j, Cosmet. 54, 175-192 (March/April 2003) Sci.

Effect of mineral oil, sunflower oil, and coconutoil on

preventionof hair damage

AARTI S. RELE and R. B. MOHILE, Research Development and Department, Nature CareDivision,MaricoIndustries Ltd.,
MumbaL India.

Accepted publication for April 29, 2002,

Synopsis

Previously published results showed bothin vitroandin vivococonut (CNO) treatments that oil prevented combingdamageof various hair types.Using the samemethodology, attempt wasmadeto studythe an properties mineraloil and sunflower on hair. of oil
Mineral oil (MO) wasselected because is extensively it usedin hair oil formulations India, because is in it non-greasy nature,andbecause is cheaper in it thanvegetable like coconut sunflower oils and oils.The study wasextended sunflower (SFO)because is the second to oil it mostutilized base in the hair oil industry oil on account its non-freezing of property its odorlessness and at ambient temperature. the aim wasto cover As different treatments, theeffect these and of treatments various types on hair usingthe above oils,the number of experiments be conducted a veryhigh numberand a technique to was termedasthe TaguchiDesignof Experimentation used. was The findings clearlyindicate strongimpactthat coconut application the oil has to hair as compared application both sunflower mineraloils.Amongthreeoils, coconut was to of and oil the onlyoil foundto reduce proteinloss the remarkably bothundamaged damaged for and hair whenused as a pre-washand post-wash groomingproduct.Both sunflower and mineral oils do not help at all in reducingthe protein lossfrom hair.

This difference resultscould arisefrom the composition eachof theseoils. Coconutoil, being a in of triglyceride lauricacid(principal of fatty acid),hasa high affinityfor hair proteins and,because its low of molecular weight and straightlinear chain,is able to penetrate insidethe hair shaft.Mineral oil, being a hydrocarbon, no affinityfor proteins has and therefore not ableto penetrate yield betterresults. is and In the case sunflower althoughit is a triglyceride linoleicacid,because its bulky structure of oil, of of due to the presence double of bonds, does penetrate fiber,consequently it not the resulting nofavorable in impact on protein loss.

INTRODUCTION

Morphologically, fully formedhair fiber contains a three and sometimes four different unitsor structures. its surface, At hair contains thick protective a covering consisting of layersof fiat overlapping scale-likestructures called the cuticle. The cuticle scales surround the cortex,which contains major part of the fiber mass.The cortex,the a second unit, consists spindle-shaped that arealignedalongthe fiberaxis.Cortical of cells cellscontain fibrous the proteins hair. Thickerhairsoftencontain or moreloosely of one packed porous regions calledthe medulla,locatednearthe centerof the fiber. The fourth
175

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JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

unit is the intercellular cementthat gluesor bindsthe cellstogether,forming the major pathwayfor diffusion into the fibers. The cuticleconsists flat overlapping of cells(scales). cuticlecellsareattached the The at proximalend(rootend),and they point towardthe distalend (tip end)of the hair fiber. However,cuticledamage evidenced brokenscale by edges that canusuallybe observed several centimeters awayfrom the scalpis caused weathering by and mechanical damage from the effects normalgroomingactions,suchascombing,brushing,and shampooof ing. Because extensive of cross-linking, cuticlecellstend to be brittle and, therefore, are susceptible damage groomingprocedures, to by especially combing(1). In long hair wet fibers(25 cm or longer), progressive surface damage may be observed. loss cuticle The of cellsby gradualchippingimpairsthe structuralintegrity of hair, leadingultimately to split endsand fracture. This limits the lengthand the cosmetic qualitiesof hair suchas
Table I

Designof Experiment Using the TaguchiModel

No. Oils Hair type Hair treatment Oiling sequence Shampooing

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8

CNO SFO MO MO CNO SFO MO

MO

Straight Curly Wavy Permed Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

Undamaged Undamaged Undamaged Undamaged Bleached Bleached Bleached

Bleached

Before Before Before Before Before Before Before

Before

Once Once Twice Twice Once Once Twice

Twice

9 10 11
12

SFO CNO MO
MO

Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

Boiled Boiled Boiled

Boiled

Before Before Before

Before

Twice Twice Once

Once

13 14 15
16

SFO CNO MO
MO

Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

UV-treated UV-treated UV-treated

UV-treated

Before Before Before

Before

Twice Twice Once

Once

17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24

MO MO CNO SFO MO MO CNO

SFO

Straight Curly Wavy Permed Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

Undamaged Undamaged Undamaged Undamaged Bleached Bleached Bleached

Bleached

After After After Afier After After After

After

Once Once Twice Twice Once Once Twice

Twice

25 26 27
28

MO MO SFO
CNO

Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

Boiled Boiled Boiled

Boiled

After After Afier

After

Twice Twice Once

Once

29 30 31
32

MO MO SFO
CNO

Straight Curly Wavy

Permed

UV-treated UV-treated UV-treated

UV-treated

After After After

After

Twice Twice Once

Once

Treatments weresequential. the treatmentis designated CNO-Permed-Boiled-After-Once, means If as it permedhair wasfirst put in boilingwaterfor 120 min andair dried,and then 0.2 ml of CNO wasapplied to it. This treatmentwascarriedout for all 25 hair tresssamples. Twenty-fivereplicatetresses wereused
for each treatment.

EFFECT

OF COCONUT

OIL ON HAIR

DAMAGE

177

Table

II

Analysis VarianceData for Half-Head Treatments ProteinLoss of for Source of variance

Between treatments

Hair type
Normal

Degrees of freedom
1 38
1

Sum of squares
34.8 2234.6
42.8

Mean square
34.8 58.8
42.8

F-Value at 95% confidence level

o.6

Oil type MO
Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

1.1

Oil type MO
Normal

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

38

1545.7

40.7

Oil type SFO

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

1 38
1 38

39.6 1345.6
48.6 1195.6

39.6 35.4
48.6

1.1
1.5

Oil type SFO

Normal

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

31.5
31.6 5.1 6.2

Oil type CNO

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

1 38

31.6 195.6

1
38

36.5
286.5

36.5
7.5

4.9

Oil type CNO

Experimentalerror

F theoretical 1.38 degrees freedom 95% confidence for of at level = 4.08.

smoothness shine.Groomingmethods and involvingabrasive procedures known to are damagehair and its appearance.

Historically, coconut hasbeenusedasa hair dressing the developing oil in countries in the tropicalregions the globewherethe coconut cultivatedextensively. of is Prolonged useof coconut hasbeenknownto lead to healthylookinglong hair, suggesting oil that it may prevent damageto the cuticle in groomingprocedures involving abrasion. Obvious the lubricating is effectof oil on fiberfriction,whichreduces abrasive damage, especially combing. in However,in moderntimes,the trendin hair oil formulations is more towardsthe useof non-sticky oils suchas mineral oil or lessgreasy oils suchas sunflower This is doneprimarilybecause costdifferentials well asto overcome oil. of as theundesirable properties coconut such greasiness, strong of oil as its smell,andfreezing at ambienttemperatures.
This investigation aimedat comparing effects thesetwo oils alongwith that of is the of coconut in preventing oil hair damage whenusedasa preconditioner. Althoughseveral methods involvingscanning electron microscopy (SEM)measurement combing of forces andtensile mechanical properties havebeenusedearlierto characterize damage, hair we haveusedprotein lossand water uptakemethods this purpose. for Furthermore, these methods havebeenextended studythe beneficial to effects theseoils in preventing of chemical, thermal,andUV damage. Efficacy these of methods beenestablished an has in earlierpaperfrom this laboratory (3).

MATERIALS
MATERIALS

AND

METHODS

Samples straight,curly,wavyandpermedhair of Indian originwereusedin thiswork. of The length of the Indian hair strands was 25 cm.

178

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

200-

176

173

17 165 i

160 -

120PROTEIN LOSS IN
80-

}92
40-

92 86

135&116

ug/g OF HAIR

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES OF OILS

POST-WASH

IBWITHOUT

EIWITH

Figure 1. Comparison proteinlossfrom undamaged of hair.

The reagents protein estimation for wereobtainedfrom SigmaChemicalCo. (St. Louis, MO). The otherreagents suchasbuffers and saltswereof analytical grade,whereas the oil samples wereusedas they are available commercially.
METHODS

Sample preparatio,. Hair tresses 3+0.5 g were preparedfor this investigation. of They were secured the root end by a crochet that they remainedfirmly in place,and not at so a singlehair cameout of the tress duringexperimentation (eitherbecause combing of or during the procedure). They were cleaned soakingin 0.01% (w/v) of polysorbate by 80 (30 min at 28C), de-ionized water at room temperature (severalrinses),and 0.01% (w/v) of aceticacid (15 min at 28C), in that order.Finally, they were extensively rinsed
in water and air dried.

Bleachedhair was preparedby using a bleachingkit containing30 vol. hydrogen peroxide ammonia and solution adjustthe pH to -10. Fivemillilitersof thissolution to wasusedper tress(cleaned the procedure by mentionedearlier),and the treatmenttime was120 min at roomtemperature. With this treatmentthe tresses became light brown
with a red tone.

A boiling water treatmentwascarriedout for 120 min. The hair tresses wereplacedin

EFFECT OF COCONUT

OIL ON HAIR

DAMAGE

179

227
240 200

.....................................

160-

145

139 145 140

PROTEIN

LOSS

IN 120-

uglg OF HAIR

80

40

0 COCONUT OIL

SUN FLOWER
OIL

COCONUT
OIL

SUN FLOWER
OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

BWITHOUT

DWITH

Figure 2. Comparison protein lossfrom bleached of hair.

a beakercontaining boiling distilledwater. The hair tresses were immersed it. This in wasnot doneto simulateany real-worldprocess in orderto createextremestressful but conditions.This was primarily done to assess impact on hair in water at high any temperature, Indian consumers as largely usea hot water bath for hair.

In the case UV treatment, hair tresses of the wereexposed simulated to sunlightin a xenostat, wherein eachhair tress wasexposed 50Cand 65% relativehumidity for a at periodof 300 hr. The tresses turnedoverduringtheperiodof exposure attempt were to a uniform exposure all fibersto the radiant source. of
In some caseshair tresses were treated with 0.2 ml of coconut oil/mineral oil/sunflower

oil before exposure, with the oil spread uniformlyacross hair tress the before exposure to UV light. In a few cases, treatmentwith oil wascarriedout afterUV exposure. the The tresses werestored roomtemperature 48 hr beforethey were subjected at for to proteinloss determination. This wasdesigned simulate to density hair on scalp of and
scalptreatments.

For the oil application, eachhair tresswasapplied0.2 ml of oil (the quantity of oil to normallyappliedby an Indian hair oil user).It wasallowedto remainon the hair for at least14 hr to simulate overnight application normalhabitof the Indianconsumer). (the Thesehair tresses were then subjected both protein lossand WRI tests. to

The entire studyinvolvedsamples straight,curly, wavy,and permedhair of Indian of origin. Because numberof variables the washigh, i.e., the type of oil, type of hair,

180

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

360 -

306
320 280240 200 160 120 8040-

PROTEIN

LOSS

IN

ug/g OF HAIR

0
COCONUT

OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

[] WITHOUT

[] WITH

Figure 3. Comparison proteinlossfrom hair treatedwith boiling water. of

sequence oiling, the total numberof oil applications, the numberof shampoo of and applications, studyhad become the quite complex nature.In orderto simplifythe in complexity the experiment, to reduce of i.e., cost,time, andenergy withoutcompromising on the quality of results, statistical a tool wasselected, termedthe Taguchi Designof Experimentation. is a toolused research development products This in and of in an engineering industrywherein,depending upon the levelsand factors, approan priatedesign, eitherorthogonal array factorial or design, selected. helps reduce is This to the number experiments of withoutaffecting result.Usingthis statistical the model,it waspossible complete entirestudyin the stipulated to the time framewithout losing vital information, it cut the numberof experiments be conducted as to from 14400 to 800 (considering hairtresses variable). the experiment quitecomplex, 25 per As was we had to select designof an orthogonal the array,L32, to conduct experiment. the The designof experiment wasaspresented Table I. in
The tresses were wetted under running tap water (28C) and washedwith a 20% solutionof sodiumlaureth(3 molesof EO) sulfate(SLES).One milliliter of the solution

wasapplied tress, per and the tresses wereworkedbetween fingers produce lather. to a Followingthis, they wereextensively rinsedto remove the SLESresidues. all After this treatmentthe tresses were subjected the followinginvestigations. to
Combing damage. The protein loss method of Sandhuand Robbins was used in the

following manner. Eachof the wet tresses combed was with a fine-tooth nyloncomb
(20-22 teeth/inch)50 times,rathervigorously alongthe entirelength of the tresson

EFFECT

OF COCONUT

OIL ON

HAIR

DAMAGE

181

440400 36O 32O 253 280 240

PROTEIN

LOSS

IN 200
160 120 80

ug/g OF HAIR

400

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER
OIL

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER
OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

[] WITHOUT

[] WITH

Figure 4. Comparison proteinloss of from hair exposed UV treatment. to

bothsides. After every five strokes, combwasdippedin 50 ml of watercontained the in a beaker dislodge debris. same ml of waterwasused collect the to the The 50 to all loosely protein held eluted fromthecomb a given for tress. entiretress dipped The was in waterafterevery strokes collect damaged dislodged five to the and cuticle cells. The watersuspension tested proteincontent was for usingthe Lowrymethod. wascomIt pared against standard bovine serum albumin procured Sigma from Chemical This Co. bovine serum albumin dilutedsoasto getreadings was withinwhichthemaximum and minimumreading the sample for wouldfall. The method involves formation a the of copper-protein complex alkaline in solution in turn,reacts phosphomolybdicthat, with phosphotungstate reagent (Folin-Ciocaltaeu Phenol reagent) yieldan intense to bluecolored solution, whichis analyzed spectrophotometrically. checked the blue It was that colordevelopment occurring bothstandard sample of the same in and was color with different intensity, depending the amountof proteinbeingelutedfrom the hair on fibers, thereby indicating none theoilswasinterfering the color that of in development. The methodology discussed a greatextentin reference is to (2).
Water fete,rio, i,dex (WRI). The SLES-washed tresses were soakedin a 0.01% solution

ofpolysorbate for 30 min.Following procedure, entiretress placed 80 this the was over a hollow glass cylinder with a glass with perforations holdthetress lid to properly and to separate hair fromcapillary the waterin the glass centrifuge tubeof diameter cm 3 andheight8 cm.It wascentrifuged 8000 rpmfor 15 min to remove at capillary water

182

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

PROTEIN

LOSS

IN

ug/g OF HAIR
200

COCONUT

OIL

MINERAL OIL

SUNFLOWER

OIL

TYPES OF OILS

[] NORMAL WITHOUT [] BLEACHED WITHOUT

[] NORMAL
[] BLEACHED

WITH
WITH

Figure 5. Comparison proteinloss of from normalandbleached in a salon hair trial.

andthenweighed. thenextstep, dryweightof thehairwasdetermined drying In the by

the tress in a vacuum oven at 50C for 90 min, and then weighing it again. The

percentage waterretention index(WRI) is givenby:

WRI -- (Wwe - Wary 100/Wary t ) Half-head tests, Eachhalf-head involved clients test 20 eachwith normalandbleached hair.The hairwaspartedin the middleandhalfthe headwastreated with the respective oil (3 ml approx.) and massaged thoroughly, while the other half wasleft without
treatment.The oil wasleft on the hair for approximately hr. Then the hair waswashed 8 with warmwater(28C,200 ppm hardness) using20% SLES, andrinsed well to remove

anyresidue. avoidinherent To differences damage in fromleft to right side,the application of the treatment was randomized. Panelists with odd numbers were treated on the

left side, while thosewith even numberswere treated on the right side.

After shampooing rinsing,the hair wascombed and with a fine-tooth comb(separate

EFFECT OF COCONUT

OIL ON HAIR

DAMAGE

183

Table

III

Pair-Wise Comparison Data for Treatment Effectsfor Protein Loss(t-valuesat 95% confidence level) Treatment
Undamaged--with and without MO (MO aspost-wash) Undamaged--with and without CNO (CNO as post-wash) Undamaged--with and without SFO (SFO aspost-wash) Undamaged--with and without MO (MO aspre-wash) Undamaged--with and without CNO (CNO as pre-wash) Undamaged--with and without SFO (SFO as pre-wash) and without MO Treatmentwith boiling water--with (MO aspost-wash) Treatmentwith boiling water--with and without CNO (CNO as post-wash) and without SFO Treatmentwith boiling water--with (SFO as post-wash) and without MO Treatmentwith boiling water--with (MO as pre-wash) and without CNO Treatment with boiling water--with (CNO as pre-wash) and without SFO Treatmentwith boiling water--with (SFO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without MO (MO as post-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without CNO (CNO as post-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without SFO (SFO as post-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without MO (MO as pre-wash) Treatment with bleaching agent--with and without CNO (CNO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without SFO (SFO as pre-wash) Exposure UV light--with and without MO (MO as to post-wash) Exposure UV light--with and without CNO (CNO as to post-wash) Exposureto UV light--with and without SFO (SFO as post-wash) Exposure UV light--with and without MO (MO as to pre-wash) Exposure UV light--with and without CNO (CNO as to pre-wash) Exposure UV light--with and without SFO (SFO as to pre-wash)

Straight

Wavy

Curly

Permed

0.452

-1.779

0.106
--

---

--1.814

-0.431

----

0.461 0.103
--

-0.507

--

0.515
1.312

---

--1.108

---

1.762
--

--

0.484

-1.738

0.354
--

1.565
0.139 0.092
1.728
0.210

0.583
2.012

0.407

1.588

0.345

0.098
1.780

0.345

0.265
1.850

0.087

0.684

t theoretical 48 degrees freedom 95% confidence for of at level = 1.645.

combfor eachside).After eachof the ten combingstrokes, both the hair and the comb weredippedin 200 ml of distilledwater to recover brokencuticledebris.A total of 100 strokes on eachside)wereapplied.The suspension (50 with cuticledebriswasusedfor protein estimation.Analytical controlswere run in the form of determinationof the

184

JOURNAL OF COSMETICSCIENCE
Table IV

Analysisof VarianceData for Treatment Effectsfor ProteinLoss

Hair type

Source of variance
Between treatments

Degrees of Sumof Mean F-Valueat 95% freedom squares square confidence level
2
2

Undamaged Oil typeMO (straight,curly)

Undamaged Oil type MO (wavy,permed)

22.2
4.2

11.1
2.1

5.3

Experimental error
Between treatments

2
2

12.4
7.2

6.2
3.6

1.7
46.4

Experimentalerror

Between treatments Undamaged Oil type CNO (straight,wavy) Experimentalerror

2
2

92.8
2.0

46.4
1.0

Undamaged Oil type SFO (curly, permed)

Boiled

Between treatments

2
2

80.0
10.0

40.0
5.0

8.0

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

Oil type MO (straight,curly)

Boiled

Experimental error
Between treatments

2 2
2 2

32.4 4.6
16.9 6.5

16.2 2.3
8.5 3.3

7.1
2.6

Oil typeMO (wavy,permed)

Boiled

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2

20.4
3.6

10.2
1.8

5.6 24.8 1.0

1.2

Oil type SFO (straight,wavy)

Boiled

Experimental error
Between treatments

Oil type CNO (curly, permed)

Bleached

Experimental error
Between treatments

2 2 2 2
2 2

34.8 1.4 4.2 4.2

12.5 11.5

17.4 0.7 2.1 2.1

6.8 5.8

Oil typeMO (straight, curly)

Bleached

Experimental error
Between treatments

Oil type MO (wavy,permed)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

Oil type SFO (wavy,straight)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2 2

38.0 7.8

19.0 3.9

5.0

2
2

43.0
2.2

21.5
1.1

19.5
2.0

Oil type CNO (curly,permed) Experimental error

UV-Treated

Between

treatments

2
2 2
2

Oil type MO (wavy,permed)

UV-Treated

Experimental error
Between treatments

15.4 7.6
22.2
2.3

7.7 3.8
11.1
1.7

6.5

Oil typeMO (curly,straight)

UV-Treated

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2

10.4
2.1

5.2
1.1

4.7

Oil type SFO (wavy,straight)

UV-Treated

Experimental error
Between treatments

2
2

44.6
1.2

22.3
0.6

37.2

Oil type CNO (curly,permed) Experimental error

F theoretical (2.2) degrees freedom 95% confidence for of at level = 19.0.

residue oilonthescalp theclient rinsing, only of of after and after ensuring residue, zero
the rinsingswere collectedin the mannermentionedabove.

Theoutcome these of experiments analyzed was statistically (taking account into the mean thestandard and deviation thenumber replicates thesignificance of of for of the treatment effects withinthe confidence limits). Table for analysis variance See II of
(ANOVA) data.

EFFECT

OF COCONUT

OIL ON

HAIR

DAMAGE

185

Table

Analysisof VarianceData for Treatment Effectsfor Water RetentionIndex Source variance

Between treatments

Hair type
Undamaged Oil type MO (straight, curly) Undamaged Oil type MO (wavy, permed)

Degreesof freedom
2
2

Sum of Mean F-Value at 95% squares square confidence level

29.2
4.7

14.6
2.4

6.2

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2

19.1
7.8

9.6
3.9

2.4
31.2

Experimentalerror

Between treatments Undamaged Oil type CNO (straight,wavy) Experimentalerror

2
2

93.6
2.9

46.8
1.5

Undamaged Oil type SFO (curly, perreed)

Boiled

Between

treatments

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2 2
2
2

83.0 13.1
35.5
5.3

41.5 6.6
17.8
2.7

6.3

7.4

Oil type MO (straight,curly)

Boiled

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2

19.1
7.8

9.6
3.9

2.4
4.8

Oil type MO (wavy, permed)

Boiled

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

Oil type SFO (straight,wavy)

Boiled

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2 2

20.4 4.2

10.2 2.1

2
2

33.7
1.7

16.9
0.8

21.1 0.9
12.4

Oil type CNO (curly permed)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

Oil type MO (straight,curly)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2 2
2 2
2

4.2 4.5
15.3 12.3
40.0

2.1 2.3
7.6 6.2
20.0

Oil type MO (wavy perreed)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

4.2

Oil type SFO (wavy, straight)

Bleached

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2 2

9.5
40.0 1.8

4.8
20.0 0.9 22.2

Oil type CNO (curly, permed) Experimentalerror

UV-Treated
Between treatments

2
2

17.4
8.2

8.7
4.1

2.1

Oil type MO (wavy, permed)

UV-Treated

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

2
2
2 2 2 2

23.4
2.8
12.4 2.8 41.6 1.6

11.7
1.4
6.2 1.4 20.8 0.8

8.3
4.4

Oil type MO (curly, straight)

UV-Treated

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

Oil type SFO (wavy, straight)

UV-Treated

Experimentalerror
Between treatments

26.0

Oil type CNO (curly, permed)

Experimentalerror

F theoretical (2.2) degrees freedom 95% confidence for of at level = 19.0.

RESULTS
PROTEIN

AND
LOSS

DISCUSSION

The process cuticlechipping of that results from abrasion hair against of objects suchas groomingdevices evenotherhair is a major factorin hair damage. or The proteins that constitutethe cuticle cells are lost during wet combing.It is well known that wet

186

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

't14.1
12

5.13.8

14.9 5 14

15.3

% WATER
RETENTION

INDEX

:::: ._,?..'.. ,

.
I I

,}{'

'-.. :.
COCONUT OIL

.
i

SUNFLOWER
OIL

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER
Oil

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

ltllWITHOUT

[3WITH

Figure 6. Comparison waterretention of indexfor undamaged hair.

combingis accompanied the breakingof the surface by cuticlecell because its of brittleness. Histologically, the major component the cuticle cell consists the of of exocuticle the endocuticle. exocuticle, and The beinghighlycross-linked not swollen is by water.The endocuticle the cell membrane and complex, the otherhand,areless on
cross-linked aremorevulnerable swellingdamage. and to This leadsto the lifting of the

surface cuticle bending. via Such cuticle cellscanbe broken the process combing in of or teasing. The proteinlossobserved these in measurements results mostlyfrom the cuticular region. Because theshort of timeinvolved thecombing briefimmersion in and of the combed tress water,it is unlikelythat proteins in from the bulk of the fiber are
involved in this measurement.

The datafor protein loss measurement undamaged differently for and damaged are hair shown Figures in 1-4. The barson theleft referto tests whereoil wasused a pre-wash as
conditioner, whereas thoseon the right arefor the testsinvolvingpost-wash treatments

where wasapplied oil afterdryingthe hair.The datain Figures clearly 1-4 show that theperformance coconut in reducing of oil protein wasbetterthanthat of mineral loss
andsunflower oils.Coconut performed oil betterasa pre-wash ratherthan a post-wash conditioner. This shows importance lubrication reduction the swelling the of vs in of the cuticlecellsthat leadsto their breakingin wet combing.The difference between

EFFECT

OF COCONUT

OIL ON

HAIR

DAMAGE

187

60-(

52 3

[ 52 4

52 3

45
RETENTION 30

' 0.4 'i'

.{
{

'50.9 "",
.?

INDEX

'

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS POST-WASH

BWITHOUT

E3WITH J

Figure 7. Comparison water retentionindex for bleached of hair.

coconut andmineraloil is probably oil dueto the difference their ability to penetrate in the hair (4). The smallereffectof sunflower may be due to the presence unsatoil of urationin the molecule. informationregarding penetrabilityof sunflower in No the oil
the hair is available.The sameeffectwasseenin the half-headtest in a salontrial, asseen in Figure 5.

The effectof various in preventing oils cuticledamage laboratory in testswasestablished statistically a parametric by test,t-test. The outcome the analysis shownin Table of is III. The t-valuesclearlyindicatethat damaged well asundamaged as hair benefitsfrom application coconut asa pre-wash of oil conditioner, whereas the case sunflower in of oil and mineral oil, there was no effect.The effects coconut were alsopositivein a of oil salon test.In both normalandbleached hair, treatmenteffects reducing in proteinloss weresignificant, whereas samefindingswereabsentin the case mineral oil and the of sunflower The valuesof t for coconutoil are statistically oil. significant,whereas for mineral oil and sunflower oil, they are not.

SeeTablesIV andV for ANOVA data for treatmenteffects proteinlossand water for
retention index.

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24.2

% WATER

RETENTION INDEX

10-

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

COCONUT OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

WITHOUT

EIWITH

Figure 8. Comparison water retentionindexfor hair treatedwith boiling water. of

WATER RETENTION INDEX

The waterretention indexfor undamaged is shown Figure6. Fromthe datait can hair in beseen thatcoconut reduces WRI of undamaged by 44%, whereas the case oil the hair in of mineraloil and sunflower thereis hardlyany reductionin WRI, asseenin Figure oil, 6. The ability of coconut to penetrate oil hair (4) supports this observation. The data for the bleached, heat-damaged, UV-damagedhair are shownin Figures and 7-9, respectively. these For damaged samples, WRI is muchhigherthan that for the the undamaged hair. This is mostlydue to the chemical degradation proteins, of generating hydrophilicgroups.Both the cleavage and oxidationof disulfidebonds,followedby their oxidationto cysteicacid, as well as hydrolysis the peptide linkage, occur, of althoughthe contribution the latter is probably of minor. All samples showa reduction in the WRI asa resultof the applicationof coconutoil, whereas samefindingswere the not observed a significant to level in the case mineraloil and sunflower Assuming of oil. that mostof the wateris absorbed the fiber, the WRI reflects swellingpropensity by the

EFFECT OF COCONUT

OIL ON HAIR

DAMAGE

189

i59.8
60

61.2
5

61.2

,..8.7

57.5

x::":
% WATER

RETENTION
INDEX

40

20-

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER OIL

COCONUT
OIL

SUNFLOWER
OIL

PRE-WASH TYPES

OF OILS

POST-WASH

EIWITHOUT

EIWITH

Figure 9. Comparison water retentionindex for UV-treated hair. of

of hair. Sincerepeated swellingand contraction damages cuticle,reduction the the in WRI can be considered beneficial reducinghair damage. as in

The datain Figures 6-9 showthat the sequence application of (whether pre- or postwash) is important. Post-wash applicationis lesseffectivein reducingthe WRI as
compared pre-wash to application. The difference seems be in the locationof the oil to residues their ability to counteract and surfactant damage. post-wash In application the

oil film is on the surface, with nopenetration the fiber.In pre-wash into application, it ispossible the molecules the oil penetrate the cuticle probably that of into and eveninto
the cortex.This may alsobe the case with undamaged hair, althoughthe effectis small. The reduction the WRI mustbe dueto the introduction the hydrophobic in of triglyc~
eride into the keratin structure.

See TableVI for pair-wise comparison treatmenteffects waterretention of for indexdata.

MECHANISM OF PROTECTION BY COCONUT OIL AND NOT BY MINERAL OIL AND SUNFLOWER OIL

The histology a cuticle andthe mechanism damage wet combing proposed of cell of in is by Swift (5,6) Because cross-linking, exocuticle brittle anddoes swell.The of the is not

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Table VI

Pair-Wise Comparison Data for Treatment Effectsfor Water RetentionIndex (t-valuesat 95%
confidencelevel)

Treatment
Undamaged--with and without MO (MO as post-wash) Undamaged--with and without CNO (CNO as post-wash) Undamaged--with and without SFO (SFO as post-wash) Undamaged--with and without MO (MO as pre-wash) Undamaged--with and without CNO (CNO as pre-wash) Undamaged--with and without SFO (SFO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith boiling water--with and without MO (MO as post-wash) Treatmentwith boiling water--with and without CNO (CNO as post-wash) Treatmentwith boiling water--with and without SFO (SFO as post-wash)

Straight
0.41

Wavy
-1.87

Curly
O.O9
--

Permed

--

--

--

O.36

O.34
1.98
__

--

O.O9

O.34
1.21

0.43

1.89
1.02

Treatmentwith boilingwater--with and without MO

(MO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith boiling water--with and without CNO (CNO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith boilingwater--with and without SFO (SFO as pre-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without MO (MO as post-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without
CNO (CNO as post-wash)
0.24
1.85

0.13

1.43
0.12

0.06
1.87
0.12

Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without SFO (SFO aspost-wash) Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without MO (MO aspre-wash) Treatmentwth bleaching agent--with and without
CNO (CNO as pre-wash)

0.46
2.12

O.47

Treatmentwith bleaching agent--with and without SFO

(SFO as pre-wash) Exposureto UV light--with post-wash) Exposure UV light--with to post-wash) Exposure UV light--with to post-wash) Exposure UV light--with to pre-wash) Exposureto UV light--with pre-wash) Exposureto UV light--with pre-wash)
1.45

and without MO (MO as

0.21

0.098
1.85

and without CNO (CNO as and without SFO (SFO as

0.32

and without MO (MO as

0.19

0.09
1.97

and without CNO (CNO as and without SFO (SFO as

O.43

t theoretical 48 degrees f}eedom 95% confidence for of at level = 1.645.

endocuticle and the cell membrane complexhavelesscross-linking and therefore swell significantly.This effectproduces tendencyfor the surface the cuticle cells to curve upwardand breakwhen pressure appliedwith a comb. is

Recentstudies Ruetsch of and Weigmann(7) confirmthat the endocuticle the cell and

EFFECT OF COCONUT

OIL ON HAIR

DAMAGE

191

membrane complex(CMC) are the foci of weakness that the cuticle cell often lifts and and fractures when the fiber is extended. Chemicalmethodsimpair the adhesion by weakening cell membrane the complex between cuticlecells.The degree swelling the of of the cuticlelayers increased disulfidecleavage oxidation. is by and This enhances the combing damage andproteinloss, especially wet combing,asobserved this study. in in Coconutoil is mostly a triglycerideof lauric acid and is hydrophobic. Application of coconut asa pre-wash oil conditioner coats hair andinhibitsthe penetration water the of into the hair. A smallpart of it is alsoabsorbed into the hair during the washwhen the fiber is swollen.Introductionof this hydrophobic componentreduces the swelling propensity the cuticle,which limits the upwardcurvingof the surface of cuticle.This reduces chippingawayof the cuticlecells,which reduces the proteinloss, observed as in
this work.

Because the low molecularweight of coconutoil, it penetrates cortex,whereas of the mineraloil, beinga hydrocarbon, does penetrate hair at all. This hasbeenshown not the in the earlierstudy (4). It is possible that sunflower doesnot penetratethe fiber oil because hasa bulkier structureas a resultof doublebondsin the fatty acid chain. it Coconutoil triglyceridehas a linear structure,which is why it solidifiesat room temperature, whereas sunflower triglyceridehasan irregularball-like structurebecause the fatty acid chains fold on themselves to oneor two doublebonds. due This is why sunflower is a liquid at room temperature. is likely that it doesnot penetratethe oil It fiber aswell asthe coconut This may be the reason oil. why the WRI is low for coconut oil as compared mineral and sunflower to oils.
CONCLUSIONS

This studyhasfirmly established superiority the protective the of effectof coconut oil
on hair damagein grooming processes when it is used as a pre-washconditioneras compared mineral oil and other vegetable to oils suchas sunflower oil. It not only has a protective effecton undamaged hair but alsoon chemically treatedhair, UV-treated hair, and hair treatedwith boiling water (i.e., hair in water at 100C for 2 hr). The ability of coconut to penetrate oil into hair cuticleandcortexseems be responsible to for this effect.Coatedon the fiber surface, can preventor reducethe amountof water it penetrating into the fiber and reduce swelling.This, in turn, reduces lifting of the the the surface cuticleand prevents from being chippedaway during wet combing.A it

reduction the WRI is additional in evidence its efficacy decreasing of in waterabsorption. The datapresented thiswork clearlyshowthe superiority coconut asa hair in of oil damage protectant,in the groomingof untreatedor damagedhair.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the management MaricoIndustries of Ltd. for providingan opportunity to work on this project, and Dr Yash Kamath, Director of Research, T.R.I., Princeton, New Jersey, his valuableguidance writing this paper. for in
REFERENCES

(1) M.L. Garcia and J. Diaz, Combabilitymeasurements human hair, J. Soc.Cosmet. on Chem.,27,
379-398 (1976).

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JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE

(2) S.S. Sandhuand C. Robbins,A simpleand sensitive technique,based protein lossmeasurement, on

to assess surface damage humanhair,J. Soc. to Cosmet. Chem., 163-175 (1993). 44,
(3) A. Rele, Effectof coconut on prevention hair damage.Part I,J. Cosmet. 50, 327-339 (1999). oil of Sci., (4) S. B. Ruetsch, K. Kamath, A. S. Rele, and R. B. Mohile. Secondary massspectrometric Y. ion investigationof penetration coconut mineraloilsinto humanhair fibers: of and Relevance hair damage, to

J. Cosmet. 52, 169-184 (2001). Sd., (5) J. A. Swift and A. C. Brown,The criticaldetermination fine changes the surface of in architecture of humanhair due to cosmetic treatments, Soc. J. Cosmet. Chon.,23, 695-702 (1972). (6) J. A. Swift, Int. J. Cosmet. 13, 143 (1991). Sci,, (7) S. B. Ruetsch and H. D. Weigmann, Soc. J, Cosmet. Chem., 13-26 (1996). 47,