How to measure the physical and dimensional properties of hair – Introduction

Hair Testing using a Texture Analyser and Volscan Profiler

Haircare products make up an enormous part of the beauty industry. Consisting of thousands of products, such as shampoos, conditioners, sprays, gels and colourants, the global haircare market is predicted to rise to 105 billion dollars by 2025, according to Statista. 

Most consumers are looking to improve the health of their hair, whether that involves improving shine, body, colour or scalp health. Consequently, continuous research and development takes place in this industry to reflect consumers’ demands and habits.

Trends are followed closely, and ingredients and marketing reflect these. For example, ‘organic’, ‘natural’ and ‘herbal’ have been important terms over the past few years, with consumers’ awareness of certain harsh ingredients driving their shopping habits.

Analytical technology can help the hair industry substantiate ambitious marketing claims about shampoos and conditioners that claim to leave hair soft and manageable, make hair look more youthful or increase volume. When a hair product is marketed, certain claims are made on the packaging or in adverts with statements regarding its performance and efficacy. These claims must be substantiated with laboratory testing to prevent misleading consumers and going against legislation – manufacturers cannot assert that products have properties they do not have. The test used is determined by the claim being made. For example, a claim for ‘improved softness’ might be substantiated using a suppleness test.

The methods used in the hair care industry are not standard methods, but they are used and accepted in laboratories worldwide, featuring in hundreds of patent and scientific journal publications each year. 

It is important for manufacturers to take great care in considering the factors that can affect reproducibility, including hair batch variation and the variation between different laboratories. 

As standards are not available, external publications or internal methods must state the exact experimental conditions used to help improve reproducibility, including product application technique, hair treatment method, hair type, humidity and temperature and the exact equipment used.

Texture Analysis has numerous applications in the manufacture of haircare products. The TA.XTplus Texture Analyser, with its wide range of compressive and tensile capabilities, can apply specifically-designed test methods to assess an unrivalled array of physical properties. 

Not only do these test methods allow refinement of formulations and assessment of the suitability of proposed packaging materials but they can also be used to validate claims about product performance by quantitatively testing the effects on hair itself.

Some changes to the physical properties of hair are intentional (the addition of conditioners or serum for added smoothness), whereas some are unintentional (bleaching, which induces brittleness and stiffness). No matter the property in question, the quantification of hair properties is important to the development of new hair products and treatments. 

Sensory panels are useful, as hair is a material with a complex pattern of properties and variables, so it is a challenge to measure its properties exactly as a consumer might feel them when they are styling their hair, or what they take to mean ‘softness to the touch’. 

However, instrumental testing is much faster to perform, and the results of an instrumental test do not rely on the operator, unlike those of a sensory test, no matter how thorough sensory training has been. Consequently, instrumental quantification of hair properties should be a standard part of any hair testing regimen. 

Assessments of hair such as tensile testing and three-point bend testing are useful for keeping a record of more fundamental properties, but imitative tests such as the measurement of combing force, volume and body measurement via laser profiling, and the suppleness test are useful for representing hair in the way in which it is felt and handled in reality.

Read the next instalment How to measure the physical and dimensional properties of hair – Combability on the blog next week. 

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplusC texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

No-one understands texture analysis like we do!

Get in touch to discuss your specific test requirements