December 2008

Chemical & Physical Analysis of a Hair Care Product

Studying the effect that  products have on hair is an important aspect of the hair care industry. CERAM has an established reputation in CHEMICALLY mapping hair care products across the hair surface utilising ToFSIMS (Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry). In recent years, 3DP (3D Non Contact Surface Profiling) has been introduced to assess PHYSICAL properties. This brief news item will give examples of both chemical and physical analysis utilising the very latest in ToFSIMS and 3DP instrumentation.

ToFSIMS - Chemical Analysis

ToFSIMS Imaging can provide color-coded molecular maps of the surface of a single hair. With a sampling depth of 1-2nm and a sensitivity in the ppm range, ToFSIMS Imaging is invaluable in assessing where a product treatment is located as well as what remains of the product after treatment/washing of the hair.

An example ToFSIMS image is shown below:

As you can see the product has not been fully removed from the surface of the hair.
The results of this investigation showed the product was “sticking” in the correct places for maximum styling.

3DP - Physical Analysis

3DP provides quantified images of the hair surface and comparison of surface properties. Quantified images, 3D and 2D, are available in addition to standard linescans and topographical parameters such as surface roughness, peak height and valley depth.

Example 3DP images are shown below:

Figure 2 is a 2D 3DP image which shows individual hair scales on a quantified image.

The parameter Sa represents the surface roughness whilst the white line is placed across features of interest in order to obtain linescan images as shown below

Figure 3 shows the linescan obtained from figure 2. From this, the exact height of features of interest can be measured.

3DP can be utilised to look at topographical features of individual hairs such as scale height. In addition it can also be utilised to determine the presence of particles on the hair from hair care products. As with the ToFSIMS, this can provide invaluable information as to whether a product is performing as expected.

For further details please contact us on +44 (0)1782 764428, or email: enquiries@ceram.com