Recovery and protection of photo-damaged hairs with keratin-encapsulated cationic liposomes.

OBJECTIVE

Daily sunlight exposure impacts the structural integrity and chemical composition of hair in both reversible and permanent manners. Although keratin-based treatments have been popularly used to repair damaged hair, their effects in the recovery of the hair damage caused by UV light have not been well studied. Moreover, limitations related to keratin penetration depth and duration of effect persist. Encapsulating active ingredients in liposomes has been shown to enhance their stability, bioavailability and permeability. Thus, we aimed to design cationic liposomes encapsulated with keratin to enhance the recovery effects of photo-damaged hair.

METHODS

We prepared keratin-incorporated cationic liposomes (KLs) via high-pressure homogenization and assessed their physical properties via hydrodynamic size, zeta potential, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. The physical and chemical damage level of hair samples before and after treatment, such as hair smoothness, protein degradation and lipid peroxidation, were subsequently investigated using electron microscopy and different spectroscopies.

RESULTS

The results indicated that the cationic liposomes fabricated by high-pressure homogenization method had combined unilamellar and multilamellar structures. Compared with the keratin solution, the KL suspension significantly improved the permeation of keratin into the cortex during a 24-h incubation. Moreover, 24 and 48-h UV-exposed hairs showed enhanced recovery when incubated with keratin liposomes for 24 h, as evidenced by the observation of a smoother hair surface using electron microscopy. We observed that treatment with keratin liposomes significantly reduced protein denaturation and lipid peroxidation in the photo-damaged hairs.

CONCLUSION

We anticipate that cationic liposome-assisted keratin delivery may serve as an effective method for restoring photo-damaged hair in both the physical and chemical dimensions.