What had happened to OFPMA? The now defunct, great Living Proof molecule that is/was a PFAS?

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

Let's talk about stretch, baby

 Living Proof has come out with a new curl line. It contains a low lather shampoo, a conditioner with an ingredient list pretty similar to that of the reformulated restore mask (and frizz mask and whatever 3rd mask they came up with to charge people more money for less product; since the curl conditioner is much larger than the masks, it's a pretty good deal), three different curl defining products (waves/curls/coils), an all purpose gel, and an oil (just stop it with the oils already, Living Proof, you suck at them).

Any products which promise to elongate curls have been tried and tested by me. The old standby is KCCC. I have used DevaCurl Super Stretch with mild enthusiasm to displeasure. I tried the really bad smelling one from Shea Moisture. It was better than nothing, but it didn't compare to DevaCurl or KCCC, and it smelled, um, not pleasant.

I recently found out about Melanin Twist Elongating Style Cream. To my knowledge, it is only available at Ulta, where it had been out of stock since I discovered it. I tried, to no avail, to purchase it in stores where it was "in stock." It was not in stock. DC, Maryland, Virginia, Chicago, Skokie, Niles, Northbrook. Nothing. Lo and behold, Wheeling had one in stock. I had never been to Wheeling. I know absolutely nothing about it. I was quarantining, and that was where my hotel was located. 

I found another pretty awesome thing there - the Matrix knock-off of Olaplex 2 on clearance. It's way better than Olaplex 2 (or 3).

Anyway.

The Melanin product (one of only three in the entire line, the other two consisting of a shampoo and conditioner) blew me away. It's great. I felt wasteful purchasing it - not because it was a bad deal - it's $16 for just over 16oz, but because, given the ingredient list, I know that there is no way I can use up this whole tub before it expires/goes bad. I mean, I don't feel that bad...

The only drawback to the Melanin product is that it does build up. If you reapply it after using it the previous day, your hair will not do the gorgeous stuff it does after washing and using the product. It will get gunky, sticky, you know the drill; however, if you wake up with crazy curls going everywhere messy tangle madness, just rinse. The product doesn't seem to rinse out easily; it needs at least something low-lathering in order to remove it.

Your milage may vary, but I'm impressed.

Oh, wait! This was about Living Proof's new curl line, and more specifically, the curl elongator (I can't speak to the other styling products). Check out my photo. Notice anything similar?

Wow. They're the same color. Wait! There's more. The ingredient lists are surprisingly similar, not only in that they contain nearly identical ingredients, but in that they contain nearly identical ingredients in nearly identical orders. Living Proof uses fragrances and a few more preservatives, neither of which I take issue with. Truth be told, the Living Proof elongator smells nice-ish. The Melanin product smells, well, like what it is - a bunch of ingredients that don't necessarily smell bad combined. It doesn't have a lasting fragrance, but strangely, it's easy to detect? Who nose (puns!). I am overly sensitive to fragrance; most people wouldn't notice any fragrance at all in the Melanin product.

I digress. To recap - packaging, color, ingredients, and wait! There's more! Both are out of Boston. Is something afoot? I may have been watching a few too many mysteries during quarantine. Or have I? You tell me. I'll post pictures with each product later this week. Spoiler alert: I think Melanin kinda wins apart from the whole fragrance thing. I'm going to test out the Living Proof product a few more times before making a final judgement.

Full disclosure, I have never been given a product to test. Sometimes, I don't even get products when I pay for them. Shocking as it may be, I'm pretty sure no one has ever seen this blog.

Love,

Henna Much

Living Proof: a timeline (it's hair, not Liz Phair)

A little background: I realize how odd the title must sound. I am a huge Liz Phair fan, circa Exile in Guyville and Whipsmart. I liked her EPs during the era, and I even liked Whitechocolatespaceegg. After that, I can't defend her.

I was a huge fan of Living Proof when the brand debuted in 2007.

Read on for my (sort of internet research based, but certainly not 100% correct) timeline!

Living Proof PHD review: Murphy Brown Lied to Us

I'm quoting Tina Fey (or Liz Lemon), "Murphy Brown lied to us." Murphy Brown made Liz Lemon believe she could have it all: a career and kids.

Living Proof lied to us. Living Proof said we could have it all (or at least 7 miracle hair benefits and a product that sounds like an advanced academic degree).

Do I smell a copycat? Haircare brand It's a 10 must be angry that its puffery is being so seamlessly mimicked. Pureology Color Fanatic: you're just kind of lame and late to the party. Bigger is not better: "21 benefits" just sounds like it was invented by a wish granting hair genie. I digress.

Living Proof has recently unveiled its newest, greatest, hair saving miracle, that does.....something.

What does it do?

According to Living Proof (via Sephora):

Living Proof's Perfect Hair Day (PHD) 5-in-1 Styling Treatment is powered by our award winning, patented molecules, OFPMA & PBAE, to provide the 5 styling & treatment benefits you need for beautiful, healthy hair in one simple step—smoothness, volume, conditioning, strength & polish. 

What it does: 
Provides a genius balance of styling & treatment benefits 
Provides 5 benefits needed for beautiful, healthy hair: 
- Smoothness 
- Volume 
- Conditioning 
- Strength 
- Polish 
- Heat Protection 
- UV Protection 
- Static Control 
Oil-free & silicone-free.

Read on for my review!

What true love looks like.

In case you were wondering.

Review: Living Proof Amp Instant Texture Volumizer

Here's what Living Proof says (via Sephora):
"Bring some life to your style. Get touchable texture plus amplified volume and flexible hold for that perfectly imperfect look. This texturizer works on dry hair so it’s instantly gratifying –and revivable for 48 hours. Bring instant life and energy to dry hair without the tradeoffs, and save time."

Read on for my review!

some more recent shots.

I took some pictures of my curls tonight. I did a henna/cassia mix this morning. I used 50g of cassia and 25g of henna, mixed with lemon juice and chamomile tea. When it was time for application, I added in 1/4 cup of honey and 1/8cup coconut oil.

After rinsing/co-washing, I applied the Marc Anthony Easy-Lites to air dried (top 3/4 of my hair) and blow dried. I applied BKT solution to the 1 inch new growth and blow dried/flat ironed it (yes, I can just blow dry and flat iron 1 inch). I applied KCCC to the lengths of my hair. I applied Living Proof mousse to the majority of my hair, and applied Living Proof Amp to select individual strands for definition. Seven hours later: not too bad, given our strange cold weather and high humidity.

here are photos of my hair after a days work, in the florescent lighting:

Read on for more photos!