The use of botanical raw materials in hair dyeing

The cosmetic market is rich in products that allow changing the color of hair. There are three options for chemical coloring, depending on the duration of the target color. Among them, there are short-term, semi-permanent, and long-term dyeing. Using synthetic ingredients, it is possible to obtain a full range of colors. Reports of undesirable side effects of chemical dyes on both the scalp and hair structure support a return to natural hair coloration and a development in this direction. The aim of the work was to draw attention to apply botanical raw materials in hair dyeing. The work presents the characteristics of the following plant materials used in hair dyeing: defenseless lawsonia, oxalic hibiscus, rhubarb, elderberry and chamomile.

Hair Transplant with Strip Harvest: Indications, Contraindications, and Technique

The evolutionary process of modern hair transplantation began with the plug era and, transitioning through a period of minigrafting and micrografting, finally led to follicular unit transplantation (FUT). Apart from the expansion of donor:recipient ratio, this technique produces an excellent esthetic result, indistinguishable from the natural hair. The merit of strip harvest lies in the maximum amount of follicular unit harvest, minimizing the amount of hair follicle transection, and producing a single scar, irrespective of number of sessions. This article summarizes the prerequisites, indications, contraindications, and technique of strip harvest.

Role of proteoglycans in the treatment of alopecia of various genesis

Hair loss has always been and remains an urgent challenge in the world today. Although this condition is not life-threatening, it still has a strong impact on the patients’ quality of life. Hairlines are affected by multiple factors including age, family history, smoking, nutrition, etc. Alopecia can take many forms, and the specialist’s objective is to determine the correct cause of the disorder of hair growth cycle by taking a medical history from a patient.The key role in the pathogenesis of androgenetic alopecia is assigned to changes in hormonal status. Telogen effluvium can be triggered by stress, medication, pregnancy, or other medical conditions. For instance, the high number of patients who have had COVID-19 are now faced with hair loss a few months after recovery.Despite the variety of underlining causes of hair loss, the principle of therapy is the same – the elimination of the trigger and the selection of drugs to normalize the natural hair growth cycle. In this case, the use of drugs containing proteoglycans that are specific proteins involved in the regulation of the hair growth cycle looks promising. Numerous studies demonstrate the efficacy of such proteoglycans as versican, decorin, and syndecan. They activate hair growth and help prolong the anagen phase. This effect of proteoglycans affords to speak about their good therapeutic and even prophylactic properties applied to the problem of hair loss.

“Africa Claiming Her Own”: Unveiling Natural Hair and African Diasporic Identity in Lorraine Hansberry’s Unabridged A Raisin in the Sun

In the phantasmagoric performance that begins the second act of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun (1959), Beneatha Younger emerges with a short “close-cropped” natural style after cutting off her straightened hair offstage. Although this is a seemingly minor theatrical moment, hair in this scene and Hansberry’s work and life serves as a powerful dramatic signifier, a political tool for self-understanding and liberation, and a cultural bridge between African and African diasporic identity. Drawing from archival material concerning the original 1957 playscript, Tracy Heather Strain’s 2017 documentary Sighted Eyes/Feeling Hands, and recent scholarship, this article examines how Beneatha asserts her own body politics and corporeal scripting in her interactions with two romantic prospects, Joseph Asagai and George Murchison, to argue that her relationship with each suitor represents the complicated ways she wrestles with the meaning of the African diaspora. By embracing her natural hair and making deliberate aesthetic self-fashioning choices, Beneatha reclaims an ancestral African identity and cultivates a global Black consciousness that ultimately exceeds specific performances of dress, dance, and hair.

Hair mineralogram analysis for health assessment: Statistical bias from gender and aesthetic treatments

The hair mineralogram is a complementary multielement analysis that provides information to aid in the diagnosis of a patient’s health status; however, aesthetic treatments can affect the analysis results. This research aimed to identify standard patterns among mineralogram results and some variables, such as gender and the use of aesthetical treatments that can point out differences and causes of variation in elemental concentrations in hair. For this purpose, 151 hair samples were obtained from volunteers and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This work is pilot research, part of a project to encourage girls to the STEM area, called “Girls in Science”, with financial support from the Brazilian Government. Mineralogram results were compared through statistical analysis. The results of natural hair indicate significant differences (p<0.05) between genders in the concentrations of Ca, Mg, Sr, and Mo, being higher in women. This behavior was related to the remodeling of minerals in bones, which is different between men and women. The metal concentration in natural hair from women was also compared among different skin colors and no significant differences were observed. Hair treatment, in contrast, has affected significantly the concentrations of many elements. Concentrations increased in hair submitted to dyeing only or with straightening, when compared to natural hair, especially for Ca, Mg, Sr, Ba, and Ni. These results confirm the recommendation of physicians to let the hair grow free of aesthetic treatments for at least 3 months before performing the mineralogram.

Hair Follicle Melanogenesis Reflected in Hair Pigmentation as a Developmental Factor in Alopecia Areata

The mechanism of alopecia areata (AA) is not well-elucidated, and hair follicle melanogenesis pathways are implicated as possible sources for autoantigens. After a retrospective medical record review at a single tertiary medical center, the hair color of 112 AA patients were identified and compared to a control group of 104 androgenetic alopecia patients. There were no statistically significant differences in the natural hair color prevalence between the 2 groups (<i>p</i> = 0.164), and hair color was not a predictor of the alopecia type. Our results suggest hair pigmentation, determined by the eumelanin-to-pheomelanin ratio, is not a positive risk factor for AA development. We hope that our study will encourage multiple large-scale, collaborative, retrospective medical reviews to determine if our results are reproducible in diverse patient populations.