A natural functional active ingredient for long and healthy hair
Trimming hair is no longer the only cure for split ends. The Research and Innovation (R&I) teams at Syensqo have developed the first-ever cure for split ends that works miracles on damaged hair. After a single application, Polycare® Split Therapy repairs 90% of the damage from split ends to deliver long-lasting sealing and hair that looks and feels healthy.
My own style without compromise. Consumers like to dye their hair to express their unique personality or simply have fun. But dying hair usually comes with unwanted trade-offs — hair that’s dry, without shine, hard to comb, more fragile or easy to break. Now you no longer need to compromise thanks to the hair-care experts at Syensqo, who have developed Polycare® Split Therapy for the best hair color protection on the market with 50% of color retention after 10 shampoos. Enjoy durable color and healthy-looking hair that’s shiny, soft and manageable.
An eco-designed ingredient for a happier planet. Vegetable- and non-ecotoxic guar-based Polycare® Split Therapy is ethically sourced through our Sustainable Guar Initiative program in India. This guar derivative, 78% from natural origin (ISO 16128:2), responds perfectly to the growing clean beauty trend calling for natural-inspired ingredients from renewable resources.
Answering multiple growing trends in the hair care industry
- Addresses the call for Clean Beauty with a fully functional natural ingredient
- Maintain longer and healthier-looking hair with a cure for split ends
- Protects the hair fiber from further damage caused by washing, combing and heat
- Useable in various hair products to offer a complete hair repair and protection routine
- Protects against damage from bleach and coloring products as well as anti-fading benefits for a more personalized look
The split-end cure in action
The market today: limited solutions for properly curing split ends
Today’s existing market solutions rely on ingredients like protein derivatives and amino-acids, polyelectrolyte Complex (PEC) of PQ-28 and PVM/MA copolymer CPM technology. But these technologies, especially in the long term, come with limitations around efficacy, are known to present unpleasant sensorial components or can be extremely difficult to formulate in shampoos. For these reasons, the majority of hair care products that address split ends are focused on care claims, such as “prevention of split ends” or “hair conditioning.”
Towards a full long-lasting split-end sealing
The Syensqo R&I team has a solution for curing damaged hair with the new Polycare® Split Therapy, an efficient guar-based solution that formulators can easily use to offer real reparation to hair and deliver long-term consumer satisfaction. The innovative structure of Polycare® Split Therapy delivers a host of advantages:
- Instant, long-lasting split-end repair: >90% healing and the prevention against further damage after one serum application
- A versatile solution: compatible and efficient in rinse-off and leave-on formulations
- Hair protection: resistance to repeated washing, combing and flat-ironing with no compromise on sensorial benefits
- Outperforms all benchmarks: withstands multiple washings, repeated combings and excessive heat exposures from flat or curling irons
Split ends are a sign of unhealthy, damaged hair and are often accompanied by breakage, dullness and premature aging. Polycare® Split Therapy demonstrates its inherent properties to prove its efficiency. A statistical analysis conducted using internal tests on tresses was conducted by an external laboratory to validate Polycare® Split Therapy’s performance and durability. To begin the testing, split ends were counted one by one before and after treatment to calculate the percentage of reparation.
Regarding performance, 90% to 95% of split ends were repaired after one serum application versus 60% to 70% of reparation with commercial benchmarks. The split ends were fully sealed after just three applications of Polycare® Split Therapy. In testing its effectiveness in shampoo, the results were shown to be just as promising; after just one washing, about 50% of the hair was repaired.
Discover our two other actives for hair health
Bleach and Color Damage Protection
Personalization of hairstyle and the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic
Hair bleaching and coloring was a trend that accelerated during the Covid lockdown as consumers reflected on their own identities, yearned to express themselves and began seeking more control over the way they look. We expect this market to grow, along with an expectation for product quality and efficiency. Such high pH procedures come with altered mechanical properties, the opening of the hair cuticles, alteration of the hydrolipidic film and greater sensitivity to daily brushing and UV rays. Damage protection is critical when bleaching and coloring hair.
Hair dying or bleaching without compromise
Damage protection during coloring
Testing realized using SEM images technology on 3 hair tresses: untreated Caucasian hair, Caucasian hair bleached using a lightening powder that does not incorporate Polycare® Split Therapy (control), and Caucasian hair bleached using a lightening powder that incorporates 2% Polycare® Split Therapy.
Impact of Polycare® Split Therapy on coloring
Hair samples are analyzed at 3 different stages: initial state (Caucasian hair bleached level 2), after being colored with a commercial package (one with Polycare® Split Therapy – one without) and after 1-5-10 shampoos (both with and without Polycare® Split Therapy).
- When introduced into the lightening powder, Polycare® Split Therapy significantly reduces damage to the cuticles during bleaching.
- Cuticles remain almost intact thanks to Polycare® Split Therapy; consequently, the hair feels softer.
- The same results have been found for coloring when Polycare® Split Therapy is added just before the application (post-addition).
Formulators can use Polycare® Split Therapy to easily create an entire repair routine for consumers or hair salons
Polycare® Split Therapy is a natural-based, functional active that offers real and quantifiable hair cure upon first use and long-lasting sealant properties even after repeated use and with no sensory drawbacks. Because this ethically and responsibly sourced ingredient is versatile and easy to use, formulators will find Polycare® Split Therapy to be ideal for designing products that can satisfy multiple consumer needs. It is also the perfect solution for bringing damage protection during bleaching and/or coloring (with the additional benefit of anti-fading) when added directly in high pH products.
Contact our experts to learn more about Polycare® Split Therapy and discover new formulations.
