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Amino acids, peptides, hydrolysed xyz proteins and hair bonds
hey, I am a new diy formulator!
from what I know is that proteins itself are too big to be of any help so they are hydrolysed to peptides. Is my understanding correct that after hydrolysis the proteins are converted to popylpetide linear chains? these peptides/ hydrolysed proteins(+ ve) then fill in the gaps on the cuticle(- ve) due to opposite charges, making hair strands look and feel healthier and stronger temoprarily.
but if amino acid combo is applied on hair shaft (like in the pic), will they have any better effect due to being lighter and smaller than peptides?
hydrogen bonds break during straightening, but won’t that also impact disulfide bonds as they are the ones that make the hair curl or are they flexible enough to withstand the straightness?
I have seen maleic acid being used as bond builder in some products, what is the science being it? will virgin hair also need bond builders?
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2 Replies
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I’ll start by saying what you’ve learned about proteins is mostly right. Although, it’s not necessarily true that all proteins are too big to penetrate. Proteins represent a wide range of structures from collagen & elastin which are really big to an 11 amino acid TAL protein in the Drosophila.
But the stuff you might use in hair care is all going to be on the big side.
Yes, hydrolyzing a protein turns larger, folded up proteins into straight, polypeptide chains that don’t have much secondary structure. That’s why the protein source doesn’t really matter when you hydrolyze it. Wheat protein, Soy protein, Silk protein, when hydrolyzed all pretty much end up being the same stuff.
There is little to no evidence that hydrolyzed proteins fill in any gaps. I personally don’t think they do much. Especially in rinse-off products because they are water soluble and simply rinse down the drain. Same is true for amino acids.
Comparing Amino Acids to Hydrolyzed proteins, in a rinse-off product you won’t notice any difference.
Hydrogen bonds break all the time in your hair not just during the straightening process. If you comb your hair or just run your fingers through your hair it breaks hydrogen bonds.
During a chemical process of straightening, yes disulfide bonds are broken. If you’re just straightening using heat and a blow dryer than not many S-S bonds will be broken.
The theoretical notion of using Maleic acid (or any bond builder) is that it creates a bridge between Cysteine proteins that have free -SH groups on them. The bond builders supposedly react with the protein and create a bond like S-bond builder-S.
In truth, I think it is a bunch of marketing gobblygook. These products are not building bonds to any extent that you will notice any difference in the fibers. It is simply marketing hype.
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Hi Perry,
I have taken note of suggestions within your reply to the poster.
Can I please ask a question?
What is the correct thing to do for curly hair that has been straightened and lost its natural curl pattern? Are there materials that you suggest to incorporate into products that would restore the orignal curl pattern?
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