Nanostructured lipid carriers: A novel hair protective product preventing hair damage and discoloration from UV radiation and thermal treatment

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The goal of this study was to investigate the protective effects of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) and vitamin E loaded NLCs (Vit E-NLCs) on preventing hair damages and discoloration against UV radiation and thermal treatment. The NLCs and Vit E-NLCs were prepared using a high-pressure homogenization technique. At optimal conditions, they showed spherical particles with a mean particle size of ~140 nm and a polydispersity index of < 0.3. Up to 90% (w/w) vitamin E acetate incorporation efficacy was achieved. The protective efficacy of the model cream containing blank-NLCs (NLCs cream) or Vit E-NLCs (Vit E-NLCs cream) was investigated. Upon exposure to UV-light and heat, the FE-SEM images revealed that the hair treated with both NLCs creams showed a smoothness of hair surface similar to the virgin hair. In accordance with protein loss, they exhibited the least protein loss as compared to the hair treated with Vit-E cream, cream base and commercial products. The same trend was observed for the discoloration test, the hair treated with both NLCs creams demonstrated the lowest total color loss, as compared to other products. Comparing between two NLCs formulations, antioxidant Vit E-NLCs showed to promote the photoprotective effect against hair damage and discoloration slightly greater than blank NLCs, but it has no extra benefit for heat protection. Considered overall, the developed NLCs and Vit E-NLCs is a novel alternative for preventing hair damage and discoloration from daily UV and heat exposure.