Lubrizol highlights its latest hair styling innovations

The presentation will be given by Duane Krzysik, senior hair care applications researcher for Noveon Consumer Specialties, a division of Lubrizol, which will highlight water and sweat-resistant styling solutions using acrylate polymers.

A key issue for hair styling products is that they provide long-lasting hold in a variety of challenging conditions, including sweat-inducing night clubs and bars, during sports activities as well as challenging environmental conditions such as humidity.

Hair styling follows fashion​

The fashion for spiky and sculpted hair styles has taken the fashion world by storm in recent years, leaving ingredients suppliers the difficult task of developing technologies that can give products such as hair gels and waxes the necessary fixatives.

However, humidity and sweat can play havoc on styling products, compromising the fixative effect it has on the hair style.

Krzysik will be making the point that because of the hygroscopic nature of most traditional fixatives they are commonly sensitive to humid conditions, leaving the hair feeling tacky and compromising the ‘holding power’.

Sweat and humidity are the challenge​

Krzysik says that this has been the primary challenge facing his team of researchers who have been primarily looking into the individual and combinational performance of Fixate Plus polymer (Polyacrylate-14), Fixate Superhold polymer (Polyacrylate-2 Crosspolymer), and Avalure AC-120 polymer (Acrylates Copolymer).

The research work carried out by the company is said to have proven that Fixate Superhold polymer on its own, as well as in any combination with Fixate Polymer Plus, is particularly effective in humid and sweaty conditions.

Likewise the results also showed that Fixate Polymer Plus in combination with Avalure AC-120 Polymer can also have similarly effective properties under these type of conditions.

Krzysik will present more in-depth information about his findings at the SCC meeting, which will be held December 11 – 12 in New York City, at the New York Hilton.