SEPAWA Congress 2025 live: Provital targets “glass hair” demand with bio-intelligent shield

Natural active ingredients manufacturer Provital is showcasing Covertrix, its bio-intelligent shield for personalized hair care, at the SEPAWA Congress 2025, held October 15–17, in Berlin, Germany.

Personal Care Insights sits down with Hagen Döring, area sales manager at Provital, to learn how the company’s latest hair care launch taps into the growing trend of “skinified” hair care.

“This is a high-performance active ingredient that effectively regulates the moisture level by accelerating the evaporation of surface water from the hair while maintaining hydration inside the hair,” Döring explains. 

“Covertrix strengthens the hair fibers and makes them more resistant to breakage. It makes it feel velvety smooth, look glossy, and also reduces the time that you need to blow-dry your hair.”

The “skinification” of hair care has gained increased attention in personal care innovation. It means that high-performance ingredients traditionally reserved for facial skin care are being applied to scalp and hair care formulations. 

The trend follows the rise of K-beauty popularized “glass hair,” a term used to describe hair that is so smooth, sleek, and frizz-free that its surface has a mirror-like, reflective quality.

Provital cites data showing the “glass hair” trend has seen a 40% increase in global hair gloss treatment launches from 2021 to 2025. 

Against this backdrop, Döring adds: “Everybody’s talking about ‘glass hair’ these days — like glass skin — and Covertrix would be great in a gloss-finish leave-on product.”

Matrix meets moisture

Live from the show floor, Döring tells us the innovation lies in Covertrix’s bio-intelligent 3D matrix, which regulates moisture while reinforcing the hair fiber from within.

“First of all, we build a 3D matrix made of sclerotium gum and Zea mays starch. In this way, we get a gradual release of the active ingredient into the hair. Then we melt into this matrix two very beautiful components:

“One is amaranth — a protein that is very rich in peptides and polysaccharides. The second one is lysine, which binds to keratin in the hair very effectively and easily and helps to build new hair bonds in the hair.”

The ingredient combines Amaranthus caudatus seed extract with a 3D biopolymer matrix for targeted delivery.The company draws on the ancestral power of Amaranthus caudatus seed extract, which it says the Aztecs and Incas used for its strength and adaptability. The extract works by helping fortify and hydrate hair from the inside. 

Flexible formulations

Döring explains that the ingredient is versatile and suitable for a wide range of formulations, hair textures, and curl patterns. 

“Covertrix would be great in a gloss-finish leave-on product. Or, since we tested the product on wavy hair, straight hair, and even afro hair, it could also be effective in a Hydra Curl shampoo and serum, or if you want a one-minute repair mask. So, it’s really flexible.”

“It’s especially important for those who feel that their hair is a bit dull, dry, or fragile,” he adds.

Testing showed that Covertrix enhances the hair fiber’s ability to retain internal moisture, with a +11.4% water retention improvement in the fiber of afro hair and +8.6% in wavy hair.

Ex vivo tests showed that the ingredient increased shine by 22% in straight hair, 16% in wavy hair, and 15% in curly and afro hair. The ingredient also improved softness, reducing fiber friction by 5.8% in straight hair, 13% in curly hair, and 8.6% in afro hair.

The ingredient also taps into the demand for clean beauty formats, which Innova Market Insights’ data suggests consumers define as having natural ingredients.

Covertrix is COSMOS-approved, of 100% natural origin according to ISO 16128, and compliant with vegan cosmetics and Chinese regulations.