A gel by any other name...

A gel by any other name...might smell slightly different, but is still the same gel. 

Over at the Wavy Hair Community, we discovered something.  Aussie Instant Freeze Gel, Aussie Awesome Volume Gel, Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel, and Pantene Smooth Definition Hair Gel are all virtually the same gel.  I put the ingredients that are different in the formulas in bold print.  These ingredients are mostly just extracts, which generally don't do much.  Three of the four look alike gels list panthenol as the very last ingredient.  Other then fragrance, all the ingredients not in bold are exactly the same and listed in the same order. 

Aussie Instant  Freeze Gel:  water, laureth 23, ppolyquaternium 4, hydroxyethylcellulose, benzyl alcohol, acrylates/beheneth 25 methacrylate copolymer, aminomethyl propanol, dmdm hydantoin, acrylates copolymer, fragrance, disodium edta, prunus serotina bark extract (wild cherry), humulus lupulus extract (hops), hedychium coronarium root extract (australian white ginger), panthenol

Aussie Awesome Volume Gel:   Water, Laureth 23, Polyquaternium 4, Hedychium Coronarium Extract (Australian White Ginger), Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Hydroxycellulose, Benzyl Alcohol, Acrylates/Beheneth 25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Aminomethyl Propanol, DMDM Hydantoin, Acrylates Copolymer, Fragrance, Disodium EDTA, Panthenol

Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel: Water, Laureth 23, Polyquaternium 4, Bambusa Vulgaris Leaf/Stem Extract, Cereus Grandiflorus Flower Extract (Cactus), Fragrance, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Benzyl Alcohol, Acrylates/Beheneth 25 Methacrylate Copolymer, Aminomethyl Propanol, DMDM Hydantoin, Acrylates Copolymer, Disodium EDTA

Pantene Smooth Definition Hair Gel:  Water, Laureth 23, Polyquaternium 4, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Benzyl Alcohol, Acrylates/Beheneth 25, Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Amino Methyl Propanol, DMDM Hydantoin, Acrylates Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Panthenol

Proctor and Gamble owns the brands Herbal Essences, Aussie, and Pantene.   This isn't the first time these companies have produced look alike products.  They've done it with mousse. 
Curl Talk Thread on look alike mousse.  See posts 21 &25 on page 2.
And they have done it with conditioner. 
Beauty Brains:  Are you cheated when the company sells you the same product under a different name?
If you like a product from Aussie, Herbal Essences, or Pantene, you may want to check the other brands to see if they have the same formulation for less or with a scent you prefer.  If there is a product you hate, make sure you aren't buying it again under another name. 

Funny link.

This is a hilarious post on curly hair. 

My Youtube Channel

I was having problems uploading videos directly from my computer to my blog, so I decided to start a Youtube channel.  Here is the link.  My channel is Pedaheh (what else would it be?  :) ).  Since I did start a channel, I plan to have some videos that don't relate to wavy hair care.  I'll have nail polish videos, do some updos, maybe some make-up stuff, and whatever floats my boat.  I hope you like my channel.  I have a few videos uploaded already if you want to check them out.

SwtndSpcy's Adventures in Wavy-hood Blog

If  you haven't already, you should go check out SwtndSpcy's Blog.  She also writes a blog about wavy hair care..  Here are a few of her great blog posts.

Here is a subject I haven't written about yet, second day hair (it's on my "to do" list).  I'm sure what is written on her post will be better then anything I'll write anyway.
Second Day Hair, Refreshing Techniques

Always trust a redhead to know about hair color. 
How I Prepare for Hair Color

And before and after DIY haircut pics and tips.
What a Difference a Hair Cut Can Make!

And don't miss her Styling Technique/Product Review with Pictures page.

How to Diagnose Hair

Thanks to all the members of the Wavy Hair Community who gave me input on this post.

Diagnosing your hair is a tricky business, but at some point we all will have to do it.  I recommend that people do not use cones in the beginning stages of CG until you get to know your hair.  Using cones just gives you one more variable to consider when diagnosing hair.  It is complicated enough when you are learning to read your hair without the extra variable.

Smart people introduce one product at a time.  That way if there is a problem, it is easier to figure out what caused it.  I have a bad habit of trying several things at one time.  Do as I say, not as I do.

Change in Dew Points
Your very first question when diagnosing hair should always be "Have my dew points changed recently?".  You may be suddenly getting frizz because you are using products with glycerin and the dew points changed from normal to high.  Or, you may have dry hair because your dew points suddenly dropped to low and you need more moisturizing products.   

Over Conditioned:
If you your hair is over conditioned it may be very soft, mushy, gummy,dull, flyaway, lacking bounce, the bottom half of your waves may lack definition.  Your waves will be weak, sad, and wimpy. This link has a pic of over conditioned hair (needing protein). Over conditioned hair streeeeeeeeeetches in the stretch test but does not return to it's original shape.  I've heard over conditioned hair described as cotton candy hair.  I have no idea what that means, but I imagine if you have cotton candy hair, you know it.
 
HOW TO FIX IT:  Use only minimum moisture to detangle and use more protein, do more PTs until you are back to normal.  A sulfate wash may speed things along.

Too much protein:
Hair is straw-like, rough and brittle.  Unlike hair that needs moisture, when hair has too much protein it feels hard, especially when wet.  This link has a pic of hair with too much protein.  In some cases hair gets straighter with too much protein and possibly very soft.  It may feel greasy.

HOW TO FIX IT:  Do deep treatment.  Avoid protein and keep adding moisture until your hair is back to normal.

Dry, needs moisture:
 It is dry, straw-like, rough and brittle.Dry hair is very dull.  Lack of moisture causes frizz, especially in the outer layers.  Hair that lacks moisture does not stretch and breaks quickly in the stretch test (Hair that needs moisture will also break quickly in the stretch test.) Your hair may not clump well, lack definition, and tangle easily.

Did you recently add a new product that might be drying your hair?  Ingredients that can cause dryness include, but aren't limited to:  Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)  drying alcohols (like the kind in hairspray),  and ACV rinses. Most hairsprays and mousses can be drying.  Glycerin and other humectants can be drying in low dews.

HOW TO FIX IT:  Deep Treatments, lots of moisture.  Stop using any products that are drying hair.  See my post on how to deal with dry hair.

Needs protein:
Limp curls that lack bounce.  Waves that don't seem to be able to support themselves.  Your hair may be frizzy, lack shine, lack definition, and may not clump properly.  Hair that needs protein will break quickly in the stretch test.  (Hair that needs moisture will also break in the stretch test.)  When hair needs protein, it snaps when you pull your fingers through it, even though you are using plenty of conditioner/moisturizing ingredients.
.
HOW TO FIX IT:  Do protein treatments and/or add protein to your daily routine.

Needs Protein and Moisture.
Keep in mind that your hair may be low on both protein and moisture, especially in the beginning stages of CG. 

Product build up:
If your hair has product build up it has frizz that looks like you rubbed your hair with a balloon or stuck your finger in a light socket.   Your hair looks heavy and coated and has a fake shine.  It looks wet when dry.  It is limp and weighed down. It may look dull.  Product build up tends to show up slowly after the addition of a new product.
Even if you only use CG products, you can get build up.  What will cause build up on your hair may not build up on other people.  Conditioner can adsorb (stick) to the outside of hair and build up.  Other things that can build up include, but aren't limited to silicones, polyquats, aloe, shea, jojoba oil, castor oil, mineral oil, and petrolatum.

HOW TO FIX IT:  If the build up is waxy build up or hard water build up, an apple cider vinegar rinse or citric acid rinse will remove the build up.  If you don't normally low poo, try a low poo.  If you low poo on a regular basis, use a sulfate shampoo to reset your hair.  Some people find they need to continuously rotate products to prevent product build up. 

Hard Water Build Up-   An ACV rinse or a Citric acid rinse will remove some hard water build up.  To remove lots of hard water build up, you will need a cheleating shampoo.  Cheleating shampoos usually say "hard water" or "swimmer's" on the name or label.  They usually contain EDTA.  Swimmers and Hard Water shampoos are most often sulfate shampoos.  I use the Ion Hard Water shampoo once a month.  It is technically a low poo, but contains C 14-16 Olefin Sulfate, which some find to be as harsh or worse then any sulfate. 

Links with more info on diagnosing hair
The Fine Art of Protein and Moisture Balance for Black Hair Care
Pittsburgh Curly:  Protein vs. Moisture (linked above)
Curltalk Thread:  How to gauge your hair's condition?
The Long Hair Community:  What's wrong with my hair? (broken link?)
Curltalk Thread:  Learning to read your hair?  (post 4)

The Long Hair Community link appears to be broken. From what I can remember (I haven't read it in years), it suggested you do a single sulfate wash, don't use conditioner, and then access your hair's condition.  I'll leave the link here in case there it is just temporarily broken.  

How to Read the Label, Part 2

How do I find ingredient lists?
Ingredient lists online are often incorrect because they are rarely updated.  Make sure you double check the label on the bottle before you buy it.  Drugstore.com, Walgreens.com and CVS.com are websites that have ingredient lists posted.  Another option is to do a search for Name of Product and the word Ingredients.

What is this ingredient?  
You can do a google search for the name of the ingredient and that should give you the answer to what it does.  Or, this link lists ingredients found in hair care products in their respective categories.

Check to make sure you aren't buying a base with fragrance added.
If  you are buying a product from an ETSY seller or a small online business, make sure you aren't paying a premium for a premixed base with some fragrance added.  In 2010 some of the smart wavies and curlies on NC.com figured out that many of the products they were buying from online sellers were premixed bases with much higher prices. One woman found she had purchased the same exact base under different names from different sellers.  These threads are old, but they give you some examples of what I'm talking about.
Hair Products and their Bases (list many products and their equivalent bases)
Essential Wholesale Co-op (see post # 2, it lists a few products and their corresponding bases)
This thread was known to me as Duchess of Curls Gate.  Duchess of Curls, a popular curl enhancer at the time, currently sells for  $15 for 8oz.  It is Essential Wholesale Simple Aloe Jelly with some lavender added.  The Essential Wholesale base sells for 16oz for $7.40 or $14.65 for a half gallon. So, for slightly less money, you can get a half gallon instead of 8 oz and then add your own lavender scent.
To make sure you are not paying too much for a repackaged base, do a google search for your product's ingredients and see what pops up.  If you find many other products and/or a ingredient supply website, the product is probably a premixed base.  You may be willing to pay more for the convenience of a smaller bottle, but you should know what your options are.

Same Product Different Name
Keep an eye out for lookalike products.  The lookalikes are likely to come from hair companies owned by the same parent company (like Proctor and Gamble).  You don't want to have a product not work for your hair and then buy the same product again with different herbal extracts added.  Here are two links that have examples.
Beauty Brains: Are You Cheated When a Company Sells You the Same Product Under Different Names?  
Curltalk thread.  Page 2 posts 21 and 25 
And my post on look alike Aussie, Pantene, and Herbal Essences gel, A Gel By Any Other Name...

Salon vs. Drugstore
If you read the labels, you will find that the ingredients in salon products sound about the same as the ones in drugstore products.  Yes, formulation can make a difference, but IMHO you are usually paying for marketing when you buy a salon product.  

How to Read the Label: Part 1

Unfortunately reading ingredients labels isn't always as straight forward as it seems. I do want to restate that I'm not an ingredients expert.  I don't have a chemistry degree.  I only know what I've read on the internet. 

The first thing you should know is the ingredients are listed in descending order on the back of a bottle.  (at lest in theory, more on this later)  The first ingredient listed is the ingredient there is the most of,  and the last ingredient listed is the ingredient there is the least of.

The first five ingredients.  
The first five ingredients will make up most of the product.  In conditioner, shampoo, and leave-in conditioner, water makes up 50-80% of the product.  If the first ingredient isn't water, be very suspicious of the product label's accuracy.  If water were not the first ingredient in a conditioner, it would look and feel very different then your average conditioner..  If you consider your product is mostly water, there isn't a lot of room left for other ingredients.  (see the first link) The first five ingredients make up the loin's share of your bottle.  Do you count the water when you count the first five ingredients?  Some say yes and some say no.  I really don't know if you should count it or not. 
The Natural Haven:  Why do the first five ingredients on a hair product matter?
The Natural Haven:  First five ingredients Q & A
Beauty Brains:  How Can I Tell the Percentage of Ingredient in Cosmetics?

Locate the preservative and fragrance on the label. 
Scan the ingredient list for fragrance and for the ingredient that is the preservative.  Anything listed after fragrance or the preservative will be a very small amount.  If the fancy ingredient you are eying is listed after the preservative or fragrance, it is just a marketing ploy.

A list of preservatives is found in this link.  The link lists ingredients commonly found in hair care products.
  
Butyl paraben, Diazolidinyl urea, DMDM Hydantoin, Ethyl paraben, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Isobutyl paraben, Methyl paraben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Propyl paraben, Sodium benzoate

Now I'm going to begin to talk about how labels sometimes lie or fudge the truth.  This includes products from national companies that are sold in big stores like Target and Walmart.

The Case of Garnier Fructis Triple  Nutrition (and lots products from other brands)
Charged with:  Front of the bottle claims not matching the ingredient list in the way you expect.

Let's look at Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner (old formula, no longer CG).

Ingredients

Water, cetearyl alcohol, palm oil, behentrimonium chloride, apple fruit extract, glycerin, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, niacinamide, pyridoxine hci, shea butter, citric acid, olive fruit oil, sugar cane extract, benzyl alcohol, chlorhexidine dihydrochloride, avocado oil, black currant seed oil, linalool, lemon peel extract, CI 19140, camellia sinensis leaf extract, CI 15985, parfum.

The front label says "with olive, avocado, and shea".   These are listed 12th, 14th, and 18th on the label.  There isn't a whole lot of these ingredients in there.  This old formula was a good product, but it wasn't the olive, avocado, and shea that made it great.  It was more likely the cetearyl alcohol, palm oil, and behentrimonium chloride that made it awesome.  Cetearyl alcohol, palm oil, and behentrimonium chloride doesn't sound special or sexy on the front label.  "Olive, avocado and shea" is just a marketing ploy.

A similar case is Burt's Bees Avocado Butter Pre Shampoo Treatment.  According to the link below, the product is less then 1% Avocado Oil, so naming it Avocado Butter is just marketing. It is common that the ingredient mentioned on the front of the label isn't high on the ingredient list.  Always look at the back of the bottle.
The Beauty Brains?  Should You Pre-poo with Burt's Bees?


The case of Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle and Rose Conditioner
Charged with:  Making up names for ingredients

The rules are you have to list ingredients individually by their correct names.  You aren't allowed to put some ingredients together, make up a name for  them, and then put your made up name on the label.  For example, I couldn't mix water, cetearyl alcohol, and behentrimonium methosulfate and name the mixture "super natural mix 2000".  Then I could not list the first ingredient in my conditioner as "super natural mix 2000".  Aubrey Organics did this for years and years on the label of Honeysuckle and Rose Conditioner (they fixed the label this spring).  Their "super natural mix 2000" was called "coconut fatty acid cream base" and was listed as such on the label to make their conditioner appear more natural to the consumer.  Keep in mind when reading the ingredients below that most likely the formula has not changed (or not changed very much), only the way they list the ingredients.  Here are the two ways they were listed.

Old label:
Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Leaf Juice, Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii) (Organic), Triticum Vulgare (Wheat Germ) Oil, Jojoba Oil (Organic), Rosa Mosqueta (Organic), Rosa Canina (Rose Hip) Seed Oil, Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Extract, Hops, Balm Mint (Melissa Officinalis) Extract, Mistletoe (Viscum Album), Chamomila Recuita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia, Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot (Daucus Carota) Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamin A, C, E)

New label:
Agua, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetyl Alcohol, Aloe Barbadensis, Glyceryl Linoleate, Glycerin, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat Germ) Oil, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba Oil)*, Rosa Moschata Oil* (Rosa Mosqueta, Rose Hip Oil), Foeniculum Vulgare (Fennel), Humulus Lupulus Extract, (Hops), Melissa Officinalis (Balm Mint) Extract, Viscum Album (Mistletoe), Anthemis Nobilis Extract (Roman Camomile), Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Angelica Acutiloba (Japanese Angelica) Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Magnolia Biondii (Magnolia)Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Oil , Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Daucus Carota Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit Oil), Retinyl Ac
etate (Vitamin A), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C).
The Natural Haven:  Aubrey Organics:  Ingredient Order Discrepancy?
The Natural Haven:  Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose:  Have the Ingredients Changed?

The Case of Shea Moisture Moisture Retention Shampoo
Charged With:  Not listing all of their ingredients on the label

IMHO, this is the worst crime.  One of the ingredients they did not list on the label is the preservative.  Preservatives are an ingredient people are likely to be allergic to.  When I posted the Beauty Brains link in a thread on Curltalk, a member said (not an exact quote) "that explains why my scalp hated it".  Shea Moisture appears to have left the thickener, pearlizer, and preservative off of the ingredient list. I assume they did this to make their product appear more natural then it is, but doing this is dangerous.  Shame on them. The link is short and explains this much better then I do.
Beauty Brains:  Is Shea Moisture Shampoo Missing Ingredients?

The Case of Several Giovanni Products
Charged with listing ingredients out of order

Giovanni is the formula-changingest company.  They are always coming out with new formulas, so I highly doubt this is a current formula for a conditioner.

Conditioner ingredients:
Aqua (Purified Water), Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Oil, Nettle (Urtica Dioica) Oil, Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Oil, Birch Leaf (Butela Alba) Oil, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis Flower) Oil, Clary (Salvia Sclarea), Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia), Coltsfoot Leaf (Tussilago Fargara), Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) Oil, Mallow (Malya Sylvestris), Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) Oil, Soybean Protein (Glycine Soja), Cetyl Alcohol (Plant Derived), Stearalkonium Chloride, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Trace Minerals, Citric Acid (Corn), Sodium Hydromethylglycinate, Grapefruit Seed (Citrus Derived)

If this were the correct formula with the ingredients listed in this order, the product would be unstable.  It would be around 70% oil.  If there were that much oil in it, it would look significantly different then your average conditioner.  Again, read the short link for a better explanation.  I'm no chemist.
Beauty Brains: Can You Spot a Natural Product by Reading the Ingredients?

The Case of Aveda Color Conserve Shampoo (and a good percentage of natural product labels)
Charged with:  Fudging the ingredient order to look more natural

My personal  name for the phenomena is the tea issue.  Essentially a manufacturer will make tea and use the tea to make conditioner instead of water.  Let's look at Aveda's label:

Shampoo Ingredients:
Aqueous Purified Water Extracts: Camellia Sinensis Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara Peel Extract (Bitter Orange), Astragalus Root (Membranaceus) Extract (Milk Vetch), Schizandra Chinensis Fruit Extract, Pinus Tabulaeformis Bark Extract (Pine), Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract (Grape), Sedum Rosea Root Extract, Rehmannia Chinensis Root Extract, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Quaternium 80, PEG 7 Dimethicone C8-C18 Ester, Babassuamidopropyl Betaine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Amyl Salicylate, Amyl Cinnamate, Lycopene, Lecithin, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopherol, Sucrose Palmitate, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycol Stearate, Glycol Distearate, Polyglyceryl 10 Oleate, Polyquaternium 7, Fragrance, Cistus Ladaniferus Oil, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone

Everything listed until  the ammonium lauryl sulfate in bold is just tea.  The herbal ingredients are basically brewed into the water to make an "herbal tea".  Other then the water, these ingredients should be listed at/near the end of the ingredient list.  When you count the first five ingredients for a product like this one, water is one and ammonium lauyrl sulfate is two.  Skip past the "tea" stuff when counting.  If the "tea" ingredients really were 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, etc. you would have a weird consistency.  Imagine opening a tea bag and stirring it into water.  These companies usually use words like "water with bla bla bla"  so they are technically telling the truth, but it is misleading to the uninformed consumer.  It makes a product appear more natural then it is. 

Beauty Brains:  Is Avada Really More Natural?