My Collaboration with Phyrra: Introducing Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir!

I’ve honestly had the time of my life speaking to readers about their wants and creating them products, like our FutureDerm Complete Skin Care System. And then one day it hit me: What if I created a product for another blogger? She would have a readerbase with specific needs and wants of their own, and it would present a unique challenge.

So when Phyrra came to me, asking for “an awesome cruelty-free and vegan hair masque,” I immediately took up the challenge. When it came to choosing a blogger, it was easy to choose Phyrra. She is the sweetest person and someone I consider a friend; she also has the best response time of anyone I’ve ever met to calls and emails and texts. What’s more, she has such a unique and dynamic style — completely bold, completely authentic, and 100% her. And even though her brand is more bold than my own (she’s more Alexander McQueen, I’m more Alexander Fleming [the dude who created penicillin]), I thought together we could create just the perfect product for her readers, from branding and packaging to (of course) the very best in ingredients. And I hope I’m right, with her new Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir ($39, PhyrraHair.Myshopify.com), out today. For a full FutureDerm-style review, read on.

The Best in Vegan Ingredients for Your Hair

Phyrra‘s readers are very concerned with vegan and cruelty-free products, so we first started by choosing from only those types of ingredients.

Next, Phyrra said she wanted to invigorate hair, giving it a healthy, restorative shine. Enter Quaternium-91. Quaternium-91 has a unique molecular structure that enables it to provide exceptional hair conditioning, softening, and hair color protection (Cosmetics and Toiletries, 2006). Quaternium-91 has been found to increase hair shine and hair smoothness with regular use over time in several studies, including this 2009 study in the Journal of Cosmetic Science. However, Quaternium-91 needs to be found in sufficient concentration in order to get the full softening, shine-enhancing benefits. I can’t reveal the exact concentration of Quaternium-91 we used in Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir, but I can tell you it is listed as the second ingredient because it is plentiful! 🙂 It has a very high safety profile, and a low risk of irritation or sensitivity.

Another property Phyrra said she wanted for her haircare product was repair and protection from heat styling and hair-dyeing. She said a lot of her readers dye their hair often (I guess the reading apples don’t fall far from the blogging tree?) Silly jokes aside, behentrimonium chloride fits the bill. Behentrimonium chloride has been around for decades, but it gained popularity in the 2000’s when it was found the ingredient protected and restored hair after heat or dyeing damage (Fibers and Polymers, 2010). Despite the fact that it has a long-sounding, convoluted name, even the most chemical-averse reader need not worry; behentrimonium chloride was declared safe in concentrations of up to 3% (that’s a lot) in a lotion applied all over the body for weeks at a time (Toxicology in Vitro, 2013).

Lastly, Phyrra requested hydration without weighing hair down. In a formula for her readers, this could be tricky; some of the best hair and skin penetration enhancers are glycols, but I didn’t think her readers would like glycols, given that they are sometimes given a bad rap online. (I love glycols in skin care, but I also worked in biochemistry labs for seven years, so I know the internet rumors are false). The mutual solution? Myristyl Myristate. A compound that is 100% natural, derived entirely from vegetables, myristyl myristate increases the absorption of formulations into the hair, leaving your hair silky smooth.

Personal Use and Opinions

Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir is hydrating and helps to repair the hair from dyeing and heat-styling. For my medium-texture, waist-length hair, I haven’t done any dyeing apart from a stint with highlights in 2010 (don’t remind me), but I do a lot of heat-styling. (I swear, half of my staff wouldn’t recognize me without curls!) That said, Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir felt like a really solid hair masque, like Kerastase, but didn’t weigh my hair down. It still had sufficient volume and body.

It admittedly took us a while to perfect this formula. Phyrra knew her readers would focus on look, feel, effect, and an amazing softness and shine. I knew I wanted to create it with proven ingredients in sufficiently high concentrations, and have it work as well. Together, we made Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir to feel like a cream, but absorb quickly into the hair. It definitely conditions, nourishes, strengthens, and repairs when used consistently over time. Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir is super-nourishing and can be used daily or as little as once/week, or anywhere in between. I definitely got a beautiful, healthy shine from it. You will definitely get more body and shine to your hair, no matter how tired it is from dyeing or heat-styling!

Full Ingredients List in Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir

Aqua
Quaternium-91, Behentrimonium Chloride
Myristyl Myristate
Cetearyl Alcohol
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol
Phenoxyethanol
Ethylhexylglycerin
Fragrance

Bottom Line

I am so happy to have collaborated with my friend and fellow beauty blogger Phyrra on her Phyrra’s Pretty Little Hair Elixir, and I hope you will check it out! Visit PhyrraHair.Myshopify.com to buy, with an unconditional money-back guarantee.

Got questions? Let me know in Comments below!