Nuance Salma Hayek Mamey Fruit Volumizing Conditioner is a decent product that adds volume, moisture, and some amount of gloss to limp, dull tresses. It contains quite a high concentration of a plant extract called Tepezcohuite or Mimosa tenuiflora bark extract. However, the Salma Hayek Volumizing Hair Conditioner mostly relies on standard hair care ingredients like oils, protein, silicone, and “quats” to work its magic. It’s a good conditioner, but so are thousands of others on the market.
s of this writing, 2-ounce bottles of Nuance Salma Hayek Conditioners are available at CVS stores for about $3: an excellent way to test them out before you spring for the full-size container.
Mimosa Tenuiflora or Tepezcohuite as a Hair Care Miracle?
Tepezcohuite is extracted from tree bark in warmer regions of the world. It was used by the Mayans and has a long, revered history in Mexico as a skin care ingredient; there is plenty of at least “word of mouth” evidence that it speeds healing of burns and other wounds and perhaps even alleviates skin conditions such as psoriasis. Supposedly it helps rebuild the collagen and elastin matrix that supports the skin, which would make it an excellent anti-wrinkle ingredient; but there seems to be a dearth of any published studies confirming this.
What does all this have to do with hair care? Not much, really. Skin is alive, and should ideally contain more than 10% moisture content in its upper layers in order to keep its precious barrier function intact. In a skin moisturizer or serum, it’s possible that application of tepezcohuite, which is rich in emollient lipids, might indeed have some positive effect. Since hair is dead, consumers cannot really rebuild its keratin structure, though; fresh, new hair has to grow to replace the damaged locks. Of course, a good conditioner makes even damaged hair look better; but it’s not “repairing” anything.
Anecdotal reports (meaning those not confirmed by studies with control groups and carefully monitored methodology) claim that tepezcohuite can regrow hair on thinning areas of the scalp and control dandruff. That’s nice, but it’s kind of like when you buy a product, enjoy what it does, and then recommend it to your friends. Just because you like it doesn’t mean it is guaranteed to work well for them.
Moreover, a lot of people lose hair because of stress or some other external factor. They purchase some tepezcohuite or jojoba oil or whatever the latest hair regrowth fad is, rub it on their head, and their hair comes back because during that same time period the external stressor was removed. In other words, they could have done absolutely nothing and obtained the exact same result!
Salma Hayek Volumizing Conditioner is still a nice conditioner; it’s just doubtful that the tepezcohuite is doing anything particularly special for the hair. Note that some people have allergic skin reactions to mimosa.
Salma Hayek Hair Conditioner Ingredients That Will Improve Hair’s Appearance
The Nuance Volumizing Conditioner has a nice mix of highly saturated and monounsaturated lipids (oils and fats) that can penetrate the hair shaft better than any single emollient ingredient used alone. Mixtures of different types of oils sort of “clump up” into structures called mixed micelles, the same type of molecular arrangements that surfactants in shampoos use to surround and trap dirt and oil on your hair so that they may be easily rinsed away. These mixed oil micelles are believed to go deep into the hair shaft and strengthen it from the inside out.
It also contains a lot of a fatty alcohol called cetearyl alcohol, some silicones, and an acrylic copolymer. Ethyl and isopropyl alcohols are quite drying to hair, but fatty alcohols moisturize it very effectively. Silicones, including dimethicone, impart a lovely sheen and may help prevent dyed hair from fading too quickly. Standard acrylic copolymers coat the hair, giving the illusion of fullness and making it easier to style.
Lastly, the Nuance Salma Hayek Volumizing Conditioner offers several ingredients known as “quats,” which carry a positive charge. The hair surface is negatively charged; since positive and negative charges attract one another, the quats stick to it, make it feel softer and more manageable, and prevent static electricity from causing annoying flyaways. Note that some natural hair care experts like Aubrey Hampton believe that quats can eventually build up on the hair and dry it out (for that matter, he’s not too crazy about polymers or silicones, either).
Actually, almost all volumizing ingredients (and the “heavier” silicones, like dimethicone) have a tendency to build up on hair with repeated use; so wash with a good, simple, “non-conditioning” shampoo once a week or so to get all the residue off.
This conditioner has a fresh, organic plant aroma with a somewhat acrid topnote that fortunately does not linger on the hair. It does provide a fair amount of body and shine, though it cannot replace the use of leave-on volumizing styling products like hair powders. In other words, it won’t tear me away from my Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse in the near future!
Readers of this article may also enjoy “Review of Nuance Salma Hayek Body Creams” and “Product Review: Nuance Salma Hayek Color Protect Conditioner” in Suite 101’s Home & Style section.
Sources
- Feigenbaum, Harold and Bischoff, Dietmar, “The Use of Cationizing Reagents in the Preparation of Conditioning Polymers for Hair and Skin Care,” quab.com.
- Hampton, Aubrey, What’s in Your Cosmetics?, Tampa, FL: Organica Press, 1995.
- Moss, Brett, Ungvary, Vince, and Marchioretto, Sabrina, “Silicones as a Color-Lock Aid in Rinse-Off Hair Care Products,” Dow Corning Corporation, 2004.
- Novak, Dr. Nelson Lee, Saving Face, Los Angeles, CA: The Body Press, 1986.
- Romanowski, Perry and The Creators of TheBeautyBrains.com, Can You Get Hooked on Lip Balm?, Ontario, Canada: Brains Publishing, 2011.
- Suggs, J. Wm., Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, Hauppage, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, 2002.
Amy Sillup - I have a B.S. in Chemistry from Delaware Valley College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. I have worked as a ...
