Ideal Ingredients for a Heat-Protecting Formulation

Ideal Ingredients for a Heat-Protecting Formulation

Hair needs protection against excessive heat exposure. Heat energy from thermal styling equipment is high enough to denature the keratin of hair fibre and cause damage to its cosmetic features. Hair loses its protein content, becomes dry and fragile, and increases the friction on the cuticle surface. Heat also causes colour fading and loss of hair’s natural shine.1-4 Thermal-protecting formulations are designed to address the adverse impact of heat. Their main objective is to control heat penetration, preserve the keratin structure, and enhance the shine of the cuticle layer.  Besides this, the thermal protecting lotion also facilitates combing on wet & dry hair, removing tangles and making hair feel soft.

So, what ingredients make a heat-protecting lotion?

This blog describes choosing the right and ideal ingredients to formulate a heat-protecting lotion. Let’s go through it.

What makes an ingredient offer heat-protecting benefits?

An ideal heat-protecting ingredient is a substance that can withstand excessive & repeated heat exposure. Moreover, it needs to be scalp and hair-friendly and should positively affect the overall health and well-being of hair. As blow drying and flat ironing may generate smoke, this could be hazardous for the health of customers and hair stylists working in the salon, the ingredients should have a high smoke point. This means it should not degrade or burn easily and be thermally stable for the heat generated during blow drying & flat ironing.5 

The blend of these ingredients should also glossify the fibers, improving their light interaction and offering a pleasant, radiant outlook. 

Key factors in choosing the heat-protecting ingredients

Two key factors are considered in choosing an ingredient for heat protection

• Stability against heat energy
• High Smoke Point

A smoke point is the temperature at which a material degrades and burns, emitting smoke. This demonstrates its chemical degradation, and a high smoke point temperature highlights its thermal stability.

How do they work to protect Hair?

The cuticle is the first site of interaction and heat energy from thermal equipment is transferred through this cuticle layer reaching deep inside the cortex center. Hair needs some insulating material on the cuticle layer that can minimize the rate of heat transfer. This coating is very fine, delicate yet uniform on the cuticle layer ensuring that the whole strand is covered from the roots to the tips. 

On exposure to heat, this coating serves its objectives and slows down the energy transfer, preserving the underlying keratin fiber. 

Top Choice Ingredients for Heat Protection & Their Smoke Points

Keeping insight into the above criteria, our top choice ingredients are listed below along with smoke points. 

Dimethicone  (326 oC)

Refined Avocado Oil  (271 oC)

Refined Safflower oil  (266 oC)

Sunflower Oil (252 oC)

Mustard Oil (250 oC)

Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter  (233 oC)

Almond Oil (221 oC)

Argan Oil (220 oC)

So, where do we find these ingredients? Blending them in a product and extracting maximum benefits.

The answer is 

The Keratinize Cuticle Sealant

A product composed of sunflower oil and multi-functional high-tech modified silicones that are carefully selected to protect hair against heat exposure. The formulation also contains cetrimonium chloride, which is a light-textured and moderate molecular water hair-softening agent that also combats static charge density on medium to high porosity hairs. 

Cuticle sealant also contains hydrolysed keratin, a potent cuticle smoothening and cortex-strengthening agent. During heat exposure, this naturally derived material plasticises with the keratin of hair fibre and enhances its mechanical strength. Shea Butter provides a special sensorial feel to dry hair, whereas,  Zinc PCA ensures water-balance on thermally styled hair.

Unique Features of Keratinize Cuticle Sealant

• Light - Texture Creamy Lotion
• Non-greasy and no oil residues leftover
• Sunflower Oil, a key heat-protecting ingredient
• Multi-functional silicones to offer heat protection, shine, and cuticle smoothness
• Never let your hair dry out. Re-balance the hair’s moisture content after heat exposure.

What do you get in the end?

Beautiful, Vibrant, Shiny Hair with a natural body & texture

References & Further Reading

1. Vagkidis, N.; Li, L.; Marsh, J. M.; Chechik, V., Synergy of UV light and heat in peptide degradation. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry 2023, 439, 114627.

2. Lima, C. R. R. d. C.; Couto, R. A. A. d.; Freire, T. B.; Goshiyama, A. M.; Baby, A. R.; Velasco, M. V. R.; Constantino, V. R. L.; Matos, J. d. R., Heat‐damaged evaluation of virgin hair. Journal of cosmetic dermatology 2019, 18 (6), 1885-1892.

3. Harper, D.; Qi, J. C.; Kaplan, P., Thermal styling: efficacy, convenience, damage tradeoffs. Journal of cosmetic science 2011, 62 (2), 139-147.

4. Gamez-Garcia, M., The cracking of human hair cuticles by cyclical thermal stresses. Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists 1998, 49 (3), 141-153.

5. CORBETT, J. F., The chemistry of hair‐care products. Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists 1976, 92 (8), 285-303.