You might suspect that frizzy hair is a serious threat to humankind when an award-winning MIT scientist invents a molecule to fight it and everyone starts calling it revolutionary.

Here’s the thing about being a revolutionary:  you’re always notable, but you don’t always achieve quite what you were aiming for.  Henry Ford’s assembly line, notable.  Che Guevara in Cuba and Bolivia, notable.  Mattel’s Barbie doll, notable.

The molecule PolyfluoroEster, is notable, but NoFrizz doesn’t quite achieve what it was aiming for, at least not on this barometer of a bouffant.

If a product claims to tame our tresses when it starts to get hot and heavy, (the WEATHER people, stay with us here) those of us with frizzy hair are ready to experiment.  L’Oreal’s Studio Line, Garnier Fructis, Paul Mitchell, TIGI BedHead, you name it, I’ve tried it.  And the result is always the same:  they can’t quite handle my ‘fro.  The most effective frizz fighter has been to simply cut it all off.

So when Living Proof offered up NoFrizz, featuring a molecule developed by Dr. Robert Langer  of MIT,  it got my attention.  After all, the guy has won the Millennium Technology Prize for innovation, invented a band-aid to use inside the body and is working on a way to fight cancer.

Living Proof, the Cambridge, Mass. company that produces NoFrizz says the product is an alternative to silicone that doesn’t weigh down the hair or leave it greasy.  And that’s true.  It also offers formulas for a wide variety of hair types, including ethnic hair.

However, it’s not a good sign when the first thing you hear in the morning after using it is “Boy Mom, your hair is frizzy today.”

The truth is, that comment could have been prompted by a poor blowout. John Frieda with the hair dryer I am not.  But what NoFrizz did consistently was make my hair too straight on good days and not work any better than the silicone products on the humid days. And it made my hair feel rather like nylon, giving it the same texture as that aforementioned revolutionary doll, Barbie.

And since we’re being picky, Dr. Langer also needs  to work on a molecule that smells better.  NoFrizz has the faint odor of crude oil, with a hint of orange.

NoFrizz is pricey — $14-$24 – because you know, it ain’t cheap to fund a revolution.  And you have to use a lot of it, according to the directions.

So for now, I’ll stick with the silicone.  And wait for the next entry in the revolt against the Bad Hair Day.

Site links:

• Boston.com bloggers didn’t like it either after they read the story online.
• Total Beauty tells us where NOT to live if we have frizzy hair
• Here are a few videos on MSN’s Video site that entail multiple products and a lot of work.

Tried anything new lately?  Sassback and tell us all.