FUNdamentals 06: Why are there alcohols in K18?
You know what's fun? When your product works. We'll be breaking down key info + recommendations weekly to help you get the most out of K18. Read MoreWant to know what’s going on in our ingredient list? We got you. A lot of people have seen the word alcohol on our IL and (rightly so, based on what the industry has been telling you for years) freaked out a little. We get it. The last thing you want is something that’s going to dry your hair out. We don’t want that either.
We talk a lot about how everything we do is intentional, and we don’t mean to beat a dead extension, but it’s true, even for the alcohols in our IL.
Here’s the deal, we use a trio of 3 alcohols that work together to open the hair cuticle so the K18Peptide™ can penetrate the innermost layer of hair, reaching broken polypeptide chains (keratin chains). Here the minimal amount of alcohol serves as an agent to optimize the hair environment for our K18Peptide™ to work on a deeper level, not to dry hair out.
We’ll break down the alcohols you may have seen on our box below, because we love an ingredient crash course.
Denatured alcohol is used in K18 formulas to open the gates for our peptide to reach hair’s damage sites. A very low concentration of isopropyl alcohol is used to help conditioning agents blend better into the formula, without being directly added to the formula itself. Plus, they evaporate so you won’t even know they were there!
Did you know alcohols can actually help lock in moisture? No joke. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol that does double duty—its waxy consistency creates a physical barrier to keep water in or out (depending on the formula) and keeps our mask together for easier application. Propylene glycol is another penetration enhancer that helps our peptide penetrate, binding water molecules and improving hydration. Refreshing!
Benzyl alcohol acts as a cosmetic preservative, keeping your product fresh while it sits on the shelf. This and Cetearyl alcohol do not contain ethanol and can even be used in products marketed as “alcohol-free.”
Like most things in life, ingredients are complex—so a simple bad or good rating isn’t telling the whole story. We encourage digging deeper into what’s in the formulas you use AND why. In the context of K18, alcohol is not inherently bad or drying and helps deliver strength, softness, smoothness, and bounce. If you do want an extra boost of shine or conditioning, go for a leave-in or styling product after the 4-minute activation time.
See ya next week for more FUNdamentals.
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