Single Hair Fiber Assessment Techniques to Discriminate Between Mineral Oil and Coconut Oil Effect on Hair Physical Properties

September 2020 in “ Journal of cosmetic dermatology ”

Vaibhav Kaushik, Ritesh Chogale, Sudhakar Mhaskar

coconut oil mineral oil single-fiber hair testing surfactant wash cycles tensile strength torsional stress hair core penetration

Studysummary This study found that coconut oil significantly increased the tensile strength of twisted hair fibers due to its ability to penetrate the hair core, in contrast to mineral oil.

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The study aimed to understand the impact of coconut oil and mineral oil on hair strands using single-fiber hair testing methodologies. It involved multiple surfactant wash cycles with and without overnight oil treatments, followed by instrumental testing on hair strands. Results showed that while single wash cycles did not show significant differences, combining tensile and torsional stresses revealed clear differentiation, especially for coconut oil, even after a single cycle. Coconut oil significantly increased the tensile strength of twisted fibers due to its penetration into the hair core, making the fibers more flexible and better able to handle torsional stress. The study concluded that combining multiple stresses in testing can better differentiate the effects of hair treatments.

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