If you want to show that your product, or styling device, prevents or repairs hair damage, then measuring the levels of protein damage inside the hair fiber using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is a useful technique.

DSC involves heating a sample over a given temperature range.  As the sample is heated, a temperature is reached where the keratins inside the hair start to change in structure and denature.  This change is similar to that seen when heating an egg yolk; upon heating, the proteins in the hair, and in egg yolk, restructure and change irreversibly.  The temperature at which hair keratins denature changes with hair damage, so DSC is as a good measure of protein damage and repair.

TRI have used DSC to investigate hair damage from many different damaging treatments, such as bleaching, UV-irradiation and gaseous pollution.  DSC measurements are sensitive to many experimental factors.  TRI is able to provide expert advice on designing the best protocols and on interpretation of the data.