Hair Care

The way we choose to wear and care for our hair is a reflection of our personality. Our hair style transmits social, psychological and erotic signals to others whether we are aware of it or not. Most of us strive for beautiful, full and shiny hair to enhance our image and attractiveness and use hair care products to achieve this.

Every day our hair is exposed to harmful stress factors. The stress starts with frequent washing followed by styling with hair driers and heated brushes and tongs. On top of this comes environmental damage and hair treatments such as colouring, straightening and perms. UV light ages hair causing it to lose moisture, colour and become brittle. All of these factors mean that hair care needs to be part of our daily routine.

As hair regrows the protective cuticle near the scalp is sealed and intact. As the hair grows further it is exposed to the stresses of poor hair care, styling and the environment causing cuticle damage meaning hair splits and breaks easily.

This damage can only be prevented with well-designed and rigorous hair care regime. In most cases it is also possible to repair minor hair damage with the right hair care products.

So how should healthy hair look and feel? The answer is silky, shiny and smooth with a strong hair structure. Healthy hair should move freely and supply, should be full and voluminous. The scalp should be supple, free of dandruff, and not too oily.

Modern hair care products should be designed to protect hair from environmental stress, styling, dehydration and from the sun. They should also promote healthy hair and a healthy scalp and even repair damaged cuticles. Modern hair care products should be carefully designed so that they can be selected for a specific hair condition e.g. coloured, ageing, and damaged, fine or flaky (dandruffy) hair. Specific products are also available for men, targeted at various hair types and condition.

Recent research has made it possible to conceive and design hair care products in a targeted way. For example as we get older, our hair contains less calcium which can be replaced with the appropriate hair care formulation. Aged hair that has lost its colour and turned grey or white is very sensitive to sunlight as it has lost its reflecting and absorbing pigments. Hair products for this kind of hair must also contain UV filters.

Curly hair is more sensitive than straight hair. This is determined by evolution; hair with waves loses moisture faster so that the sweating/ cooling mechanism is more efficient. For this reason curly hair requires more repair-oriented care and more moisturising. In the same way as in skin care, a day and night routine is the best approach. Hair care products for day time should contain UV filters and moisturisers, products for night time should concentrate on oils and scalp nutrition.

The Cosmacon team will not only develop hair care prototypes for you, we can also support your product development with our in-house tests:

• Combing force measurement: to evaluate the effectiveness of conditioner in detangling and caring for the hair
• Rubin Dye Test: To test for the build-up effect
• Analysis of curl stability after the use of film building agents
• Analysis of UV protection using appropriate conditioners on coloured hair
• Electrostatic Charge – Testing of hair volume after combing
• Sensory Studies: Testing of the cosmetic characteristics and sensory profile of conditioners on hair and skin

So if you are looking to add a hair care range to your portfolio or need advice on how to develop an existing range, please get in touch for a first discussion.