Some challenges in modern hair colour formulations

Formulation of hair coloring product involves two stages, first a development of product base followed by formulation of desired shade. During that process a special consideration needs to be given to a whole range of product characteristics such as dye stability in the product medium, colour wearability on hair, light fading and finally rheology of the product. This paper reviews improvement in permanent coloring products as it relates to dye and base composition. Examples are shown where a reduction or elimination of certain dyes, m-phenylenediamine or sodium picramate, improves long term stability and product performance on hair. In cases when only reduction of the dyes was carried out, improvement in stability was achieved through their use as secondary colour contributors and not as primary ones. There are also other composition aspects that impact colour performance of the final product. For example, pH of the coloring mixture has a pronounced effect on the final colour developed in hair. It is shown that a shift in tonality caused by pH change can be predicted for finished product using a simple system composed of the main coupler-intermediate pair employed in the product. The colour response to pH change of this simple system was found to mirror that of the product. This predictability can be used as a formulation tool to develop more efficient dye systems. Effects of some functional materials on colour result such as propylene glycol, ascorbic acid or silicone are also shown.