This works as the chelants remove copper from hair during each wash and prevent accumulation of copper in hair, which can lead to the formation of damaging free radicals.
Scientists from P&G in Germany and the US teamed up with the University of York in the UK and the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis at Ohio State University, to publish a study in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science Supplement, looking at whether the presence of copper in women’s hair, how it is involved in inducing free radicals, and how to limit this damage.
Copper focus
Copper was the focus for the study and the team found that it accumulates in hair above endogenous levels, participating in the formation of free radical species in the presence of oxidative insults and in particular hair colouring and UV exposure.
According to the research team, these free radicals cause additional protein degradation which ultimately leads to unhealthy hair, as manifested by loss of shine, feel and breakage.
The team arrived at this result by harvesting hair data of women's hair globally, sampling, measuring and testing it for the presence of copper – how much is present, where it’s coming from, and where it’s located – and then seeing if it was involved in the same reactive radical-inducing pathways identified in previous work, and what the consequences of this are on hair protein structures.
Finally the team looked at whether this damage can be reduced by adding chelants, which are typical technologies applied to systems where redox metal-induced radical formation is an issue; landing at the conclusion that EDDS and histidine could reduce damage.
Hair health
Hair health is deemed important right around the world and according to P&G, over 40% of women claim to be either very or extremely concerned about their hair health
Poor hair health can lead to loss of shine, frizz issues in high humidity, breakage and poor look and feel, and this has seen a whole host of products developed and introduced to deal with these problems.
Hair health, damage, and more specifically, hair loss are the focus of the upcoming Hair Loss Forum, which is a virtual webinar that will be aired on December 10th at 16.30pm Paris Time/ 10:30am EST, providing all the latest in hair care trends, with a specific focus on hair loss.
To register for the Forum and for more information on speakers, please click here.