(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you love the way coloring your hair makes you
look and feel but hate what it does to the environment, get ready for the
world's first "green" hair bleach.
Japanese scientists say they have developed an environmentally friendly
alternative to traditional hair bleaches that comes without the unwanted
effects, such as the need for frequent applications and subsequent hair damage
and irritation to the scalp and other parts of the body.
Each year, millions of people use hair bleach to lighten their hair. The bleach
is made of hydrogen peroxide, which is highly effective at breaking down the
pigments that give hair a dark color. But it usually has to be reapplied to hair
every few months, which can leave hair brittle and lifeless.
This new hair dye is made from a type of "white-rot" fungus that has also shown
potential to clean up pollutants in the soil, researchers said. It naturally
breaks down the melanin, or dark pigments, in the hair, without the damaging
effects of hydrogen peroxide.
Study author Kenzo Koike, Ph.D., of the Kao Corporation's Beauty Research Center
in Tokyo, said this enzyme could be added to traditional hair bleaches to
prevent hair damage. Because it needs hydrogen peroxide to complete the chemical
reaction, a small amount of peroxide would still be needed for the product to
work.
SOURCE: Study presented at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical
Society on March 24, 2009
