HAIR STYLING
Inspired by architecture: the hair tensegrity concept
Ò. Expósito, A. Guirado, R. Vallecillo, A. Gallego, M. Mas, P. Riera, D. Luna, S. Laplana, T. Ruiz, S. Ruiz, M. Gibert - Vytrus Biotech
The hair structure is a unit where hair scalp, follicle and shaft must be considered as a whole.1,2 The scalp is the hidden essential in hair biology and is responsible for the nourishing, biology and mechanical behaviours of the pilosebaceous unit. Therefore, all the parts of hair are interconnected and the whole hair system can be revitalized based on the new concept of hair ‘tensegrity’. The term ‘tensegrity’ comes from
architecture and is coined from the contraction ‘tensional’ and ‘integrity’ - components of any structure under compression while they are inside a network in continuous tension. The components of any structure are continuously exposed to external forces.3,4 All the structural elements are interconnected,
so any change applied to one of them will affect the rest. Each structure must have an equilibrium between a good resistance and sufficient flexibility. A healthy hair must have a good tensegrity:
being strong enough but also flexible enough to be manageable; plus soft and easy to comb while maintaining its natural movement. To optimize hair tensegrity, or TrichoTensegrity, the scalp must be considered as an essential part of the pilosebaceous unit. Thus, we can approach hair care keeping in mind the full structure: scalp, follicle and shaft.
Elements of hair tensegrity The scalp is essential for a healthy hair because its state affects hair properties.5,6
The follicle is
anchored in the scalp, and the follicle is the root of hair, so all three elements contribute to hair tensegrity.
The continuum scalp-follicle-shaft is made of
cells - keratinocytes, fibroblasts, epithelial cells of the hair follicle, germ cells, and trichocytes - and of an extracellular matrix (ECM). In the follicle and hair, a biomaterial is produced,7,8 composed of the following. A network of fibrous proteins - keratin
intermediate filaments, which act as support elements to stabilize tension or torsion. A network of anchoring proteins - Versican
and collagen XVII, which provide a structural binding support in the ECM. An extracellular lipid matrix - the cell
membrane complex (CMC),14 which interconnects
the fibre network through the hair shaft. Furthermore, the scalp has a network of hair anchoring proteins, among which Versican,9,10,11 and collagen XVII stand out.8,12,13
Therefore, the
scalp, follicle and hair shaft are all interconnected and each of their components contribute to hair tensegrity: cells, proteins and lipids.
A unique approach to hair tensegrity Elaya Renova™ (hereafter the wild olive active ingredient) is a 100% natural active ingredient from wild olive (Olea europaea var. sylvestris) stem cells. This ancestral Mediterranean plant has great resilience, vitality and longevity. The wild olive active ingredient concentrates these properties in an innovative and unique hair care ingredient. The product has a unique composition: a
proteo-lipidic matrix capable of nourishing and revitalizing both hair and scalp. It works synergistically to protect, restructure, regenerate and beautify hair and scalp (Figure 2).
www.personalcaremagazine.com Figure 1: The whole hair structure: more than just the visible part (the shaft)
Biological activity Several ex vivo and in vitro tests were performed to understand and demonstrate the mechanism of action of the active ingredient. Except indicated otherwise, in the ex vivo assays five tresses treated with the placebo lotion were compared to 5 tresses treated with a lotion containing 1% of the wild olive active ingredient. The pre-treatments lasted ten minutes.
June 2022 PERSONAL CARE
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