Beraca has launched a natural alternative treatment for curly hair - pequi oil. The ingredient is said to be rich in fatty acids and provitamin A which help define curls and reduce frizz.
The oil is extracted from pulp of the pequi tree, found in Brazil’s tropical savanna. Beraca is working with local communities to harvest the crop sustainably and process the fruit, employing more than 200 people.
Tests have proved the ingredient’s efficacy as a hair treatment, effective for use in shampoos, conditioners and leave-in serums. 15 batches of hair were washed with the treatment, with three groups receiving a placebo. Hair treated with 3% pequi oil products recorded a 34% decrease in frizz.
Pequi oil is said to smoothen the hair without adding any weight. The oil also adds less colour to solutions than comparable ingredients.
Juliana Checon, R&D Manager at Beraca, said: “The keratin fibres of curly hair have a large contact surface with the environment, which means it tends to get dry more easily than other types of hair. The fatty fraction of pequi oil adheres to the hair and forms a protective film around the hair shaft, helping to restore its oleic content and prevent water loss.”
The ingredient will be presented to the international market at in-cosmetics 2016 next month.