Argan Oil as a Pretreatment of Human Hair Before Exposure to Oxidative Damage: Attenuated Total Reflectance and Protein Loss Studies

The study "Argan oil as a pretreatment of human hair before exposure to oxidative damage: Attenuated total reflectance and protein loss studies" conducted by Negin Sharifi PharmD et al. found that argan oil pre-treatment effectively protects hair against oxidative damage. The research divided hair tresses into three groups, two of which were pre-treated with argan oil before undergoing oxidative damage. The amount of protein loss in the oil pre-treated groups was significantly reduced. The attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectrum showed oil deposition on hair even after washing, and four distinctive ATR peaks changed during oxidation. The antioxidant property of argan oil, measured with the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, led to an IC50 value of 59 µg/ml. The ATR testing method was used efficiently in quantifying hair damage.