Chem: in just 10 minutes, multifunctional graphene hair dye can make your hair healthier. What do you know?

Hair dye is a product used to change the appearance of hair Most hair dyes change hair color permanently through a series of oxidation dyes In this process, the hair surface is expanded and the cuticle scales are opened by alkaline substances, so that aromatic amines or phenol based colorants can penetrate into the hair roots Oxidants are also needed to bleach natural melanin pigments and initiate reactions between colorants to synthesize the final dye compounds The whole process is generally limited by diffusion, so it takes several hours to complete the hair dyeing process In addition, many hair dye ingredients are toxic and even carcinogenic If it is absorbed through the skin, it may cause allergic reaction and may have more serious consequences The damage of hair dyeing in this way is irreversible If the hair is treated with weak alkaline or near neutral substances, the cuticle can be avoided to open and it is unlikely to cause permanent hair damage, but this limits the diffusion of colorant, leading to insufficient loading, temporary coloring and reversal after several times of washing Go and r-go (source: Chem) in addition to hair dye, another way to modify hair is to spray the hair surface with black ultrafine particles The team, led by Professor Huang Jiaxing from Northwestern University in the United States, demonstrated the use of graphene substrates, such as graphene oxide (go) and reduced graphene oxide (r-go), as hair dyes to modify hair Go - and r-go-based dyes can be formulated in water without harmful ingredients or solvents, and can be applied to hair by spraying or brushing to produce a variety of brown to black tones, which will not fade even if washed dozens of times with shampoo (DOI: 10.1016 / j.champr 2018.02.021) graphene dyed light hair (source: Chem) graphene base is considered to be an excellent hair dye Go and its reduced form of r-go can be used to make water-based formulations to form a smooth and continuous coating on hair This not only avoids the use of toxic small molecular components in common hair dyes, but also improves the new performance of hair to enhance comfort After drying, graphene dye forms a strong adhesion coating on the hair surface, which can resist repeated washing of shampoo and meet the performance requirements of permanent hair dye The color of go coating can be darkened or patterned gradually to produce gradient dyeing effect, and the thickness of r-go coating can be adjusted to produce different colors The antistatic property of graphene modified hair (source: Chem) the hair dye based on graphene can be simply applied by spraying and combing, which helps to complete the dyeing process faster than molecular dye The normal hair dyeing process takes hours, while the use of graphene hair dye can complete the process in only 10 minutes, and the coloring is very durable, it has been compared with the commercial permanent hair dye In addition, r-go-and-go-based hair dyes can also enhance hair properties, including better antistatic and heat dissipation properties Based on the known properties of go and r-go, these coatings may provide more functions, including UV protection, antibacterial and odor absorption It is also possible to adjust the thickness and composition of the coating to adjust the bending stiffness of the coated hair, which is another very ideal feature Graphene hair dye improves heat conduction (source: Chem) It can be a safer hair dye to replace toxic molecular components with graphene matrix Using graphene's high surface area, flexibility, conductivity and thermal conductivity as well as antibacterial and barrier properties, the new multifunctional hair dye can generate adjustable hair color and enhance human comfort Graphene coated hair can also be recycled to provide functional materials for other electronic or energy storage devices In addition to fashion and beauty, graphene based hair dyes may also be beneficial to the development of new portable electronic products For example, they can be used to coat animal fur to reduce electrostatic induced stimulation in livestock farming Antistatic hair can also be used to develop humanoid robots to reduce the level of electrostatic interference in embedded electronic devices High conductivity hair bundles can also be used as functional components in wearable devices In short, it is a very promising invention, which has opened up a new application field of graphene, and may further promote the innovation of new portable electronic products Washability of graphene modified hair (source: Chem) corresponding author: Professor Huang Jiaxing