Anti-Humidity Volume & Protection for Subtropical Climates

When speaking with many of our beauty brand R&D partners and product managers, one challenge comes up again and again: creating a styling product that truly performs well in Taiwan is not easy.

Taiwan’s climate and daily lifestyle create several real-life challenges that can affect hair styling performance:

• Helmet pressure during commuting
  Freshly styled roots can easily lose volume after wearing a motorcycle helmet during daily commutes.
• Constant high humidity
  Taiwan’s humid weather can soften traditional styling polymers, making curls and hairstyles harder to maintain throughout the day.
• Urban pollution and particle buildup
  Exhaust fumes, smoke, and airborne particles from city environments can cling to the hair, causing unwanted odors, dryness, and tangling during washing or brushing.

Traditional styling polymers may provide strong hold, but they can also leave hair feeling stiff, sticky, or flaky. The challenge is finding a better balance between a natural touch and long-lasting performance.

To help address these daily styling concerns, Ashland developed Aquaflex™ XL-30 (INCI: Polyimide-1).

While no ingredient is a perfect solution for every need, Aquaflex™ XL-30 was designed with several functional benefits that can offer practical support for modern styling formulations.

Shape Memory & Root Support

According to Ashland’s testing and technical data, Aquaflex™ XL-30 provides excellent elastic recovery properties, helping create a flexible support structure on the hair surface.

Helps Hair Bounce Back

When hairstyles are flattened by helmets or wind, consumers can simply use their fingers or a comb to help restore volume and shape more easily thanks to the polymer’s “shape memory” performance.

Adds Natural-Looking Volume

In salon evaluations conducted by Ashland, formulations containing Aquaflex™ XL-30 helped improve visible hair volume while maintaining a smoother and more natural feel without excessive stiffness.

Helps Maintain Style in Humid Conditions

Humidity is one of the biggest challenges for long-lasting hairstyles. Aquaflex™ XL-30 offers strong hydrophobic and anti-humidity performance. Even under extreme laboratory testing conditions at 90% relative humidity, the polymer demonstrated impressive curl retention performance.

Lightweight Protective Film for Urban Environments

In addition to styling benefits, Aquaflex™ XL-30 forms a lightweight, smooth, and non-tacky film on the hair surface.

Applications for Taiwan’s Daily Hair Care Market

Overall, Aquaflex™ XL-30 offers several practical advantages for modern styling formulations designed for humid and urban lifestyles. With good formulation compatibility and easy handling, it is well suited for lightweight styling and hair care applications such as:

• Volume sprays / root-lifting sprays
  Ideal for commuters who want quick volume recovery after removing helmets.
• Humidity-resistant curl mousses or gels
  Helps maintain soft, natural-looking curls without stiffness.
• Urban protection styling creams or serums
  Combines lightweight styling support with a protective film to help reduce environmental buildup on hair.