KERATRIX™: THE ACTIVE SUBSTANCE IN RITUAL REDENHAIR

In all cultures, hair is of great importance and a symbol of an individual’s personality and status. Because of the current trend towards continuous change and as it is the easiest and most striking external personal transformation to make, the hair fibres are subjected to chemical, mechanical and thermal processes that leave hair more opaque, rough, dry, weak and brittle as a consequence. Similarly, natural external agents like the sun, cold and wind also damage the surface and structure of the hair, as does an unbalanced diet and stress.

As part of a personal care routine, the hair must be treated with specific products that repair, moisturise and nourish it, softening it and protecting it from external aggressions.

How can you achieve maximum effectiveness of a cosmetic active ingredient on the hair and its keratin?

To get the best from a cosmetic on your hair, it must remain on the hair surface long enough to obtain a benefit, and therefore a mechanism of application that allows that is necessary.

KERATRIX™ is an active ingredient of REDENHAIR HAIR REGENERATOR SERUM FORTE that meets this need as it presents its hair active subtances in a cationic controlled release matrix. This matrix is made up of amylopectin, a cationic derivative of guar gum and polyquaternium-7, elements chosen and combined specifically to act selectively on the hair fibre. The combination of non-ionic, cationic, and film-forming components gives rise to a system of sequential and controlled release of active ingredients for the hair. This matrix fixes to the hair fibre and increases the contact time with the active substances that it releases, obtaining a prolonged action at the cuticle and cortex level.

Also, this multifunctional active ingredient increases the hair’s resistance and elasticity, improves dry and weakened hairs and repairs the damage produced by mechanical, chemical and thermal processes. It also protects the hair fibre, strengthening and preventing breakage in order to restore integrity from the root to the tips. It can be used on a daily basis as its active ingredient consists of vitamins and amino acids.

BENEFITS OF THE CATIONIC MATRIX AND KERATRIX™

The residues of anionic amino acids dominate in the hair cuticle and this causes the hair to present a mainly negative charge. As it is positively charged, Keratrix™ links to the amino acids with a negative charge of keratin, the protein with a fibrous structure, and contributes to stabilising the peptide chains of the fibres.

When the cuticle is damaged or lost, hair becomes more reactive and the amino acids come to have a negative charge, increasing even more the affinity of Keratrix™ to the hair. This acts as a protective film-forming layer, assisting the tissue repair, insulating against external aggressions and improving the elastic properties and manageability of the hair.

STUDY OF THE HAIR’S MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Various ex vivo studies have been conducted that corroborate the properties of this active ingredient. This publication is produced by Provital Group (Benaiges A., Fernández E.; Martínez-Teipel B.; Armengol R.; Barba C.; Coderch L. Hair Efficacy of Botanical Extracts. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2013, 861-868. Keratrix™. Keramare™.) allows us to know the situation of the keratin of the cortex and the extent of its repair. The mechanical properties of the hair are also linked to changes in its moisture, since by increasing the amount of water, the plasticity and elasticity of the fibres also increase.

For this test, diverse, previously-conditioned fibres were randomly chosen from each sample. In the stress analysis, two important parameters were determined using a dynamometer (instrument for measuring forces, based on the deformation capacity of the elastic bodies): the energy required to break the hair fibre, called breaking stress (MPa), and the deformation of the hair before breaking, called breakage deformation (%).

Breaking stress and deformation

Measurements of stress were taken for both the treated and untreated hair samples, after applying the different formulations, in order to evaluate the influence of Keratrix™ on its mechanical properties. The graph below shows the average values obtained for the breaking stress, which were statistically evaluated to establish whether the differences were significant.

As can be observed, the application of Keratrix™ leads to a statistically significant increase in the breaking stress of the hair fibres, making it very difficult for it to break, thus signifying the improvement of its structural integrity. Keratrix™ increased the breaking stress by 28.5% compared to untreated virgin hair and, when compared to damaged hair treated with a placebo, the difference was 40.9%. Thus, it is observed that the product has a very positive action for improvement on damaged hair, even higher than that for untreated hair.

Evaluating the breakage deformation, the parameter that indicates the hair fibre’s resistance to breakage, it is observed that this also increases for fibres treated with Keratrix™, which may be due to an increase in the water content of the fibres as a result of applying the actives.

In conclusion, the increase in the breakage deformation generated by Keratrix™ gives rise to more elastic and resistant fibres.

SEM microscopy

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also used to view the morphological surface of the hair fibres, the condition of the hair cuticle and, specifically, its scales after bleaching and the effect generated by applying the cosmetic formulations.

The following images show two examples of the results obtained by microscopy of the bleached, untreated fibres (UT), and after applying the formulation with placebo or with Keratrix™. The most damaged fibres were the bleached ones, with the cuticles visibly open compared to the virgin hair, but after the application of Keratrix™ its reparative effect compared to the bleached hair and also the placebo was observed.

Significant damage of the bleached fibres was observed on the hair’s cuticular surface, as well as an obvious improvement after the treatment with Keratrix™, also compared with the placebo effect. In the hair fibres treated with Keratrix™ a coating can be clearly seen, which acts to soften the hair cuticle.

Restore your hair's structure and healthy growth with REDENHAIR HAIR REGENERATOR SERUM FORTE WITH KERATRIX™! Restore the structure and barrier function of your hair, reducing the brittleness and porosity of damaged hair.