If you are a fan of RuPaul's Drag Race, you will likely appreciate the title of this blog post.
Remember how I used to love Living Proof? Probably not.
When Unilever purchased the brand in 2017, Jennifer Aniston said, "Ciao."
Since then, ingredient lists have been revamped, and random new products that do nothing have been introduced.
Last year, Unilever decided to phase out the proprietary "healthy hair molecule" OFPMA (Octafluoropentyl Methacrylate).
This molecule was the basis for the brand's creation, and one of several patented molecules. There was another for thickening, but I didn't think it was great. When the brand was still called "No Frizz," I purchased the no frizz straight-making treatment for thick-coarse hair, and it changed my life. I swore I'd be a lifelong consumer, until the brand discontinued the product to replace it with the smooth styling cream, which sucks. For years, I bought more on ebay.
Still, the brand continued to include OFPMA in its products. It was quietly phased out last year, apparently due to being a PFAS (forever chemical). Here is a quote (Edney, 2024):
"These changes can sometimes mean a favorite brand disappears for a bit. Living Proof, a hair care brand, eliminated a PFAS it was using, octafluoropentyl methacrylate, early last year, says Alexis Tedesco, the company’s chief marketing officer. The chemical provided smoothing technology and getting rid of it meant phasing out some products and reformulating or replacing others.
“Love it!! Waited over a year for its return!” Lynn B commented in May on Living Proof’s webpage for a product that aids in smoothing hair while blow-drying, one of many to express relief they could purchase the spray again. Though some complained the new formula didn’t work as well."
I recently posted this review on a site where the old ingredients are still listed:
If one compares the ingredient list of the product I received and what is listed on this site, one will notice some stark differences. First, the "healthy hair" molecule, OPFMA, is gone, and that is the only reason why I purchased this. It was/is? a patented molecule that prevents frizz, and it was the basis for the creation of this brand. Not only is the patented ingredient gone, but so are a handful of other hair strengthening/conditioning ingredients listed on this site, such as hydrolyzed silk and tucuma seed butter. These ingredients have been replaced with non-equivalent ingredients like hydrogenated castor oil and yeast amino acids. Not only does the ingredient list render this product worse at "repair" (hair is dead anyway, but certain ingredients can penetrate the cortex to strengthen or form a film to shield effectively), but the ingredient shift changed nothing in the verbage on the package, which seems really sketchy. Finally, the bottle I received is covered in dirt. I love [name of store where I purchased this], but this is a major fail.
Ingredients listed on site: Water/Eau/Aqua, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Isoamyl Laurate, Octafluoropentyl Methacrylate (OFPMA), Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Oleyl Alcohol, Hydrolyzed Silk, Behenyl/Stearyl Aminopropanediol Esters, Butylene Glycol, DimethylPABAmidopropyl Laurdimonium Tosylate, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Steareth-2, Steareth-10, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glycol Stearate, Cetylpyridinium Chloride, Fragrance/Parfum, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Citronellol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citral.
Ingredients on bottle:
So, my question is: Is it a PFAS? Is that why Unilever removed it along with a handful of other well-known, non-PFAS, natural ingredients? Or is something much more sinister at play?
The odds are I'm in absolutely no position to ever find out. But I'll end on a final note: screw Living Proof. The brand sucks now. Don't give them your money. End rant.
References:
Edney, A. (2024, February 7). ‘Forever chemicals’ are still found in Personal-Care products. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-02-07/are-pfas-in-skin-care-shampoo-why-forever-chemicals-are-still-everywhere
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