Non-alcoholic hair products?

   Hmm... I know it's a curious sounding title for todays blog. Hope it got your attention. Should I avoid hair products that contain alcohol? Will they dry my hair out? It's a question that comes up frequently in the Salon. Every few years clever marketing companies come up with trends to sell more products. This is one that first appeared in the mid 80's. Since our industry tends to come full circle every twenty years or so it only seems fitting that the products and advertising will follow suit.
   I met a hair chemist at a hair seminar twenty-some years ago and had the good fortune of having lunch with him.Actually, what really happened was that all of the "Cool People" skipped out of the classroom and quickly headed to the hotel bar in hopes of rubbing elbows with some the platform stars of the day. I felt bad that he had been so blatently snubbed and ask him if I could buy him lunch.His dignity restored, he readily agreed. At the time all of the companies were touting their "new, revolutionary, alcohol free" formulations. I asked him what his opinion was about alcohol and hair care products. This is what I remember of our conversation. According to him, any products containing SD 40 alcohol are fine to use on the hair. SD 40 alcohol, as most all alcohols, has humectant properties. This means, it dries things out. The advantage of using it in styling products is that it does remove moisture from the hair, cutting down your styling time and therefore saving the hair from excess thermal damage caused by blow drying. It also has unique properties one of wich is that it leaves a light film on the hair that will attract atmospheric moisture back into the hair, replacing what it has removed.
   I know it's a little long winded but chemists aren't known for being neccesarily social, amusing or entertaining individuals. On the other hand what great information to be armed with while shopping for your hair care products. So there you have it, it is OK to use "alcoholic" products in your hair. As a matter of fact, it's late on Saturday, it's been a long, busy week and I'm looking forward to a little alcoholic product with wich to enjoy the weekend. I hope you all enjoy it as well.