Innovative solutions for haircare product evaluation by Newtone

Matthieu JOMIER – Chief Operating Officer

 

Nowadays, the evaluation of hair products is increasingly important to understand the effects of active ingredients on the hair itself but also on the scalp.

To address these issues, Newtone has developed innovative solutions based on image processing and analysis to evaluate a set of relevant parameters.

While all measurements, such as color, shine, volume, frizz effect, particles deposition, can be done with different technical approaches (polarized camera, optical microscopy or SEM) in-vitro on strands, it is now possible to perform these assessments in-vivo on the entire hair or scalp directly on the subjects.

It is then possible, from a set of acquired images of the hair to analyze the following parameters:

• Color and homogeneity
• Hair fibers orientation
• Hair messiness
• White/Gray hair evaluation
• Hair growth
• Itching of the scalp

Using a multi-camera system, it is then possible to analyze the volume of a hair in-vivo in order to evaluate for example the volumizing effect of a product. It is also possible to assess hair messiness by analyzing the orientation of each hair fiber.

Newtone has also developed a macroscopic camera (SkinCam) that allows a high-resolution image capture on a surface of 20x20mm on the scalp and hair. Initially developed for skincare evaluation this solution has been extended and validated for hair and scalp measurements.

Thanks to proprietary algorithms, measurement of the scalp color (L*a*b* values) over time is now possible from the acquired images in order to evaluate itching of the scalp as well as detection of the dandruff number and size.

Using the same acquisition system, it is also possible to evaluate the hair growth or hair density on different sites of the scalp.

Another innovative technique consists in using a specific ATR-FTIR spectroscopy probe to measure several sites on the scalp. With a single acquisition, several parameters can be measured such as:

• Sebum level
• Scalp hydration
• Product/particles deposition

Based on calculated values at specific wavelengths from the acquired infrared spectrum, color maps can be generated on a 3D model of the scalp to show the differences between measurement sites.

You can then visualize the real effect of your product directly on the scalp with specific color scales.

 

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