Ashland introduces legacy hair fixative polymer Advantage 4910, long known for its stiffness and hold, joins company portfolio Ashland Specialty Ingredients announced the commercial launch of its new Advantage 4910 fixative polymer, a terpolymer long known for providing hair with long-lasting stiffness, hold and resistance to environmental factors like humidity. 32 Spray March 2015 Advantage 4910 (INCI: Octylacrylamide/ Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer) is included in more hairspray products than any other polymer, according to Ashland, and the technology has existed for at least 30 years. It is now available from Ashland Specialty Ingredients for the first time, substantially expanding the company’s portfolio of solutions for manufacturers of hairspray products—especially given its ability to be used in conjunction with a number of other polymers. The assortment of possibilities was put on display in Ashland’s Consumer Science Lab in a press luncheon and tour of the company’s Bridgewater, NJ facility on Jan. 15. Five models sported five different hairstyles, while an Ashland resident cosmetologist explained the various formulations used in each of the five sprays—all including the Advantage 4910 polymer. Ingredients used with Advantage 4910 included the Aquaflex FX-64 polymer, Advantage LC A/S polymer and PVP/VA copolymers. Consumers desire hair care products that can deliver lasting stiffness, according to Ashland, and it’s difficult to formulate a product that can hold hair firmly in place and keep it that way all day. Advantage 4910 is unique because it aims to accomplish both. In the Materials Science Lab, Ashland exhibited some of its Dynamic Hairspray Analysis (DHSA) procedures, examining attributes like flexibility, elasticity, stiffness, plasticity and resistance to factors like differing temperatures, humidity, gravity and vibration. The idea was to study the impact of everyday stress on treated hair fibers. Ashland is only the second manufacturer to supply the octycrylamide/acrylatesbutylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer, according to the company. Advantage 4910 can be used in both aerosol (including bag-on-valve) and non-aerosol product formulations, as well as both high- and lowvolatile organic compound (VOC) systems. SPRAY A model demonstrates colored layers achieved using Advantage 4910 The Advantage 4910 polymer Models demonstrate volumizing (left) and holding (right) effects of Advantage 4910
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