P10.136 THE DAMAGE AND RESTORATION OF INTEGRAL HAIR LIPID FOLLOWING TREATMENT WITH HAIR DYE

Seung Hyun Chun, Eunyoung Lee , Mi Sook Song*, Tak Heon Oh, Won-Soo Lee

Department of Dermatology and Institute of Hair & Cosmetic Medicine

*Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea

The effects of external chemicals such as hair dye on the hair shaft are of great interest both in the medical field and the cosmetic industry. However, there have been few reports about the changes of hair morphology and its components after use of hair dye.

Increased penetration secondary to the highly alkaline solution of hair dyes causes damage to the hair; the cuticle is then broken by the hair dye.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate lipid changes in the hair cuticle after application of permanent dye. The coloring was performed as routine procedures. Scanning and transmission electron microscopic findings of hair cuticle were observed sequentially before and after application of hair dye. For electron microscopy, new fixative (Lee’s fixative: composed of OsO₄ and RuO₄) was designed since the conventional fixatives such as OsO₄ or RuO₄ alone were not appropriate for staining of hair lipid.

The initial change seen was cuticular swelling followed by degeneration. As the swelling improved, the cuticular degradation was noted. On transmission electron microscopy, variable sized holes in the endocuticle, breakage and swelling of the lipid layer appeared to be the most severe in the 1-day specimen. The findings improved gradually after 1-week.