Kracie Develops Technology to Achieve Hair's Natural Supple and Beautiful Movement ~New Analysis Technology Unravels Factors Impairing Hair Movement / "Lauroyl Glutamate Di(Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl)" Contributes to Movement Improvement!~

Kracie Co., Ltd. (Home Products Company) has focused on "the beautiful back view of people" and has previously developed methods for evaluating hair movement and an appearance diagnostic system using Near-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging (NIR-HSI) technology. This time, they have newly developed a technology to analyze the "supple movement of hair at the back of the head when shaken." Furthermore, by analyzing hair movement using this technology, they elucidated the physical factors by which heat damage from hair irons and curlers impairs hair movement. They successfully developed a technology that achieves the hair's natural supple and beautiful movement, with "lauroyl glutamate di(phytosteryl/octyldodecyl)" as a key ingredient.

1. Background and Purpose In recent years, as a hair styling behavior to shape hair, heat treatments using hair irons and curlers, which can be easily done by oneself, have become popular, replacing permanent waves (hereinafter referred to as perms) that require chemical processing. Around the 2000s, these were used by some women to create firm curls, but now their usage has increased regardless of age or gender as an easy method for daily bedhead fixes or just curling the ends of the hair. Heat treatment does not involve chemical processing with redox agents like perms, so damage to the hair is often not easily noticeable. However, repeated daily use can make hair stiff and dry, leading to a loss of "suppleness." However, the term "supple" physically contains dualistic elements such as "elastic and soft," and its true nature was not well understood, as it could not be seen from still photographs alone (Figure 1). Therefore, our company focused on the appearance of hair, especially its supple movement, and conducted detailed research into the true nature of "supple" movement in beautiful hair and the impact of iron damage on it. (Figure 1) Supple hair movement

2. Development of Movement Analysis Technology When people perceive another person's hair as beautiful, they always make that judgment within the time the hair is moving. Therefore, in this research, we developed a unique technology that captures the swaying of hair with a high-speed camera and quantifies its movement along the time axis (Figure 2). (Figure 2) Observing hair vibration (=movement) with a high-speed camera As a result of the analysis, it was found that healthy, supple hair moves quickly and then stops abruptly when the swaying subsides (damping ratio increases), whereas iron-damaged hair continues to sway loosely for a long time and does not settle well (damping ratio does not increase). Furthermore, by analyzing the vibration in more detail and investigating the factors, it became clear that in iron-damaged hair, the "viscous component that contributes to abruptly settling the vibration at the end of the sway" is reduced (Figure 3). (Figure 3) Vibration analysis results of healthy hair and iron-damaged hair

3. Discovery of "Viscous Component" for Settling Vibrations The component that "settles vibrations at the end of the sway" is one that has the property of increasing viscosity as the amplitude (distortion) decreases. The key to this behavior is the "CMC (Cell Membrane Complex)," which acts as an adhesive connecting the cells of the hair (Figure 4). Therefore, our company focused on "lauroyl glutamate di(phytosteryl/octyldodecyl)," which has a structure similar to "CMC." When this was applied to iron-damaged hair, the viscosity in the micro-vibration region recovered, and the hair exhibited a "snappy" settling behavior like healthy hair (Figure 5). It is thought that this component penetrated into the hair interior and functioned as a pseudo-CMC. (Figure 5) Movement improvement effect of lauroyl glutamate di(phytosteryl/octyldodecyl)

4. Summary (1) Developed a new technology to analyze hair movement using a high-speed camera. Found differences in movement between healthy, beautiful hair and hair damaged by heat from hair irons. Focused on the existence of a viscous component inside the hair that contributes to abruptly settling vibrations at the end of the sway, and clarified the physical factors that impair hair movement. (2) Discovered "lauroyl glutamate di(phytosteryl/octyldodecyl)" as a key ingredient to improve hair movement impaired by heat damage, and successfully developed a technology to achieve the hair's natural supple and beautiful movement.

These research results are planned to be applied to hair care products launching in Autumn 2026. Additionally, they are scheduled to be reported at the IFSCC Congress 2026, an international conference for cosmetics.