The material that is revolutionizing electronics could also change the hair dye industry. The discovery has been made by the team of Jiaxing Huang, a researcher at the Northwestern University, in Illinois, who admits that guided by curiosity he began to make experiments with sheets of graphene and discovered that graphene can be used to produce non-toxic hair dyes.
Graphene would be a non-toxic and anti-static hair dye
In the study’s report which has been published Thursday in the magazine Chem, Huang described a series of tests with sheets of graphene that adhered to the surface of the hair forming a layer resistant to washing, in combination with a Polymer series.
On the other hand, the conventional dyes, and especially those that contain ammonia, degrade the hair structure by penetrating the hair follicles and triggering harmful chemical reactions.
Graphene, however, according to Huang, is only covering the hair and staying attached to it instead of penetrating it. Once the graphene sheets are deposited on a hair, its ability to repel water makes it be resistant to washing.
As if that were not enough, graphene characteristics also dissipate static electricity, so a graphene-based hair dye will also eliminate the problem of frizzy hair on dry winter days.
The graphene that can be used for the dye does not have to be of high quality
Huang’s team is now looking for investors to support his further investigations of the technique which, most probably, will soon become of high interest for the hair dye industry.
An additional advantage is that the graphene that can be used for the hair dye doesn’t have to be of high quality, so the manufactures could use the graphene that has not passed the necessary quality filters for its use in the electronics industry.
In conclusion, graphene can be used to produce non-toxic hair dyes and will probably revolutionize the hair dye industry as it has done it already with the electronics industry.
