The influence of hair lipids in ethnic hair properties

Abstract

The ethnic hairs were assessed related to their lipid composition, and some differences between them were found in terms of water uptake and mechanical properties.

External lipid function in ethnic hairs

“…In order to correlate the differences in lipid composition of those external lipids between ethnicities, the lipid extracts were analyzed using TLC/FID in triplicate. This technique has also been recently used to analyze lipids from hair . The external lipids, such as sterol esters and squalene (apolar lipids), are known to comprise most of the surface sebaceous lipids.…”

“…The hair samples were washed in a solution of 3% diluted commercial shampoo Pantene Pro‐V (Procter & Gamble, USA) with 1/30 bath ratio (hair/surfactant). The samples were then thoroughly rinsed three times with water and dried at room temperature (RT) The external surface lipids were removed from using soxhlet extraction with t‐butanol and n‐hexane for 4 hours . The different extracts were then combined in a chloroform‐methanol mixture (2:1) before analysis.…”

“…Thin‐Layer Chromatography coupled to an automated Flame Ionization Detector (TLC‐FID) Iatroscan MK‐5 analyzer (Iatron, Tokyo, Japan) was used for lipid analyses. The lipid extracts were spotted onto silica gel‐coated Chromarods (Type S‐III) using a precision Hamilton 2‐μL syringe coupled to an SES 3202/IS‐02 sample spotter (Nieder‐Olm, Germany).…”

“…The lipid extracts were spotted onto silica gel‐coated Chromarods (Type S‐III) using a precision Hamilton 2‐μL syringe coupled to an SES 3202/IS‐02 sample spotter (Nieder‐Olm, Germany). Lipid content was obtained using an optimized TLC/FID protocol …”

“…Besides, African hair was shown to contain the most total noncovalently bound lipids extracted from ethnic hairs, which was likely due from the external sebaceous lipids. Their extraction tends to ameliorate its fiber structure, which decreases its permeability to water and increases the tensile strength . Then, it could be interesting to determine differences in contribution of sebum lipids on ethnic hairs.…”