Dow Corning develops new method to help formulators untangle frizzy hair

The company says that determining frizz levels in hair has been one of the stumbling blocks that many hair care formulators have puzzled over for many years, as they try to develop more effective methods of making hair smoother and more manageable.

The new method focuses in on a category that has been growing rapidly in recent years, as more and more consumers strive for a look that is deemed to be smoother and healthier, while also making hair more easy to style and maintain.

Dow Corning says it will introduce the new Frizz Index at the 2013 Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase, to be held in New York next month.

Giving hair care manufacturers the tool to tame frizz​

According to the company's development team, the method will give hair care manufacturers a tool to describe hair tress shape and appearance in a more accurate way, allowing them to formulate new products that will effectively tame frizzy, flyaway hair.

“Dozens of frizz control products on store shelves tout their ability to tame unruly hair without unwanted side effects like influencing hair volume or leaving hair feeling greasy or crispy,”​ said Sylvie Bouzéloc, Hair Care application designer, Dow Corning.

“Until now, manufacturers have never had a way of proving a product’s ability to deliver on those claims apart from testing the product’s effect on volume. Our new Frizz Index will give manufacturers a way to demonstrate the performance of their products to their consumers.”​

New approach for Quantification of Frizz​

Bouzéloc will deliver a podium presentation at the Speakers Gallery called New Approach for Quantification of Hair Frizz to explain how the new Frizz Index works, including the potential positive impact the new method will have on the development of anti-frizz products.

“Not being able to actually prove frizz control worthiness means formulators have to trust suppliers about their product additive’s claim to control frizz in their formulations, which makes a formulator’s job very difficult​,” said Bouzéloc.

“Products that control frizz poorly or that fail altogether can negatively affect the manufacturer’s brand. Our Frizz Index aims to level the playing field and keep brands positively viewed by consumers. This breakthrough will allow beauty care product chemists to formulate with more confidence and creativity – to invent products in which consumers will see noticeable differences when they use them.”​