Disulphide bridges: the key to healthy hair at a molecular level

The care of disulphide bridges is essential for hair health. As a component of the hair structure at molecular level, its health and integrity can often only be verified through external signs. However, the signs are clear: dry, dull or coarse hair are some of those signs suggesting that disulphide bridges and their important structural functions may have been compromised.

Consumers are becoming more and more informed and demand treatments aimed at maintaining hair health in-depth. In this regard, brands that wish to innovate and stand out, looking beyond keratin to repair and strengthen hair, can focus on deeper structural aspects, such as disulphide bridges.

What are disulphide bridges in hair?

Disulphide bridges are a key element in the hair structure because of their role in the stabilisation of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. Chemically, they are defined as covalent bonds formed between two sulphur atoms.

They are responsible for maintaining the bond between protein chains, as well as guaranteeing their flexibility, stabilising their structure and preventing breakage. A fundamental role that underlines their need to be protected.

Chemical treatments such as colouring, bleaching or perming can cause enormous damage to disulphide bridges: when chemical agents come into contact with proteins, they can destroy their bonds. Carbonylation is a particularly concerning and irreversible phenomenon, as it involves the attachment of carbonyl groups to the residues of certain amino acids in proteins, altering the structure and function of hair proteins permanently.

As such, the protection of disulphide bridges must take a preventive approach.

Keradeep: the natural active ingredient that protects disulphide bridges in a preventive way

Focused on the preventive care of disulphide bridges, at Provital we have combined advanced hair care science and cutting-edge technology to develop Keradeep.

An active ingredient based on pine bark extract, its high content of antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols makes it a key ally in the care of hair proteins against irreversible damage.

It acts by preventing the appearance of carbonyl groups and the formation of oxidised cystine species. A critical intervention that has been observed during a highly innovative ex vivo test protocol, developed thanks to Provital’s alliance with three pioneering companies:

• Visualisation and quantification of carbonylated proteins using a fluorescent probe patented by Oxi-Proteomics.
• Study of the hair fibre at molecular level through the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), developed by ALBA Synchrotron.
• Study of the structural arrangement of keratin through birefringence (Xpolar®), developed by Kamax Innovative System.

A series of studies that have made it possible to establish the efficacy of Keradeep for the preventive protection of disulphide bridges, confirming its capacity to become a key ingredient in structural hair preservation treatments.