HAIR CARE 83


Phytoremediation: the next frontier in hair protection


Bernice Jaye Pimentel – Active Concepts


Climate change is often discussed in terms of rising seas, extreme weather, and large-scale environmental disruption. Less visible are the ways these shifts quietly influence everyday routines, including personal care. As global temperatures rise and climate patterns become more unstable, the systems that deliver clean, treated water are increasingly under strain. These changes are no longer confined to ecosystems alone and are increasingly reflected in everyday consumer exposures, including those encountered through routine cosmetic use. While global warming may feel like a distant


or abstract threat, it is already reshaping the environmental systems people rely on for daily living. Global efforts such as the Paris Agreement were established in 2015 to limit warming and protect essential environmental and human systems.1 Despite these efforts, recent climate data


underscore how close the world already is to these thresholds. By 2025, global temperatures continued to rank among the highest ever recorded, and the average global temperature over the past three years has surpassed the 1.5°C benchmark long identified as a critical stress point for environmental stability.2 As environmental conditions continue to shift,


people are increasingly exposed to environmental contaminants through the air, water, and surfaces they encounter each day.3


patterns and land disturbance affect how these contaminants are released, allowing particles to settle onto skin, hair, and clothing during normal daily activities. While this exposure can occur in any environment, it may be more pronounced in areas with higher traffic, construction, or industrial activity. Water is often one of the first exposure


pathways to reflect environmental strain. Prolonged droughts reduce freshwater availability, while heavier rainfall and flooding overwhelm ageing infrastructure originally designed for more predictable climate conditions.3


Together,


these forces disrupt water treatment and distribution systems, increasing the likelihood that contaminants once contained in soil, sediment, or pipes become mobilized into drinking water supplies.


Heavy metals exposure Among these contaminants, heavy metals represent a growing concern. Drought conditions


www.personalcaremagazine.com Changes in atmospheric


can concentrate metals in shrinking water reservoirs, while flooding and infrastructure stress can release metals such as copper and iron from pipes, soil, and sediments into water sources.3 Once mobilized, these metals are difficult to avoid, entering not only drinking water but also daily exposure pathways. One of the most overlooked routes of exposure


occurs during routine hair washing. Each time hair is washed, it is exposed to prolonged contact with water, allowing dissolved metals to deposit onto the hair fibre and scalp. While certain metals are essential in trace amounts, repeated exposure can lead to gradual accumulation and, over time, visible damage.4 Studies increasingly show that heavy metals can compromise hair fibre integrity by binding to


sulfhydryl groups within keratin, disrupting protein structure and promoting oxidative stress.5


Hair


keratin is rich in sulfur-containing amino acids that form disulfide bonds responsible for strength and resilience, but these same sites also attract metal ions such as copper. Once bound, metals can persist within the hair


fibre, where they drive oxidative reactions that weaken the protein network, increase brittleness, and degrade surface quality. Because hair fibres lack natural repair mechanisms, this damage can accumulate and is difficult to reverse through conventional cleansing alone. Copper is particularly problematic due to its role in the Fenton reaction.6


and at-home treatments such as bleaching or hair dyeing, hydrogen peroxide can interact with


October 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE


During common salon


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