80 HAIR CARE
Cashmere-derived keratin for hair care
Ryota Takeuchi – Ichimaru Pharcos
Daily damage to human hair can be broadly classified into chemical damage caused by perming and hair colouring agents as well as damage caused during daily life. Chemical damage occurs as a result of altering chemical structures, such as disulfide bonds, in hair keratin using agents. This causes extreme damage with a single procedure, and it damages deep parts of hair. On the other hand, the damage received
during daily life is damage from ultraviolet rays, physical damage from washing hair, as well as thermal damage from using a hair dryer or curling iron. In this case, damage basically accumulates in the part close to the surface of the hair. While considering hair care, these two types of damage must be addressed. In recent years, the need for chemical
procedures tends to be expanding. However, the importance of measures against daily damage is relatively increasing as less invasive techniques are becoming more common due to technological advances. To understand the importance of measures
against daily damage, consideration on the hair cycle is required. Hair is generated via differentiation and keratinization from hair matrix cells that exist in the hair follicle and hair falls off according to the hair cycle. The cycle is about five years, with individual and gender- based differences taken into account. This cycle is extremely long when compared
to the 30-day turnover of skin. This means that hair is susceptible to the influence of damage from external environments as compared to other epithelial tissues. For example, in the case of a woman with long hair of about 40 cm, the tip of the hair was generated about three years ago, so it is assumed to have been washed a considerable number of times.
Feel and structure of the hair Hair has a structure where cuticles that have a scaly structure surround the cortex, which is the main body of hair fibre. There is also a structure called medulla in the core part of the innermost layer. In the gaps between the cuticle and the cortex, the cell membrane complex (CMC) exists. The CMC has a 50 nm thick sandwich- like structure, where layers of lipids called layer sandwich the δ layer, a non-keratinous protein, and act as an adhesive for each hair structure. As mentioned above, daily damage
accumulates in the cuticle, which is the surface layer of the hair, and the cuticle CMC, which
PERSONAL CARE September 2025
has less disulfide bonds and high hydrophilicity, is the most vulnerable. When the cuticle CMC, which adheres the cuticles together, is impaired, cuticles peel off, causing a rough hair surface structure and declined elasticity and firmness. Depending on the severity of the damage, some hairs may have almost no cuticle at the ends, leading to split ends and breakage. In this paper, we will introduce cashmere-
derived hydrolysed keratin (product name: Cashmere Coat) developed for repairing cuticle CMC in response to the increasing need for measures against daily damage as well as its repair action.
About cashmere Cashmere is a rare and highly prized fibre used in clothing obtained from hair collected from cashmere goats (Capra hircus) which inhabit extremely cold alpine regions such as the Himalayan Plateau, Mongolia, and Inner Mongolia. These goats have developed a dual- layer coat to survive temperatures that can plunge below−30°C. While the outer layer consists of coarse
guard hairs, it is the fine, soft undercoat—known as cashmere—that offers remarkable insulation and softness. This undercoat is shed naturally each spring, which is the period when the goat’s winter coat is replaced with its summer coat,
and must be carefully hand-combed to collect the fibres without harming the animal. In this respect, cashmere differs from animal hair that is shaved with an electric shaver, such as wool. Due to the limited yield— only about 200 grams of usable fibre per goat per year—it typically takes the fibre from two to three goats to produce a single cashmere sweater. Cashmere has a unique texture that makes
it feel soft and slightly silky, and it is also very warm as it has the property to create a large number of layers of air in the fibre. These features including scarcity, combined with the delicate manual harvesting process and unique characteristics, contribute to the high value and exclusivity of cashmere products. Additionally, cashmere fibres exhibit a distinctive amino acid composition, characterized in part by a cysteine content that is approximately half that of wool. This difference is also reflected in solubility tests conducted under non-reducing conditions, where cashmere shows greater solubility compared to wool. Since cysteine residues contribute to fibre
strength by forming disulfide bonds within the keratin structure, the lower cysteine content in cashmere provides a chemical basis for its softness and unique tactile properties.
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