Hydrolyzed Keratin

Primary uses

• Protein substantivity and film formation on hair
• Moisture retention within the fibre
• Body and manageability improvement
• Sensory and combability support

Applications

• Shampoos, conditioners and masks
• Leave-in and repair treatments
• Straightening and colour-service aftercare
• Nail and skin protein formats

Advantages

• Supports repair and strengthening positioning that consumers actively search for
• Substantive to damaged hair, which is where the benefit is most visible
• Available in liquid and powder forms to suit different processes

Limitations to consider

• Protein hydrolysates carry a characteristic odour that has to be managed in the fragrance brief
• Over-use can leave hair feeling stiff or brittle rather than repaired
• Origin vocabulary and molecular weight vary by supplier and are declared per grade, not assumed here
• Use level is established in your own formulation by bench trial and stability testing. Supplier literature ranges are a starting point for that work, not a specification, and they are not reproduced here as one.
• Colour, odour and sensory behaviour vary between manufacturing sources even where the INCI name is identical, and in personal care those differences are visible to the end consumer. Approve a production-representative sample against your own finished format before the first commercial shipment.

How to choose the right grade

• State the hair type and the claim being supported — detangling, deep conditioning, textured-hair care or colour aftercare
• Confirm the charge of the whole system, because cationics and anionics are not compatible in the same phase without care
• Define whether the product is rinse-off or leave-on, since that changes both the material and the level
• Confirm the emulsion structure the conditioner relies on and the fatty alcohols that build it
• Plan half-head or tress testing; conditioning performance cannot be judged from a specification sheet
• Read the declared molecular-weight description, because it drives the performance you are buying
• Confirm origin vocabulary against the claim platform of the finished brand
• Bench results do not transfer automatically to production. Order of addition, shear, neutralisation and cooling profile all change behaviour at scale, so plan a pilot batch on the intended equipment before committing to a production volume.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Liquid solution and spray-dried powder forms
• Grades differentiated by declared molecular weight and origin description
• Buyers search for personal-care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical grade material by name, and those words describe what the buyer needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what documentation supports it, is read from the supplier documentation for the exact product quoted.
• Active matter, assay and purity are per-offer values that are declared by the supplier for the exact lot. They change both the use level in the formulation and the true cost per unit of function delivered, so quotations are compared on declared active content rather than on price per kilogram.
• Natural, plant-derived, hypoallergenic, dermatologically tested and similar positioning statements belong to the finished brand and must be supported by the brand owner's own evidence. Any such wording attached to a raw material is treated here as a buyer search term, not as a substantiated property of the material offered.