Glycolic acid delivers positive effects by penetrating the skin effectively and stimulating cellular activity. As the simplest alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and smallest of the fruit acids, glycolic acid also has an excellent profile for penetrating the cuticle layer of the hair shaft. This enables the glycolic acid to attach itself to the keratin, which can help make hair stronger and smoother.
A series of experiments was conducted by DuPont researchers and researchers at the Textile Research Institute (TRI) in Princeton, N.J. The experiments focused on manageability, strengthening, protection and conditioning because consumer research shows these are key attributes for hair care products.
How Glycolic Acid Works in the Hair
Hair is a complex structure that can be broken down into four parts: the follicle, hair bulb, hair root and hair shaft. The hair shaft consists of the cuticle, cortex and medulla. The cuticle layer is responsible for visual attributes of hair such as shine and smoothness. It is also responsible for the friction effect of hair, which determines manageability (i.e., how easy it is to comb or brush hair). The cuticle layer can be damaged by daily grooming, such as combing and brushing, as well as by chemical treatments, such as bleaching. The cortex contains pigment and is responsible for structural integrity, strength, swelling and stretching of the hair.
Multiple Benefits for Hair Care Products
Adding DuPont™ Glypure® to hair care formulations enables these products to provide important benefits that deliver the attributes consumers desire:
• Helps hair hold moisture significantly better. Hair treated with DuPont™ Glypure® is able to hold moisture at significantly higher temperatures or longer times, making it ideal for hair that is styled with high-wattage blow driers,hot curlers, curling irons and straightening irons—without concerns about damaging the hair.
• Strengthens the hair, making it less prone to breakage. DuPont™ Glypure® has a positive effect on tenacity at break and toughness, making the hair stronger and more resistant to breakage.
• Makes hair more manageable, easier to style. DuPont™ Glypure® provides hair with superior lubricity, which results in less friction and entanglement during combing and brushing.
• Moisturizes and exfoliates the scalp, resulting in less flaking to give the scalp a healthy look and feel. With a long-proven reputation as an effective exfoliant and moisturizer for the skin, DuPont™ Glypure® provides this important added benefit to the scalp when used in hair care products.
We offer a wide variety of starting point formulations using DuPont™ Glypure® for skin, hair, nails and men’s personal care products. These formulations are for products ranging from face creams and revitalizing peels to shampoos, conditioners, razor bump treatments and much more. To meet evolving marketplace needs, we also regularly introduce new starting point formulations. Click here to access our starting point formulations on Chemidex.
