this patent aims at the application of sericin nanoparticles coated with cationic surfactants in hair care products , promoting an increase in gloss , reduction in volume , in addition to improving sensorial features as smoothness , flexibility , etc . this patent also aims at the application of these particles in hair dyes for maintenance of color in dyed hair . these properties of nanoparticles were proved by instrumental and sensorial tests , in vitro , with hair locks , as described below , the gloss effect in caucasian virgin hair locks , chemically treated by decoloration , was evaluated using glossmeter novo gloss ® equipment . the evaluated products where ( i ) sericin nanoparticles dispersed in water at three different concentrations ( 1 %, 3 %, 5 %) and ( ii ) placebo solubilized in water at the same three concentrations and composed by the same components of the nanoparticles &# 39 ; formula , except for sericin protein . locks treated with water only were used as control . each lock was immersed in the test products , separately , for 2 minutes next these locks were combed , dried with cool air and then ten measures of brightness were made in each lock . the hair gloss effect was analyzed in terms of perceptual increase of gloss , comparing the average values of gloss obtained from control locks to the values obtained from the locks treated with nanoparticles and placebo . the technique for hair gloss measurement is based on the principle of intensity of reflected light . hair is lightened under an oblique incident light ( at an angle of 85 °), and the reflected light is registered in accordance to the angle of observation . the higher reflection , the higher gloss . reflected light is measured by a detector . the values are expressed in gloss units ( gu - 0 , 1 a 1000 ). the results were evaluated through statistical analysis using the tukey - kramer multiple comparison test , to verify the significance degree of gloss increase . fig1 and 2 present the percentage of gloss increase in virgin and damaged hair obtained by instrumental analysis , resulting from application of sericin nanoparticles and placebo in comparison to the control . fig1 shows that the gloss of virgin hair promoted by the treatment with sericin nanoparticles is superior to gloss promoted by the treatment with placebo , at the three studied concentrations . the statistical analysis shows that the gloss increase promoted by sericin nanoparticles is significant ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) when compared to the gloss increase promoted by placebos , at the same concentrations . fig1 compares the gloss increase obtained in damaged hair treated with sericin nanoparticles and with placebo , using as reference hair treated with water . behold again in this case that the gloss of the damage hair treated with sericin nanoparticles is superior to gloss promoted by the placebos , at the three studied concentrations . the statistical analysis shows that the gloss increase promoted by sericin nanoparticles is significant ( p & lt ; 0 . 001 ) when compared to the gloss increases promoted by placebos , at the same concentrations . the sensorial effect of sericin nanoparticles in hair locks was evaluated by 10 people , through the answer of a specific questionnaire . caucasian damaged locks were immersed , for 2 minutes , in dispersion of sericin nanoparticles and in water , for comparison . then these locks were vertically suspended in a holder for removal of excessive water . the appraisers analyzed the locks while humid and after drying . the locks were numerated so the examiners couldn &# 39 ; t have knowledge of the analyzed sample ( blind survey ). the questionnaire was answered by attributing grades from 1 to 5 , where 1 means the less satisfactory and 5 , the most satisfactory . the analyzed aspects on the questionnaire were smoothness , ease of combing , perception of appearance improvement and roughness . the results were analyzed in relation to the grades granted by the appraisers . sensorial analyses are presented in fig3 and 4 . the blues lines refer to hair treated with sericin nanoparticles and the pink lines refer to untreated hair . fig3 ( a ) and ( b ) presents the results of smoothness and ease of combing , respectively . behold the remarkable difference between treated and untreated hair , indicating that the sericin nanoparticles grants greater smoothness and facilitates hair combing . fig4 presents the perception of improvement of damaged hair ( a ) and hair roughness ( b ). we can clearly notice the improvement in these two aspects after treatment with sericin nanoparticles . this test &# 39 ; s objective was to evaluate the effect of sericin nanoparticles in reduction of volume of hair locks , comparing to hair treated with placebo and hair treated only with water ( control ). the afro - american hair locks , damaged by decoloration , were immersed in each product for 2 minutes . then the locks were combed and suspended vertically in a holder for removal of excessive water , dried with cold air and photographed . the opening of the locks was measured with the software image tool . the evaluated products were ( i ) sericin nanoparticles dispersed in water at three different concentrations ( 1 %, 3 %, 5 %) and ( ii ) placebo solubilized in water at the same three concentrations and composed by the same components of the nanoparticles &# 39 ; formula , except for sericin protein . locks treated with water only were used as control . the results were analyzed as to volume reduction of hair locks ( in centimeters ), and a statistical analysis was made using the tukey - kramer multiple comparison test to verify the degree of volume reduction in hair locks . fig5 shows that the volume reduction promoted by the control was superior to the volume reduction promoted by the placebos at 3 % and 5 %. comparing the volume reduction effect of the control to the placebo at 1 %, a slight volume reduction is noted , but with low statistical significance . proving , therefore , that the effect of cationic conditioning agents , present in the placebo formula , at the applied concentrations , is the same as water &# 39 ; s . locks treated with sericin nanoparticles , at different concentrations , presented great volume reduction compared to the volume reduction promoted by the placebos and the control , demonstrating the superior effect of the sericin nanoparticles in reduction of hair volume . in this study we evaluated the application of sericin nanoparticles in hair dye formulas , in order to assess their effect in hair color maintenance , comparing the effects on locks treated with a placebo , in other words , dyed with color without the addition of sericin nanoparticles . caucasian virgin hair locks previously bleached with hydrogen peroxide were used . the dye formulas ( color no . 6 . 64 ) containing 3 % of sericin nanoparticles and the placebo formula ( without addition of nanoparticles ) were applied to the hair locks for evaluation of the proposed active agent &# 39 ; s effect in coloring . the studied dyes ( with active ingredients and placebo ) were applied to the previously discolored , washed and dried locks . the dye was previously mixed with a bleaching solution ( hydrogen peroxide ), until formation of a homogenous mixture and then it was applied on the hair , acting for 30 minutes . after this time the locks were rinsed with running water , dried at room temperature for 24 hours and submitted to colorimeter reading in color guide sphere ( bky gardner ). then these locks were washed with aqueous solution of sodium lauryl ether sulfate at 20 %, dried , and submitted again to read the colorimeter . fifteen washes were performed in total and the colorimeter measurements were taken at every 3 washes . the principle of the color analysis technique is based on measuring the intensity of reflected light . hair is illuminated under a light and the reflected light is recorded according to each color . the principle is based on the spectrum of reflected light in the region of visible light . the reading is based on the color system l * a * b ( cielab ). in the system , the color is set on three axes in space : the average percentage of maintenance in these color coordinates is compared between the dyed locks with color containing sericin nanoparticles and locks dyed with color without sericin nanoparticles ( placebo ). analyzing the variation of luminosity ( l ) and chromatic coordinates a * and b * along the washes ( fig7 ), we concluded that there was a greater variation when it comes to the locks dyed with placebo , indicating that the locks treated with color containing sericin nanoparticles were more effective in maintaining the hair color along the washes . the cationic sericin nanoparticles were applied as finalizer to damaged hair locks , which were previously moistened and then dried . the virgin hair locks and chemically damaged hair locks ( after the decolorization process ) were used as control in generation of images . the evaluation of treatment effectiveness also included a comparative analysis of images obtained by scanning electron microscopy , fig6 shows images of hair locks damaged by chemical decolorant treatment ( b an c ) and virgin locks ( a ), both used as controls for evaluation of hair recovery after the application of sericin nanoparticles . fig6 ( d ) shows image of damage hair treated with sericin nanoparticles , where we can clearly observe the recovery of the hair &# 39 ; s healthy appearance when the sericin nanoparticles were applied to its surface .
the objective of this patent application is the application / use of sericin nanoparticles m cosmetic formulas for hair care , as an agent that bestows / gives gloss and softness and promotes maintenance of coloration in dyed hair