Brazilian oils and butters: the effect of different fatty acid chain composition on human hair physiochemical properties.

This study evaluated the performance of five oils and three butters extracted from Brazilian plants with different fatty chain composition on hair mechanical properties, split end formation, combing analysis and gloss measurements. Oil treatment reduced the combing force percentage for wet conditions. However, the hair treated with butters showed poor combing. Except for ucuúba butter, oils and butters used in this work had generally no influence on hair tensile properties. In general, hair treated with oils showed a significant gloss increase and a decrease for split end formation. The fatty acid composition of the oils and butters tested showed an effect on the physicochemical properties of hair.

Hair color changes caused by dyeing and thermal treatments.

The aim of this study was to show the effect of heat exposure, dyeing, and shampooing on hair color as measured by diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry. Successive dyeing of virgin hair with six permanent commercial formulations showed that color saturation was obtained after the first dyeing cycle. An unexpectedly high difference in hair color saturation, measured as DE* values, was obtained for virgin hair samples that differed only in cleansing history. After six sequential washings of the dyed hair samples, no difference was observed in color durability, indicating that the adhesion strength is similar to long-lasting and tone-up dyeing formulations. Exposure to a hot plate at 172 degrees C showed a significant darkening of the virgin hair samples after 2 min. On the other hand, virgin hair samples exposed to the gentler heat of a hand dryer (approximately 60 degrees C) showed partial disappearance of the hair medulla after 60 min. However, values of total color difference were near the error limit.

Extractable substances from human hair: a discussion about the origin of the holes.

The existence of holes in the endocuticle, in the inter-macrofibrilar matrix and in the cell membrane complex of hair fibers is described. In this paper, we show that these holes are absent in the hair follicle. However, cell remnants found in young hair inside the follicle are located in the same regions and are of the same dimensions as the holes observed in mature fibers. Since holes in the endocuticle have been described to appear as a result of daily care actions, it is probable that the development of holes in the inter-macrofibrilar matrix and in the cell membrane complex is related to the removal of extractable substances. We discuss hole formation in terms of the nature of the extractable substances and the presence of cell remnants in the young fibers.