The New Jersey-based outfit invited press to its headquarters to present its findings on hair damage and explain that it can occur on a daily basis from causes such as grooming, styling, sun exposure, chemical processing and even aging.
Damaged hair is also more difficult to manage and lacks the characteristics, such as shine or movement, as healthy hair.
Repair and prevent
According to Hair Care marketing manager Regan Tillou speaking at the event, while hair damage cannot be entirely avoided, Croda has completed extensive research and developed ingredients to repair damaged hair and prevent future damage.
A tour of the company’s Product Validation and Claims Support laboratory displayed the research that has gone into making, and proving, such claims.
On-site analysis is possible with a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) which shows a highly-magnified image of a hair fiber making the damaged area apparent in contrast to a healthy hair fiber.
The lab is also fully kitted out with an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) used for creating high resolution 3D images of hair fibers, a Hair Flexabrasion Tester to determine hair strength, and a ‘Weather-Ometer to simulate UV irradiation and other environmental conditions.
There is also an educational Hair Damage Guide available on Croda’s website so that customers can explore the different types of hair damage, how each occurs, and how these can be duplicated in a lab setting.
Developments
All this forms the basis of the two latest products Croda has launched targeting hair repair: Keramimic 2.0 and KeraDyn HH.
The former is a new keratin quat from the next generation of biomimetics that has a chemical structure that matches human hair; whilst the latter is a specialized conditioning agent that reduce friction between hair strands and enhances fiber alignment.
Tillou explains they target the most damaged area of the hair’s surface and enable freedom of movement respectively.