Purified Water (Aqua): Our solvent.
Cetyl Alcohol: A fatty alcohol that thickens and boosts the substantivity of our quaternary compounds.
Stearyl Alcohol: Another fatty alcohol that thickens and boosts the substantivity of our quaternary compounds, although not as well as cetyl alcohol.
Glycerin: Our humectant.
Brassicamidopropyl Dimethylamine: From Cosmetics & Toiletries "...is a next generation amidoamine conditioning base. It contains a majority of behenyl (C22) compounds that yield improved dry combability without build-up. It provides the benefits of traditional amidoamines, along with behenyl conditioning, and enhanced viscometrics. The ingredient is both biodegradable and minimally irritating...The product is said to provide hair lubicity. Its electrostatic attraction to hair can be tailored by adjusting formulation pH. The lower the pH, the greater its cationic charge. It can be the primary emulsifier to build high viscosity formulations." In other words, it's a lot like Incroquat BTMS-50 but it's derived from broccoli (ICK!) and it works as the conditioning agent in this conditioner. (BTMS-50 also has 22 carbons and works as an emulsifier.)
As an aside, the sentence "the product is said to provide hair lubricity" worries me. "Is said" doesn't give me a lot of hope that there's a lot of science behind this. And I can't get into their website because I'm not a chemist with a large company. Seriously? What are you all protecting???
Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract (*Yarrow), Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract (*Matricaria), Equisetum Hyemale (Horsetail) Extract (*), Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract (*Lavender), Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract (*Rosemary), Salvia Sclarea (Clary Sage) Extract (*Clary), Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Extract (*Thyme), Tussilago Farfara (Coltsfoot) Flower Extract (*Coltsfoot), Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract (*Nettle): Various extracts that have benefits to hair (more below).
Polysorbate 60: A solubilizer, generally used for fragrance or essential oils and small amounts of carrier oils.
Phenoxyethanol: Preservative.
Cetearyl Alcohol: A fatty alcohol that thickens our products and increases the substantivity of our cationic compounds.
Hydroxypropyl Guar: Used at 0.2% to 1% to thicken products and offer conditioning.
Behentrimonium Methosulfate: Like BTMS-50, a cationic compound that offers hair conditioning and emulsifying.
Ethylhexylglycerin: Preservative.
Disodium EDTA: Our chelating ingredient used at 0.20%.
Panthenol: Humectant, emollient, and moisturizer found in a lot of hair care products.
Centrimonium Chloride: A cationic compound we include to increase combing of our hair. Generally used at 2%, but suggested usage is 0.1% to 5% (for detanglers).
Fragrance: Makes it smell pretty.
Citric Acid: pH adjuster and anti-oxidant.
What do we know from looking at the ingredient list? We know we have at least four conditioning ingredients - the brassicamidopropyl dimethylamine and behentrimonium methosulfate being the main conditioners, and guar gum and cetrimonium chloride offering extra conditioning with the promise of easier wet and dry combing - and three fatty alcohols that should thicken the product, add moisturizing, and increase substantivity of the cationic ingredients. We know we have glycerin as a humectant and panthenol as a humectant, emollient, and film former. And we have a ton of extracts, which could be powdered, infused, or essential oils.
Let's take a look at the extracts for a moment. Are these good for our hair?
Yarrow: Reported to be good for oily hair and skin and might have anti-inflammatory properties. Or it might be good for dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking. This report from 2001 (found in PubMed) found that there wasn't enough evidence that Yarrow was safe, and it is known to cause photosensitivity and irritation. And Cosmetics Info re-iterates this report.
Chamomile: A good anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-irritant. Could be an extract or the essential oil as a fragrance.
Horsetail: Reported to help improve hair and nail quality. A good astringent and anti-oxidant. It contains polysaccharides that behave as an emollient and anti-inflammatory ingredient.
Lavender: Known as a good soothing ingredient that smells pretty. It could be a hydrosol or an essential oil.
Rosemary: A good anti-oxidant that can help with oily hair and skin. There are claims that it can increase hair growth, but no studies have proved this yet.
Clary Sage: A good anti-oxidant and astringent that can help with oily hair and skin. Could be the essential oil.
Thyme: A good anti-oxidant and astringent that could help with oily hair and skin. Could be the essential oil.
Coltsfoot: Use as an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-bacterial. Look at this link from the Cosmetics Cop as it could be considered carcinogenic and shouldn't be used repeatedly. I haven't found a lot about this ingredient, but I'd be wary about using it.
Nettle: A good anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, and astringent good for oily hair and skin. It has been claimed it can stimulate hair growth, but there's no proof of this claim. It could be an extract or an oil.
If you want to use these extracts, you can make up an essential oil blend (for instance, lavender, clary sage, rosemary, and thyme) or use hydrosols (lavender, rosemary, chamomile) in place of water or use powdered extracts (horsetail, chamomile, rosemary) in the cool down phase. I personally love using clary sage, rosemary, cedarwood, and lemon or lime in equal parts at 1% to 2% in my conditioners, and I love using chamomile and rosemary hydrosols in place of the water. These are some of my suggestions (you don't want to use them all, but you could use them in various combinations).
BLEND OF HYDROSOLS
10% chamomile hydrosol
10% rosemary hydrosol
10% lavender hydrosol
BLEND OF EXTRACTS
0.5% horsetail extract
0.5% rosemary extract
0.5% chamomile extract
1% blend of lavender, rosemary, clary sage, thyme (equal parts, then use 1% of this)
COMBINATION OF A FEW THINGS
10% lavender hydrosol
10% rosemary hydrosol
0.5% chamomile extract
0.5% horsetail extract
1% essential oil blend
Where do you think the 1% category starts? I think it's in the extract section because the brassicamidopropyl dimethylamine is too important to be at 1%. So everything below this ingredient will be at 1% or less.
This post is really long, so I'll pick it up tomorrow when we take a look at what recipe we can create using the information we've gathered today! So join me tomorrow for more duplicating fun!
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