Polyquat build-up

If you're the kind of person whose hair reacts badly to hair styling products sometimes, often something like polyquaternium is to blame. These ingredients provide hold, may reduce frizz and can condition the hair. But they also bond to the hair and do not rinse or wash off easily. They don't build up for everybody - so I want to show you what it might look like if they build up on your hair. Because my hair is light-colored, it's easy to see.

This is my hair on day one with a hair gel containing Polyquaternium-4. I liked it fairly well and was excited about the product. I was new to hair styling and cutting my hair to wear it down when this photo was taken. Wow, I must have been out in the sun a lot too. Blonde hair loses color fast in UV light!

Day one with polyquaternium-containing gel.

I used it again for the photo below, probably just rinsing my hair in between. Apparently that shirt passed the sniff test, because I'm wearing it again too.

But the second use revealed the ugly side of polyquaterniums. I did everything the same as the day before. But the result was quite different. Stringy, crunchy, less volume, dull, less wave definition, kind of sparse and a little frizzy.

Second use of polyquaternium-containing gel.

So now you know. If this happens to you and your hair gel (or shampoo or conditioner or mousse or styling cream) contains polyquaterniums, you might want to avoid them and see if your hair behaves more nicely.

It doesn't always happen on the first or second use, this is a cumulative process. They all build up for me right away. No sleuthing necessary.

To find out more about which polyquats and other similar ingredients *may* build up on hair, refer to this post. 

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