Tapping skinification: Silab exec discusses Nutripeptides’ hair care expansion

25 Jan 2024 --- Silab revisits its natural active ingredient Nutripeptides and discovers new applications for hair care.

The natural actives provider says Nutripeptides, “rich in rice di and tri peptides (Oryza sativa),” was initially meant for skin applications, however, with its recent study, it has tapped into skinification. The ingredient is touted to soothe, hydrate and enhance the hair’s beauty while nourishing the skin.

Personal Care Insights speaks with Camille Desperiez, Silab’s marketing project leader, about the research findings and haircare trends.

Can you elaborate on the studies conducted by Silab that demonstrate Nutripeptides’ effectiveness in repairing hair?
Desperiez: Frequent washing and the repeated use of accessories such as a hair dryer or a straightening iron deteriorate the surface of hair strands. From this, cuticles are less overlapped (looser), preventing light from being reflected from the surface of the hair and thereby giving it a dull appearance. 

Nutripeptides is “rich in rice di and tri peptides.”Based on these elements, Silab conducted a study of the roughness of cuticles after two and six months of daily application to demonstrate the repairing efficacy of Nutripeptides on hair, a parameter directly related to hair quality. 

This study was conducted in vivo on volunteers who stated that their hair was thin and rendered fragile by those mentioned above frequently repeated mechanical actions. A control panel with healthy hair was also included in this study.

The results show that, after two months of application, Nutripeptides repaired hair by reducing the roughness of cuticles by 11.4% (P < 0.01). This effect intensifies after six months of application, reaching a significant reduction of roughness of 17.9% (P < 0.001), returning to a level comparable to that of individuals with healthy hair (non-significant difference between the two groups). This improvement in hair fiber surface was observed in 92% of volunteers at the end of the study.

The volunteers also rated the performance of Nutripeptides using a subjective evaluation questionnaire. As of two months of use, 74% of the volunteers noted that their hair was softer and less damaged. These improvements were reported by 89% of them at the end of the study.

How does Silab envision the future of hair and scalp care with Nutripeptides?
Desperiez: Care products developed by the cosmetics industry (shampoos, conditioners, masks and detanglers) have historically aimed to render hair shinier, softer, smoother, curlier and more resistant. However, It is now recognized that caring for the hair alone is insufficient due to the intimate relationship between hair and scalp. It is indeed essential to have a healthy scalp to sustain the growth and health of hair.

The scalp is subjected to continual daily aggression by a multitude of factors, including mechanical (friction from brushing and combing), thermal (hair dryers), chemical (dyes, washing hair too frequently) and environmental (dust, UV and pollution). These aggressions disrupt its equilibrium and trigger an inflammatory reaction that causes redness and irritations. This alteration of the scalp has consequences for the hair, making it dull, lose volume, become thin, dry and brittle. After six months of application, Nutripeptides repaired hair by reducing the roughness of cuticles  by 17.9%.

With awareness of this situation, hair care routines are evolving by adopting codes borrowed from skin care. This trend is called skinification and allows consumers to pay equal attention to their face, body and hair. With its action on both the scalp and the hair, Nutripeptides fully responds to the new expectations of consumers seeking global solutions to reveal their hair beauty.  

Could you provide details on the anti-inflammatory and balancing effects of Nutripeptides on the scalp, particularly the reduction in IL-8 secretion? 
Desperiez: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a key marker of inflammation. It was studied in vitro by Silab to determine the soothing effect of Nutripeptides. The study was conducted on keratinocytes aggressed with sodium lauryl sulfate solution. The results show that when tested at 1% on these aggressed keratinocytes, Nutripeptides significantly limit the synthesis of IL-8 by 41%. 

After six months, Nutripeptides soothing effect was observed in 95% of the volunteers.In vivo, this soothing effect is shown by a significant 13.4% reduction in scalp redness after two months of daily treatment (P < 0.05). This effect intensified after six months and was observed in 95% of the volunteers included in this study.

Can you share feedback from participants in the study?
Desperiez: The performance of Nutripeptides was assessed by volunteers using a self-evaluation questionnaire at home after one, two and six months of daily application using a scoring scale. 

As of the first month of treatment, the volunteers who had used Nutripeptides formulated at 2.5% in a lotion noted a significant 16.2% decrease in damaged hair (P < 0.05), a significant 27.3% decrease in thin hair (P < 0.001), a significant 25% increase in hair shine (P < 0.01) and a significant 32.8% increase in hair volume (P < 0.05). These effects intensify after six months of treatment and show a general improvement in hair quality.

What sets Nutripeptides apart from other ingredients on the market, and how does its natural content align with sustainable beauty products?
Desperiez: In addition to their proven biological efficacy on the scalp and hair, Nutripeptides have the advantage of being fully natural as they are composed of di- and tri-peptides of rice. Its natural origin content of 99.4% is fully consistent with consumers’ expectations. 

Nutripeptides was initially launched by Silab a few years ago for their nourishing and protective cutaneous benefits. Therefore, this natural active ingredient is a premium solution that pays as much attention to the hair as it does to the skin.

Personal Care Insights recently spoke to Silab about its decisions behind extending the company’s arm in Asian markets.

By Venya Patel