Jennifer Aniston Teams Up With MIT
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While the tabloids may have you fixated upon Jennifer Aniston’s recent engagement to Justin Theroux (she’ll finally get that baby that she’s been wanting!) by proffering up “hard hitting” answers to your questions about her ring (yes, really), let’s not lose focus on the real reason why we’re on Team Jennifer: her hair. Ever since she sashayed that choppy-bobby-shiny cut that spawned a million imitations—aka “The Rachel”—Aniston’s mane has been one of her calling cards (even though she in fact hated the look, telling Allure it was “the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen”). So it would seem a huge oversight perhaps, that the goldy-locked goddess hasn’t ever been made shampoo spokesperson or champion of curl cream. Until now.
Yesterday, Aniston was in town to announce her partnership with Living Proof, the hair care line established by a team of scientists at MIT. Heading that team is Dr. Robert Langer, a prolific inventor who looked to hair products after learning that most of the gels, creams, and straightening serums on the market all used the same ingredients and hadn’t been updated for decades. And despite their claims, many of the products’ molecular structures would inhibit them from doing the hair any good. So that’s where some serious science comes in. The scientists developed their own moisture-fighting molecule, PolyfluoroEster, and a hair care line was born. We profiled the company in 2009, and here’s an excerpt from that piece, which talks about their first product, No Frizz.
Frizz just happened to be the battle first won. Silicone, the key ingredient in nearly all frizz fighters on the market, works—and not very well—by weighing down the hair shaft. By contrast, Living Proof’s PolyfluoroEster is smaller, far more effective at repelling water, and excellent at reducing surface friction. Its properties are similar to that of contact lens coating. “We had people tell us they’d gone out in the rain, gone to bed, and woken up with hair like they’d just come from a blowout,” says one lab tech.
Aniston was apparently swayed by the science, and has signed on to be a celebrity spokesperson and will also be given equity in the brand. The company will be consulting with Aniston on labeling and product development. “You want to be part of something that’s exciting and authentic,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “You can’t get more interesting than these scientists.” You can get the full rundown of their partnership in the Journal‘s video below (and yes, there is an up-close shot of her ring).
