As an evolution of hair care, scalp skinification embraces health from the root by increasing consumer conscience and education about hair follicles and their conditions. Data obtained from monitoring social media showed that people are increasingly aware of the benefits of skin care when it comes to the scalp, focusing on hydration, relief, or detoxification, as shown in Figure 1.2,3
The perception that the scalp or hair signals the quality of your hair health is common, especially when there are more obvious signs such as breakage, opacity or flaking. However, interaction with the environment can bring about several harmful interferences. For this reason, the term “detox” has been used for promoting the cleaning and recovery of the hair fiber and scalp, eliminating or reducing impurities that can silently damage hair, and promoting health and well-being from root to tip.4,5
Impurities that can affect the health of the hair and scalp include:
1. Copper and iron from old metal pipes in the water supply system
2. Calcium and magnesium salts in high concentrations in hard water composition
3. Copper present in algaecides used in swimming pools
4. Particulates containing metals and other chemical elements from air pollution
Many of these sources, such as calcium, magnesium, copper, and iron, can affect the performance of cosmetic treatments, by reducing the deposition of conditioning agents and catalyzing the formation of free radicals, as well as promoting internal damage to the hair fiber. These changes can reach molecular or nano-structural levels, implying silent changes in the structures of proteins and lipids. As a result, lipids and proteins are degraded, and DNA is functionally changed, which is manifested by macrostructural or visible changes such as elevation, breakage and loss of cuticles, rough hair sensation and reduced shine, which can lead to exposure of the cortex region, thus increasing the likelihood of split ends formation. The greater the damage to the protein structure, the lower the mechanical strength of the hair fiber, which may lead to breakage perceived as hair loss when brushing.6,7,8,9
In addition to the damage that begins silently and is explicitly expressed in the hair, interactions with the environment, such as copper found in swimming pools, UV radiation or even particulate matter from pollution, can pose even more severe problems, such as the change from white or blond hair to a greenish coloration, altered integrity of the scalp barrier function, increased probability of sensitivity or inflammatory processes and formation of reactive oxygen species, thus interfering in the health of the skin/scalp by lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation causing irreversible cellular damage through damaged DNA.
Considering that both hair and scalp can suffer from “invisible” interference that triggers visible changes, Chemyunion has developed Polluout® Detox, an hair active cosmetic ingredient with detox action to restore hair’s health and well-being from root to tip. With a synergistic association of polydentate polymeric chelating agent, sodium polyitaconate, alpha-hydroxy acid-derived chelating agent, sodium citrate and Sapindus mukorossi fruit extract biosurfactant, Polluout® Detox is designed to remove harmful particles and interferences from hair and scalp, such as calcium, magnesium, copper, and other pollutants, while improving shine, combability, and treatment effectiveness, as well as protecting the hair’s DNA and revitalizing it from the source.
Action mechanism:
Polluout® Detox has a synergistic action between the ingredients, acting in three simultaneous steps to promote cleaning and recovery of the hair fiber and scalp – eliminating or reducing impurities that cause silent damage, promoting health and well-being from root to tip.
1 - Chelation-induced complexation of metals on the hair fiber surface, as promoted by the polydentate polymer, sodium polyitaconate. Facilitating their removal and preventing oxidative damage.
2 - The metals in the innermost part of the fiber form complexes with the amino, hydroxyl and carboxylate groups of the keratin polypeptide due to sodium citrate in its composition.
3 - The Sapindus mukorossi fruit extract is part of Polluout® Detox’s composition. It contains a complex mixture of saponins that act as emulsifiers, decreasing the liquid/solid or liquid/liquid interfacial tension, which emulsifies the sebum or the particulate matter removed from the hair and scalp.
Tests:
In order to assess the performance of Polluout® Detox, Chemyunion carried out the following tests: Evaluation of the effectiveness in removing Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2) and Copper (Cu+2) ions from hair fibers through scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
The elemental composition of the hair fibers was measured using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) coupled to a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). To perform the analysis, the fibers (12 per group) were coated with gold (Au) to eliminate electronic charging. For each fiber, an accelerating tension spectrum was obtained, and the mass percentage (wt%) of Ca, Mg and Cu was quantified. The mass percentage (wt%) results are shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 show that Polluout® Detox effectively reduced calcium, magnesium, and copper after one and five treatments compared to the placebo.
1. Evaluation of hair after exposure to Ca+2, Mg+2 and Cu+2 ions + pollution (charcoal) through scanning electron microscopy:
After exposure, surface evaluation was performed through Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), using 10±2 fibers per group, capturing 3 images per fiber (close to the root, middle and tips), with 1100 times magnification. Examples of images obtained from the SEM are shown in Figure 5:
The images show that Polluout® Detox presented a smaller number of particles when compared to the other tested groups, indicating better effectiveness in the removal of health-interfering particles.
Benefits
Polluout® Detox provides:
- Chelating action to remove up to 98.11% of calcium, 95.83% of magnesium and 93.3% of copper from hair
- In shampoos, reduction of calcium by 38% and copper by 57.7% in the hair
- Maintenance of hair shine after exposure to hard water, and reversal of damage by up to 100%
- Removal of green coloration from hair exposed to swimming pool water (CuSO4) from day one
- Improved efficiency of the dyeing process of hair exposed to Cu+2, Ca+2 and Mg+2 ions
- Efficient removal of pollutants of up to 18.2% from hair fibers
- Up to 2x increased strength of hair fibers exposed to Cu+2 ions associated with UVA/B radiation (Protection against stress)
- Protection of the skin DNA against exposure to Cu+2 ions
- Scalp soothing action by decreasing IL-6 synthesis by up to 17%
