Adsorption to Biomimetic Hair Surfaces

The proposal supports the PhD project “Adhesion and interaction with hair biomolecules – a cosmetic perspective”. The aim is to understand how surfactants and polymers from shampoo formulations interact with biomimetic model hair surfaces. The thiol-based surfaces on gold are designed to reflect the hair under different conditions (native or damaged fibres), and include the antepenultimate methyl branch characteristic of interfacial hair lipids. Understanding the nature of the hierarchical adsorption from formulations and the role of the surface is crucial for developing sustainable cosmetic formulations. Neutron reflectometry is thus a key technique which is combined with QCM-D and modelling. Selective deuteration of surfactants and water provides increased contrast between the different ad-layers and reveals how the surface and bulk (rinsing) properties affect adsorbed film state.