Enzymatic Approach to Analyze the Effects of Mercaptans on Hair

The study analyzed the effects of different mercaptans on hair by examining protease degradation in reduced and permed hair samples. It found that reduced hair exhibited significantly higher protease degradation compared to permed hair, and the degradability of permed hair increased with repeated treatments. The degradability of reduced hair was closely linked to its cystine content, whereas permed hair's degradability was largely unaffected by cystine content. The study concluded that the degradability of both hair types was influenced by the reduction power of the mercaptans used, with the order of increasing degradability being CYS-treated hair, CA-treated hair, and TG-treated hair.