Aplicación de la microscopía electrónica de barrido en la evaluación de dos materias primas cosméticas como restauradoras de la cutícula capilar

the challenge to formulate cosmetic hair products according to the demand of functionality verification by both regulators and consumers makes imperative the development of methodologies for their performance assessment, particularly in vitro. as a contribution to this issue, the current research shows a scanning electron microscopy (sem) methodology for the appearance evaluation and the investigation of the atomic composition of virgin, discolored and dyed tresses hair cuticle after applying shampoo and conditioner, which have been formulated with repair actives. the results allow the rapid and sustainable differentiatio n betwee n th e cosmetic performances of the products evaluated. this is an advantage of sem with regard to the sensory evaluation of the treated tresses, technique commonly used in the cosmetic hair products design.