Excessively curly hair, commonly found in people of African descent, can be dry and difficult to manage. This hair type calls for products specially designed to address its unique needs. Chemical relaxers are by far the most commonly used products to achieve straightening and improve manageability. Relaxers are typically used every 6 – 8 weeks. Apart from being very harsh on the scalp, relaxers leave the hair dull and brittle because of the actives used and the high pH of the treatment. Vast resources continue to be dedicated to developing safer products that can satisfy the special needs of ethnic hair.
KeraCoat is a proprietary polymer dispersed in mineral oil, with excellent film-forming and skin protection properties. When used in relaxers, where scalp protection is critical, it spreads easily and uniformly on the skin and hair, leaving behind a protective coat. This makes it ideal for forming a barrier between the high-pH actives and the scalp without interfering with the relaxing process. When used in after-care treatment products, such as hair creams and lotions, KeraCoat assists in preventing loss of moisture by sealing the hair. It also adds shine and soft hold to the hair without leaving a greasy feel. The product’s superior protective ability can be seen in the following anti-irritation study.
Chemical relaxers are used in ethnic hair care to straighten the hair and make it more manageable. The main actives used in these products are metal hydroxides like Sodium Hydroxide, Lithium Hydroxide, and Guanidine Hydroxide, which can be very irritating on the scalp and damaging to the hair. The purpose of this study is to determine the ability of KeraCoat to minimize the irritation on the scalp caused by the actives during the relaxing process.
Two relaxer formulations were developed: one contained 15% mineral oil (as the control), and in the other formulation the mineral oil was replaced with 15% KeraCoat. Both formulations were then tested on the forearms of panelists to determine which gave the most protection, i.e. resulting in the least irritation.KeraCoat has demonstrated its ability to protect the scalp from irritation caused by chemical relaxers and can be used safely on sensitive scalps. The dry and brittle nature of ethnic hair makes it even more vulnerable to the harshness of chemical treatments. Damage caused by relaxers is one of the leading causes of breakage and hair loss in ethnic hair. Protecting the hair and scalp from this damage promotes an environment for healthy hair.
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