Vibrational Raman and IR data on brown hair subjected to bleaching

Brown human hair was bleached three times (45 min x 3) and four times (45 min x 3 + 15 min) with commercial formulations containing persulfate salts and hydrogen peroxide. The hair samples were characterized by Raman and IR spectroscopy in the Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) mode to gain more insights into the possible secondary structure and C-alpha-C-beta-S-S-C-beta-C-alpha conformational changes induced by bleaching. The latter were evaluated through band-fitting procedures; the relative content of the disulfide bridges and oxidized sulfur species (cysteic acid, Bunte salt, cystine oxides) was assessed. The observed conformational changes could be significant in developing restoring agents to be used after hair decoloration. The use of two different spectroscopic techniques allowed to discriminate the information coming from the cortical region of hair (Raman) and the cuticle (ATR/IR). This article refers to Structural investigation on damaged hair keratin treated with alpha,beta-unsaturated Michael acceptors used as repairing agents (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

Hair samples were bleached multiple times and characterized with Raman and IR spectroscopy to assess structural changes and potential development of restoring agents. The use of different spectroscopic techniques allowed for discrimination of information from the hair cortex and cuticle.