Provital launches Keramare marine active to repair hair from the inside out

Spain-based ingredients supplier Provital Group has launched Keramare, a new marine active claimed to reconstruct hair from the inside out and add shine.

“By reconstructing the protein structure of the cortex, the inner substance of hair is stronger and the fibre recovers its sensorial properties which are lost when it is damaged,” Provital Group’s marketing manager Anna Balaguer told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.

Keramare is derived from a brown algae found in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, Cystoseira compessa, and is mainly composed of sulfated polysaccharides.

The active is injected into a tridimensional hydrocolodial matrix composed of amylopectin, a component obtained from corn, in which the molecules are trapped until delivery onto the hair.

“The effect is a sustained release of the active, improving its performance and making it last longer,” Balaguer explained.

Reconstruction of hair fibre

A series of ex-vivo tests were carried out in order to demonstrate the reconstruction of the hair fibre, in which untreated hair, bleached hair, bleached hair treated with a placebo and bleached hair treated with Keramare were compared.

The Differencial Scanning Calorimetry technique was used to show how the enthalpy in hair bleached and treated with Keramare improved, with the value shown to be even higher than that for the untreated hair.

“Enthalpy is related to the inner structure, so the higher the value, the best condition for the cortex and therefore, the hair recovers the properties that make it look shiny and healthy,” said Balaguer.

Thermal protection

Keramare was also shown to maintain the hydration of the hair at greater temperatures, thus offering thermal protection.

“By measuring the temperature at which the water retained on hair (necessary for hydration) evaporates, Keramare also showed the property of protecting against thermal aggressions, retaining the natural hydration at higher temperatures and for a longer time.”

Keramare works on all hair types including damaged hair, according to Provital, and can be used in a variety of hair care applications. These include daily use products, dyes, styling and fixing products and those designed to strengthen and intensively repair hair.