PDA

View Full Version : Is there such a thing as a moisturizing ingredient?



sweet&sourkiwi
March 8th, 2011, 03:42 PM
You hear how oils don't "add" moisture, they just help seal it in, or that humectants just "attract" it but can act like a gateway to let it out if you live somewhere dry...and cones just coat the shaft to keep the moisture in (although the beauty brains argue you'd have to use a lot of cones for this to work)...so is there really such a thing as a truly moisturizing ingredient? What would it be? In reading all of my conditioner labels I'm seeing humectants, oils and cones...so what makes the moisture? Just the water you use to wash?

Or is there some dreamy ingredient that I should be looking for that would truly add moisture?

I know this is kind of a dumb question, but here goes!

twopoints
March 8th, 2011, 03:59 PM
Water adds moisture.

jaine
March 8th, 2011, 04:29 PM
I've wondered that too...since water just evaporates from my hair it's not much use to me...
I think my hair feels more moisturized when it's oiled, but water-soluble stuff does nothing for me except evaporate - and if that means my hair actually needs oil instead of moisture...maybe that's ok! :)

sweet&sourkiwi
March 8th, 2011, 06:37 PM
I guess what I'm asking is...I've read somewhere that humectants ARE moisturizers but that doesn't seem quite right! So are the fatty alcohols in some conditioners the "moisturizing" part? Is there a naturally available equivalent?

bigeyedgirl829
March 8th, 2011, 06:38 PM
This is an interesting question that I'd like an answer too.

I've noticed that when my hair is really dry... like the earlier LHCers said "water" I spray some water and then use a light oil to seal in the moisture and it seems to work short-term.

I would like to know if there is a long term fix... I haven't found one yet.

Roseate
March 8th, 2011, 08:41 PM
In reading all of my conditioner labels I'm seeing humectants, oils and cones...so what makes the moisture? Just the water you use to wash?

Yes, that is my understanding. The oil or cones seal a small amount of water into your hair.

Humectants go about it differently: they pull water from the air into your hair. This is why they are only recommended in more humid conditions, and why curlies obsess about "dew points".

Water is moisture. The more porous your hair is, the faster water will leave your hair naturally; oils and cones can slow this down, while humectants can potentially draw more water in.

Lianna
March 8th, 2011, 08:52 PM
Water is the moisturizing ingredient, if one is losing it too fast, the hair is porous. Protein treatments will help with that. I think oil and cones work enough, after all you will be washing your hair someday, adding the moisture it needs (which will be prolonged again until the next wash).

For those that are sebum only (no water whatsoever) the hair needs to be in a pretty good condition to start, I would think. I have seen some people comment on how their hair was too dry and needed to be wet while trying SO.

Oh, remember build-up can give that look of dry hair too.

jaine
March 8th, 2011, 09:54 PM
Now that I think of it....I had a dry hair problem earlier this winter but it went away when I got a humidifier for my bedroom. So maybe water does something good for my hair :) but putting water into my hair when the surrounding air is dry doesn't help my hair ...it just evaporates. I think my hair needs some humidity.

sweet&sourkiwi
March 9th, 2011, 12:24 AM
I've been thinking about this all day...if I bought a conditioner that had no oils, cones, or humectants in it...then what would be the "active" ingredient? Fatty alcohols?

Lianna
March 9th, 2011, 02:55 AM
I've been thinking about this all day...if I bought a conditioner that had no oils, cones, or humectants in it...then what would be the "active" ingredient? Fatty alcohols?

I think so, when I did CO I used the most simplest conditioners, it was mainly water and fatty alcohols.