Hair sensory and emollients

Share
  • July 29, 2019
  • 2 minutes of read time

Hair sensory and emollients

Emmanuelle Merat [1], Sophie Cambos [1], Charlotte Guichard [1], Irène Bacle [2]

2019, 13th Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium

Cosmetic users need claims supported by efficacy studies. However, texture of hair contributes greatly to the perceived quality and overall satisfaction. In this field some rich components are key ingredients in products such as shampoos and other hair care treatments. Moreover, considering the environmental concerns of bioaccumulation induced by silicones, while they are known for their efficacy and good perception, the main question is “can we expect equivalent hair texture with another emollient?”. We investigated cyclopentasiloxane substitution by an alkane in two formulations: one is a “low poo” shampoo (reduced level of surfactants), in the sense of the environmental issue, the second is a hair care leave on treatment.

The sensory profiling method is conducted by an expert panel on Caucasian damaged hair tresses. The selected attributes on wet and dry hair are key parameters: slipping, softness, greasy, volume, easy to comb and shiny. A standardized weight of product is spreaded on each tresses, then rinsed with water in the case of shampoo, and finally dried at room temperature. A specific protocol with three successive applications, to mimic a consumer use, appears more relevant: such products regularly applied could lead to a build-up effect, because of the substantive ingredients accumulation on the hair fiber, and thus lead to unruly hair and hard to comb.

The silicone substitution by an alkane is achieved in the case of shampoo, the resulting hair touch is not significantly different (t Student, at 5 % threshold). Some complementary assessments of instrumental wet combing lead also to this conclusion. Concerning the hair treatment, after three applications of the product, the addition of 2% of an emollient versus the placebo, leads to a significant gain on the hair volume, the hair touch is nearly the same for silicone or alkane.In conclusion the substitution of silicone with an alkane succeeded in two formulations dedicated to hair care.

[1] Seppic, 50 Boulevard National, 92250 La Garenne-Colombes, France [2] SENS’IB Consulting, 31320 Castanet-Tolosan, France