Lamellar rearrangement of internal lipids from human hair

The internal lipids were extracted from untreated hair without surface lipids. Liposomes were formed with the internal lipids at different hydration levels to determine the organization of these lipids and the influence of the water content on the lamellar structure of the hair fibres by X-ray Scattering (SAXS). Two structures of hair lipids were observed at 4.5 and approximately 9.0 nm with a different behaviour as a function of water content: the largest bilayer being the one that showed a capacity to retain water inside its structure. SAXS was also applied directly to three samples: a packed swatch of hair fibres at 60% RH, fibres soaked in water and delipidized fibres. Only the lamella at 9.0 nm was slightly affected by water content. Moreover, there was a small diminution in intensity probably due to a high permeability of wet fibres which could give rise to a disorder of the lipid structure. These two lamellar rearrangements are probably made up of lipids with a different and specific hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance.