinning of a small cloth, known as an antimacassar, to the headrests of chairs and sofas to preserve the upholstery from being damaged by the oil.[3]

A bottle of modern-day hair conditioner by Clairol (right)

Modern hair conditioner was created at the turn of the 20th century when the

quaternary ammonium
compounds. These chemical products have the benefits of hair conditioner without feeling greasy or heavy.

Mechanism of action

The outermost layer of a hair follicle is called the cuticle and is composed largely of

deprotonate, giving the hair a negative charge.[citation needed
]

The ingredients in conditioner, especially positively charged

electrostatic interactions. Once attached these compounds have several effects. Their long hydrocarbon backbone helps to lubricate the surface of each hair follicle, reducing the sensation of roughness and assisting combing. The surface coating of cationic groups means that hairs are repelled from each other electrostatically, which reduces clumping. The compounds can also act as antistatic agents, which helps to reduce frizzing.[citation needed
]

Types

Ingredients

There are several types of hair conditioner ingredients, differing in composition and functionality:

  • Acidifiers are acidity regulators that maintain the conditioner's pH at about 3.5. In contact with an acidic environment, the hair's somewhat scaly surface tightens up as the hydrogen bonds between the keratin molecules are strengthened.[10]
  • Antistatic agents, which bind to the hair and reduce the static, can include cationic polymers such as Polyquaternium-10 and Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride.
  • Detanglers modify the hair surface pH as acidifiers or coat it with polymers as glossers.
  • Glossers are light-reflecting chemicals that bind to the hair surface and are usually polymers, usually
    Cyclopentasiloxane
    ).
  • Dimethicone
    , etc.
  • Moisturizers, whose role is to hold moisture in the hair, usually contain high proportions of humectants. These could also be provided by natural oils such as Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (sweet almond) oil.[11]
  • sebum
    . EFAs are the closest thing to natural sebum (sebum contains EFAs).
  • Preservatives protect the product from spoilage by microorganisms during the product's shelf life.
  • Reconstructors, usually containing hydrolyzed protein, supposedly penetrate the hair and strengthen its structure through polymer cross-linking.
  • Sequestrants improve function in hard water.
  • Sunscreen provides protection against protein degradation and color loss. Currently, Benzophenone-4 and Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate are the two sunscreens most commonly used in hair products. Cinnamidopyltrimonium Chloride and a few others are used to a much lesser degree. The common sunscreens used on the skin are rarely used for hair products due to their texture and weight effects.
  • hydrophobic ends of the surfactant molecules then act as the new hair surface.[12]
    Examples are Behentrimonium Chloride and Cetrimonium Chloride.
  • Thermal protectors, usually heat-absorbing polymers, shield the hair against excessive heat caused by
    curling irons, hot rollers
    , etc.

pH

Conditioners are frequently acidic, as low

protonates the keratin's amino acids. The hydrogen ions give the hair a positive charge and create more hydrogen bonds among the keratin scales, giving the hair a more compact structure. Organic acids such as citric acid
are usually used to maintain acidity.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-4200-6968-6
    .
  2. ^ "Argan oil as a geographic indication". www1.american.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  3. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antimacassar". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 127.
  4. ISBN 978-0-8195-7239-4
    .
  5. ^ "The History of Conditioner". Prell. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  6. PMID 25332846
    .
  7. PMID 8901408
    .
  8. S2CID 6402716
    .
  9. Fashion Magazine
    . Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  10. ^ "Introduction". wwwcourses.sens.buffalo.edu. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  11. ^ Hair Conditioner, Moisturizer. "Understanding Scalp Issues". Archived from the original on 2016-10-21. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  12. ^ "How does hair conditioner work? » Scienceline". scienceline.org. 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2016-01-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Conditioner (hair care product).
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