P164 : The effect of ceramide-based essence cream for the damaged hair shaft

Background: Ceramides exist inside the hair cuticle to act as cement, keeping the hair intact. Hair cuticles are often thought as densely packed shingles on a roof, and ceramides are the glue that keeps the shingles together Objectives: We aimed to investigate the protective effect of ceramide formulated essence cream on the damaged hair. Methods: Hair samples were divided into normal (n=4) and damaged groups (n=6). Contents of cholesterol and free fatty acid (linoleic acid and oleic acid) in hair samples were measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Also, we selected virgin hair samples and let them chemically and frictionally damaged. Each damaged hair was treated with five different ceramide essence creams (vehicle, stearyl, oleyl, stearyl-cholesterol, and stearyl-linoleic acid). Results: Contents of cholesterol (688 ug/g) and linoleic acid (133 ug/g) in damaged hairs were lower than normal hairs (cholesterol (1025 ug/g) and linoleic acid (200 ug/g)) by GC-MS analysis. In contrast, the content of cholesterol (2089 ug/g) of hair samples wasincreased in ceramide-treated normal hair groups (1025 ug/g). To measure the surface state of hair, we performed scanning electron microscope for ultrastructure of damaged hair cuticle fraction. Cuticle layer of damaged hair surface was improved after the treatment with ceramide essence cream. Conclusion: Ceramide-based essence cream improved damaged hair, especially, ceramide with stearyl and ceramide with stearyl-cholesterol