Measuring the Stiffness of Hair

New Hair Stiffness Rig

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 written 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. E.g. a claim for ‘improved softness’ might be substantiated with a bending test using a newly available Hair Stiffness Rig.

How Haircare Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Croda measures the physical characteristics of hair

At Croda they use their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to put hair tresses to the test. As an example, the effectiveness of personal care products on the physical characteristics of hair are assessed, with the bending force of a hair bundle used as an indicator of softness. Different types of hair are tested, comparing results before and after the application of various hair treatments.

For the test, the hair samples are divided into two bundles – one to undergo treatments, the second to be used as a control. An average bending force from a cycle of ten three-point-bend tests is calculated for each sample.

Using Texture Analysis in the Competitive world of Haircare development

Human hair and skin become soiled due to its contact with the surrounding environment and from the sebum secreted by the scalp. 

The soiling of hair and skin causes it to have a dirty feel and an unattractive appearance.  Shampooing cleans the hair by removing excess soil and sebum. However, shampooing can leave the hair in a wet, tangled, and generally unmanageable state. Once the hair dries, it is often left in a dry, rough, lustreless, or frizzy condition due to removal of the hair's natural oils. 

Texture Analysis in Action: the Hair Combing Rig

The HAIR COMBING RIG (A/HCR) has been developed to assist manufacturers in the development of more effective conditioning agents.

It is well known that conditioning shampoos and hair conditioners are used to provide a variety of benefits to hair: they reduce the combing force, enhance the gloss, confer smoothness and antistatic properties and they improve the manageability of the hair.

Assessing haircare performance using texture analysis

'A new polymer generation offering truly multifunctional performance' is an article published by BASF in Germany.
After decades of development and improvement of hair styling polymers there is still room for improvement. Many generations of polymers have been developed over the years, starting from the first synthetic styling polymer – Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) – in the 1950s, based upon a patent from W. Reppe. 

Today’s styling formulations are further optimised by the use of polymer combinations. This is especially true for styling gel and wax formulations.

Measure Combability

COMBABILITY is the ease with which hair can be combed. Keeping healthy and manageable hair is very important as hair and hairstyle contributes to a large extent to the overall facial image of a person.  

The loss in manageability can directly be attributed to an alteration of the hair surface. The state of the cuticle governs the frictional properties of hair fibres and determines how the hair feels to the touch and how it combs.

These physical changes lead to a rough hair surface and can directly be correlated to the fact that higher forces will be required to comb, for example UV-damaged hair. 

Combability measurement is a method of choice to assess any alteration of the hair cuticle due to external aggressions and has already been proven to be a sensitive tool to detect UV-induced hair damage.