Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion Styling Oil is a popular hair care product that promises to nourish and style hair with the help of exotic ingredients. This article delves into the components that make up this styling oil, exploring their individual benefits and potential effects.
Key Ingredients and Their Benefits
Water (Aqua)
Good old water, aka H2O, is the most common ingredient in skincare. The water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized, meaning that almost all of the mineral ions inside it are removed. It serves as the main solvent in cosmetic products.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
It’s probably the most common cleansing ingredient of all. As for mildness, it goes somewhere in the middle. It’s often confused with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), but they are absolutely not the same. The SLES molecule has a bigger water-soluble head part that makes it milder and much less irritating. It is considered absolutely ok in the amount used in cosmetic products, though if you are looking for a mild facial cleanser, you have better chances with a formula without SLES. For an average shower gel?
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Super common ingredient in all kinds of cleansing products: face and body washes, shampoos and foam baths. Number one reason for its popularity has to do with bubbles. Everyone loves bubbles. And cocamidopropyl betaine is great at stabilizing them. The other reason is that it’s mild and works very well combined with other cleansing agents and surfactants. The art of cleansing is usually to balance between properly cleansing but not over-cleansing and cocamidopropyl betaine is helpful in pulling off this balance right. Oh, and one more nice thing: even though it’s synthetic it’s highly biodegradable.
Sodium Chloride
Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. The reason for this is that salt acts as a fantastic thickener in cleansing formulas created with ionic cleansing agents (aka surfactants) such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. A couple of percents (typically 1-3%) turns a runny surfactant solution into a nice gel texture. Other than that, salt also works as an emulsion stabilizer in water-in-oil emulsions, that is when water droplets are dispersed in the outer oil (or silicone) phase.
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Argan Oil
When it comes to cosmetic oils and hype, argan oil is for sure leading the way. Dubbed as the "liquid gold of Morocco", we have to admit we have some trouble determining why this oil enjoys such a special miracle status. So, argan oil comes from the kernel of the argan fruit that comes from the argan tree that grows only in Morocco. The tree is slow growing and getting the oil is a hard job. As for skincare, argan oil is loaded with lots of skin goodies (but so are many other plant oils): it contains 80% nourishing and moisturizing unsaturated fatty acids, mainly oleic (38-50%), linoleic (28-38%) and palmitic (10-18%). Thanks to all the above goodness in argan oil, it can greatly nourish and moisturize the skin and hair. It's also claimed to be able to neutralize collagen-damaging free radicals, help reduce scars, and revitalize and improve skin elasticity.
Coconut Oil
There is definitely some craze going on for coconut oil both in the healthy eating space and in the skin and hair care space. Chemically speaking, coconut oil has a unique fatty acid profile. Unlike many plant oils that mostly contain unsaturated fatty acids, coconut oil is mostly saturated and its most important fatty acid is Lauric Acid (about 50%). Coconut oil melts around 25 °C so it is solid in the tub but melts on contact with the skin. The saturated nature of coconut oil also means that it is a heavy-duty-oil ideal for dry skin types. A double-blind research confirmed that extra virgin coconut oil is as effective in treating xerosis (aka very dry skin) as mineral oil. Another study found that coconut oil is more effective than mineral oil in treating mild to moderate atopic dermatitis (aka eczema) in children.
As for hair care, coconut oil has pretty solid research showing that it can penetrate into the hair very well (better than mineral oil and sunflower oil) and it can prevent hair protein loss as well as combing damage. If you have problems with damaged hair, split ends, coconut oil is worth trying as a pre- or/and post-wash treatment.
Overall, coconut oil is definitely a goodie for the hair and dry skin.
Sweet Almond Oil
The emollient plant oil that comes from almonds. Similar to other plant oils, it is loaded with skin-nourishing fatty acids (oleic acid - 55-86% and linoleic acid 7-35%) and contains several other skin goodies such as antioxidant vitamin E and vitamin B versions. It's a nice, basic oil that is often used due to its great smoothing, softening and moisturizing properties. It's also particularly good at treating dry brittle nails.
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Dimethicone
A thick, high molecular weight silicone that is usually diluted in a lighter silicone fluid.
Fragrance (Parfum)
The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it. Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics.
Other Ingredients
Here are some other ingredients found in the product:
- Glycerin: Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>
- Citric Acid: An AHA that comes from citrus fruits.
- Carbomer: A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquid into a nice gel formula.
- Tetrasodium EDTA: Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time.
- DMDM Hydantoin: A real oldie but a goodie. A preservative that works mainly against fungi.
- Propylene Glycol: A common glycol that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products.
- Coumarin: A common fragrance ingredient that has a sweet, vanilla, nutty scent.
- Linalool: A super common fragrance ingredient that can be found among others in lavender, ylang-ylang, bergamot or jasmine.
- Ci 19140: Ci 19140 or Tartrazine is a super common colorant in skincare, makeup, medicine & food.
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Potential Allergens
Some of the fragrance ingredients, such as Coumarin and Linalool, are potential allergens and should be avoided by individuals with sensitive skin. Linalool is a super common fragrance ingredient. It’s kind of everywhere - both in plants and in cosmetic products. The problem with linalool is, that just like limonene it oxidises on air exposure and becomes allergenic. That’s why a product containing linalool that has been opened for several months is more likely to be allergenic than a fresh one.
Coumarin is a common fragrance ingredient that has a sweet, vanilla, nutty scent. When diluted it smells like freshly-mown hay. It’s one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately (and cannot be simply included in the term “fragrance/perfume” on the label) because of allergen potential. Best to avoid if your skin is sensitive.
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Ci 19140 or Tartrazine is a super common colorant in skincare, makeup, medicine & food. FDA says it's possible, but rare, to have an allergic-type reaction to a color additive.
Summary of Key Ingredients and Their Benefits
Here's a summary of the key ingredients found in Suave Professionals Moroccan Infusion Styling Oil, along with their primary benefits:
| Ingredient | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Argan Oil | Nourishes and moisturizes hair, revitalizes and improves skin elasticity. |
| Coconut Oil | Penetrates hair to prevent protein loss and combing damage, effective for dry skin. |
| Sweet Almond Oil | Smoothes, softens, and moisturizes hair and skin. |
| Sodium Chloride | Acts as a thickener in cleansing formulas. |
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tags: #Moroccan
